Publicity

You know the song and dance - you pitch the press about your business, and they respond with: "Sure, we can publish that - when you place an ad." And they may CC their marketing person or provide you with their email address. As a digital marketing producer, I've heard this complaint from clients when I encourage them to pitch the media with their anniversary celebration, or any other reason that they should try for pure editorial.

Tin Shingle is preparing a special TuneUp webinar dedicated to Press Kits, to show small business owners and marketers what they should look like. We will be showing examples of good looking press kits that hit the mark in terms of design, presentation, content and copy. We want to feature yours! Your business name, website and contact information will be featured along with any Press Kits that are selected.

A sneak-peek from our new Editorial Calendar Pin-Up Tool coming...Women's History Month is in March. That's a great tie-in to any momentum one is looking for. March is just around the corner, and it doubles with the verb "march". Could pitch your activities to short lead media or digital versions of print magazines, see who bites.

Want to see when other important dates are that you need a leg up on? All of these are in Tin Shingle's Blog Planning and Production Calendar, which you can download from here. All-Access Members of Tin Shingle get it for free!

We’ve all sent and received auto-reply messages, usually along the lines of, “Hi, I am out of the office right now and will respond to your email as soon as I return.” The out-of-office message is just one of those pesky administrative things we rush to do before shutting the computer down ahead of a vacation, or if you’re like me, one of those things we forget to do before shutting the computer down. But did you ever think that an auto-response might actually be a really valuable - and effortless - promotion opportunity?

Tin Shingle's first PR Group Challenge has been a success so far. With 9 dedicated attendees calling in every other week, and actually turning on their video cameras when possible, we are meeting face to face to coach each other on in the quest for press. We have completed two rounds of weeks: Type A where we discuss Short Lead story ideas, and Type B where we talk about long lead story ideas. I'll recap it here to give you a glimpse into what it is like:

The Group PR Challenge attendees are varied, and include:

Lately, co-founder Sabina Hitchen has been hosting a new Periscope series called "Live at 5: PR Tip of the Day" in which she shares one PR idea or tip with you. As with any delivery from Sabina, you're getting more than one tip and idea, and you're always getting a serious dose of motivataion. It's like going to the gym for your brain but you didn't need to leave the computer. You will come away with ideas and confidence and you will be hooked - it's how I have been her business partner for so long!

Common knowledge in the publicity industry is the pay-to-play model, where people on TV who are showing his or her recommendations, may or may not have charged a fee to that brand they are featuring in order to show them that day, or in that print story. Same thing could happen at a blog, website or magazine. Entrepreneurs and business owners who are new to the world of publicity are usually surprised when responded to with a fee request, and are either happy to pay it, or decide that route is not a fit for them.