Publicity

This one will be a short one, you know why?  I'm still working and it's 8:45 pm !  You know why?  Because magazines are closing, they need photographs, and it "ain't over until the fat lady sings"!  You can't drop your pr campaign because you want to cuddle up on the couch and watch Dance Your Ass Off, and you can't decide to "just get on it in the morning". 

I received a call from an editor at 7 pm saying one of my clients files couldn't open and she needed it high resolution asap.  That meant not only did the Red Branch PR team have to make sure that happened, but my client did as well.  We all want this placement, and want to keep the relationship with the editor and help them close their magazine on time, so we are all on it. 

There are two lessons here:

Always be available to the press

Don't finish a pr job until it's done, or you may miss out on an editorial opportunity or hurt a relationship with an editor.  

So EVEN if all you really want to do is go get sushi and you're dying to just put it off...wait until the job is done!  Dedication and perseverance are the stuff of great pr campaigns!

Many of you reading this have your products (or you are your own product), and you want to get on themor you on television, in magazines, or on a great website.

Brands often spend lots of time and money investing in their pr campaign, from pitching to branding materials, and then forget one of the most simple rules for getting lots of visibility - have your product on, with, or near you at all times.  This doesn't mean toss your business cards in your handbag, but involves great preparation, which we'll talk about now!

When I was younger I used to read Trivial Pursuit cards in bed.  Not to cheat, but because I wanted to know EVERYTHING.  I was addicted to all of these random facts and mini-lessons in history, science, current events - you name it!  I packed my brain with them, and so began my love affair with knowing as much as I could about what was going on in different areas of the culture, the world, the media, business - whatever I was interested and involved in.

This habit has become very useful when working in PR and trying to land stories in short lead media (tv news, newspapers, blogs, weekly magazines) because I know what stories and news is hot in many categories, right as it's happening, and I can respond with a great expert, a great new angle on the story, or a spin that gets a someone great press.

Staying on top of news can be difficult, so in order to be sure I know breaking news in all the categories I need for the multiple pr campaigns I'm involved in, I sign up for RSS feeds.  These go directly into my inbox in their own neat, little folders so I can check them whenever I need to and they don't clog my already jam packed inbox.

I personally sign up for multiple feeds including:

* The Today Show's feed (also helps me keep up-to-date with what kinds of shows they are working on and interested in)

* Entertainment feeds from Entertainment Weekly  & People Magazine so that I can be on top of breaking showbiz news for my celebrity-friendly brands and general knowledge of what's new in Hollywood

* Variety in order to find out what movies and shows are coming out so I can think about product placemment

* Several business magazines that cover small biz and entrepreneurship so that I can see the way they cover stories similar to the ones I want to place and also so I can stay informed as an entrepreneur

* New York Times, CNN, and the Wall Street Journal for heavier news and breaking headlines...

This way the most up-to-date headlines are being fed to me directly allowing me to quickly piggyback on a story at the most, and at the least be very informed.

The more you know about what's going on, the more you can create great stories!

Get your RSS feed going - and if you have any other great RSS suggestions please share!

Beyond regular pr leads, day in and day out we are working on ways to get our members in the press.  These Random Acts of Pitching™  our team carries out, whether they be answering editors’ calls for product for a last minute photo shoot, creating segments

Hey gals

I just got off the phone with Family Circle magazine, and just to let you know their timeline and what to pitch them - they just closed September and will be getting into October soon - so be sure you are pitching late fall themed products, Halloween ideas, expert advice for October, etc.

Remember, October is also breast cancer awareness month....

Yesterday I was at a great business breakfast with Candace Craig, the pr and marketing strategist at Tarte Cosmetics.  Candace does just wonderful things for the brand and their pr and marketing strategy.  While catching up on all things public relations we began talking about our fall desksides.  For those of you who don't know, desksides are when you actually do a "meet and greet" with the editor who covers your brand's categories (fashion/accessories/food/business/etc) and really get face time to pitch them and show them the products you can share with their readers.  

We tend to do them every season to show them what's coming up in the following season.  For instance, though it's May to us in the real world, in the magazine world they're pulling ideas and products for fall, so they need to see items they can showcase that will be available 4-6 months from now.  Desksides are great because you can show them how your products work, connect and build a relationship with valuable contacts, and really share your whole line without having to rush through an email. 

How many to people schedule?  I personally have over 18 in the next couple weeks and am still booking, to give you an idea of how busy they can be.  A tip?  Schedule several at the same magazine for the same day so you can stay in the building and work your way around the different publications.

Want some more tips?  I found a great online article by an editor from Rachael Ray Magazine with the editor's side of things - enjoy!

I had a blast on Weds hosting a free PR Spring Training course and was so glad so many of you could join me.  It's often hard to weed through all the messages about what to do, when to do it, or what's a "must know".   Because of this I was happy to share some tactics that you should be employing RIGHT NOW if you are hoping to see results two weeks, or two m

I moved to New York City years ago as a former high school teacher with big dreams of finding my true calling and leading an exciting, passionnate, and successful life.  When I daydreamed about doing just that I'd often be playing the song "Only in New York" in my head, which includes the line