Creating Your PR Image to Bring Your Dreams to Reality 

January 7, 2011 Leave a comment

Your business is unique because you’re the one who is rerunning it and you’re the only you that there is.  How can your business reflect your uniqueness? By integrating who you are with what you do. To accomplish this, you need to understand how to capitalize on your unique abilities and perspective in order to organically grow your business and differentiate it from your competitors.

Often businesses are arbitrarily put together. Someone comes up with an idea, starts a company and a business is born.  The downside is that without some thought, planning and guidance, a company can grow on its own without a focus or direction.  It grows wild, untended.  That’s not the approach you want to take.  View your business as a living, breathing entity. You gave it life and it needs guidance and structure. Determine where you want the business to go, how you want it to look, feel and grow; start defining your business, as opposed to simply letting the business wander aimlessly. Do you want to attract as wide a market as possible, or appeal to a more limited, special niche market?  How do you want your business to be viewed or perceived?  What do you see as your brand?

Define your company, your image, and what makes your business specifically yours.  An effective image does not just happen; it has to be conceived, designed and worked. Review all aspects of your business. If you have a storefront, is it inviting? Does it welcome customers? If you’ve grown to the point that you have a staff, do they know your values? Do they make clients or customers feel welcome and comfortable, both in person and on the phone?

If you sell a product, is your packaging and sales material clear and attractive? Again, does the look and feel reflect both you and your business? Do you and your staff inspire confidence? Does the way you dress and carry yourself reflect your image?  Is the business an organic extension of you and your vision?

Many businesses need only minor makeovers; essentially some fine-tuning. But you’d be surprised at the difference those slight changes can make.  They can give your business a whole new lease on life. Real success comes when you integrate yourself with your business, when you and your company, product or service are moving in one unified direction.

Take some time to define your business and your message. Scrutinize it from top to bottom.  If it’s time for a new look, create one. Give you and your business a makeover. Once you’ve accomplished those objectives, you’ll be ready for center stage; ready to take your story to the public and bring your dreams fully to reality.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

 

Filed under business, Media Relations, Public Relations, publicity, small business, social media Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Your Gratitude To-do List

December 28, 2010 Leave a comment

“The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now.  And the more grateful you are, the more you get.”  So says Oprah.  Now whether you are an Oprah fan or not, one thing you have to give her is – she knows how to succeed.  So maybe there is something to this gratitude business.  At the very least, it’s worth a try.  We’re taught to strive, struggle, plan, work, toil… you know, all that fun stuff,  Then we focus on making as much as we can, The one with the most toys wins, or so the saying goes.

It’s easy to get lost in the struggle and spend the rest of our time resentful that we’re not accumulating as much as we want, or as much as we feel we deserve.   But in between the struggle and the accumulating we often forget the best part.  We forget to enjoy, to relax, to appreciate, to be grateful.

Generally I write about how to pitch your product or service, how to actively grow your business, and how to use social media and public relations to establish your brand.  Important stuff; useful stuff.  But that’s just a part of the equation.  A gratitude how-to list is the business focus for today.  To grow your business you have to not only actively work towards your goals, you also need to learn how to let go, relax and be grateful for what you already have.  It sounds counterintuitive, but think about it.  When driving a car do you simply push harder and harder on the accelerator in order to reach you destination?  There is a certain recipe for failure, to put it mildly.  If you’re smart you speed up, slow down, stop, look around and enjoy the scenery as you travel towards your destination.  If you’re really smart, you’re grateful that you even have a car and if you don’t have a car, you’re grateful for what you do have.

We’re generally going through the motions in our day.  Our actions become route robotic, or anxious and frenzied.  We are so firmly focused on where we’re going we forget to pay any attention to where we are.  We are so focused on what we perceive as the final goal or the brass ring, or whatever we choose to call it, that we forget that the journey truly is the destination.  We never arrive at that magical “there”, because that place doesn’t exist.  We move through a series of destinations; but the sad part is we generally ignore or minimize them because they are not “the” destination.

Just as launching a marketing or PR campaign takes some work, research and brainstorming, so does learning how to practice gratitude; so, for now forget about your business plan or your marketing plan or your to-do list.  Make a different list this time.  Make a list for everything you have to be grateful for.  And don’t be stingy here; be lavish, extravagant.  If you end up with a small list, go back and add some more points.

Your next assignment is to find signposts that remind you to practice this.  There is a tree that stands on top of one of the hills in Griffith Park, not far from my office.  It stands by itself.  To me, there is something magical about it.  I see it about once or twice a day as I’m driving.  It’s my gratitude reminder.  Not only am I grateful that that tree exists, it reminds me to be grateful for everything else I have.  So that’s the last item on your gratitude to-do list.  Find your tree

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

 

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Brainstorming Secrets for Success in the New Year

December 23, 2010 Leave a comment

Start the New Year with a new attitude and a new marketing plan.  The best way to do this is to step back and look at your business in a whole new way.

Set up a Brainstorming Session Time for the New Year.  Block a couple of hours, or better yet half a day and invite your marketing team or PR consultants to look at your business in a whole new way.  If you don’t have a marketing team, that’s fine, you are now your official marketing team.  Invite your employees, associates or anyone you trust, who you feel has some understanding about your business.  This is not a “business meeting”.  This is to be a fun, adventurous time to play with ideas, options, feelings, new approaches, and interesting story angles.

The purpose is to come up with new, unique ways that you can market your business and tell your story.  Remember the best marketing campaigns tell good stories.  You don’t want to simply say “buy my product or service because it’s good”.  Everyone says that and because everyone says it, no one listens to those messages, or at least very few people do.  You want to use the Brainstorming Session to help you go beyond that roadblock.  Don’t hold back; be creative.  Remember you don’t have to use all these ideas, but if you don’t allow yourselves to really let the creative ideas flow; you could end up missing out on some of your best marketing and media relations stories.

Look at your business, product or service from all angles.  Is there a story in how the product or company was founded?  Is there a unique journey story that tells about how you came to develop the product or service?  Maybe you started the company because of a personal experience you had.  Did you jump from one career track to follow the road less traveled?  What type of challenges did you encounter?  What inspirited you to start your business?  Was there an “aha” moment that changed your direction in life?  There is a whole range of human interest stories that can connect with the public.  By telling a compelling story you get others to listen, to understand and bond with you.

And what about the business, service or product itself?  Is there a different approach you use?  What problems does it solve?  How does it differ from others in the field? Has it been updated or modified in any way?  Is it smaller, larger, brighter, less expensive, more user friendly, or more effective?  How could you present it that’s somewhat different?

And don’t forget the most important focus; how has your business or product affected others? How has it helped change lives?  Has it made life easier?  Has it made people richer, thinner, smarter, faster, or happier?  Do you have clients who would be able to tell their story to the media?  The best public relations campaigns are those that tell transformational stories.  If you have some that illustrate how your businesses has affected the life of others, you’re on the right track.

Awhile back we represented a long term health care center.  The basic stories there had to do with the various aspects around that type of care, along with the challenges of caring for those with dementia and Alzheimer’s. One day while I was visiting the client, we held a brainstorming session.  While we were meeting, I noticed that there was a small dog that followed one of the nurses form room to room.  Something clicked and I wrote a press release about the dog as one of the facilities’ favorite employees.  The dog didn’t see old age, didn’t care whether someone was in a wheelchair, or had memory problems.  The dog loved them all the same.  By presenting it this way, I was able to shift what could be seen as a depressing story to a warm and fuzzy tale (so to speak).  It worked.  We were able to land coverage in Time, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, NPR, NBC, ABC, the Discovery Channel and other media.  Without the brainstorming session, none of that would have happened.

So block some time, have fun with it and have your own Brainstorming Session. Believe me; it’s worth it.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

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4 (more) Secrets to Developing the Perfect PR Pitch

December 21, 2010 Leave a comment

You might have a great story, but if you don’t know how to present it, you’re not going to grab the media’s attention.  Remember what seems like a great story for you might not seem that way to the media.  Building a great pitch for a TV segment or magazine article takes some time, thought and creativity.  Have fun with this process.  Give it some time and you just might uncover some hidden gems that will launch your PR campaign.

Before you approach the media, study and review the press release or pitch you’re going to be using.  Again, simply because it looks good to you doesn’t mean it will resonate with the media.  Keep working on and refining your pitch with the focus on how it will meet the media’s needs.

1. Debunking a myth:

If there are certain preconceived ideas in your industry, or surrounding the topic you’ll be pitching, focus on those and pitch a story around how those myths or preconceived ideas are wrong.  For example, if you’re in the fitness industry, come up with some points that debunk some commonly held misconceptions about working out or losing weight.  Present yourself as the expert who can set the record straight and  educate the public.

2. Comment on a national issue:

If there is a story being covered in the media, or if there is a particular topic that is being discussed that you can comment on do so.  For example, if you are an attorney and there is a particular legal case that is in the news, or if there is an issue or topic that is being discussed that you can address, pitch yourself as an expert in the field who can clarify and explain the topic.  Perhaps take a side and explain why the other side is wrong.  Make sure to explain why you are the expert to address this topic.

3. Seasonal Stories

The media always covers season stories.  It has to.  Whether the story has to do with the Christmas holidays, or summer, these are stories that are covered every year.  Find a way to pitch yourself or your product as a part of one of those stories.  For example if you own a beauty salon, or a cosmetic company, you can pitch a “new look for the new year” New Years story.

4. Your journey.

Often the best and most compelling stories are those that tell the story of your journey.  We’ve worked with a wide range of clients from filmmakers to physicians, and in almost every case the story of how the client developed his or her business, created the product, or started the service, served us well.  The media and people in general gravitate towards human interest stories that show how someone overcame odds to achieve a dream.

Keep all of these approaches in mind when you’re putting together your list of stories to pitch to the media.  Remember this is not a one-size-fits-all type of campaign.  Shift your pitch to match the needs of the particular media you’re going to be contacting.  Let the media know why your story works for them.  Keep your pitch short and to the point.  Present your story as a news segment, not as a pitch.  These tips work, so be prepared.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

 

 

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The Press Conference Mind field

November 24, 2010 1 Comment

A well timed press conference can be an important PR tool if used effectively, but it can also be a risky approach.  It’s important to know when and where to hold a press conference. Unless you have a strong breaking news story, an extremely timely story, or a story that involves a celebrity, chances are holding a press conference is not your optimum choice.  Even if your story does fall into the listed categories keep in mind that just as you’re about to start your press conference a fire could break out, or a national news story could hit the wires and you could end up delivering your story to all but empty room.

Although press conferences are held for myriad reasons, the successful ones are primarily utilized to give the media up-to-the-minute information on breaking news stories, or when a celebrity or known personality is addressing a topical issue. Countless other types of press conferences are announced, but few receive any significant coverage.  When you are asking the media to be at a certain place at a certain time to cover one specific story, keep in mind that the odds are against you.

When you schedule a press conference, your story is being set on a very specific timeline and will compete with every other potential story locally, nationally and internationally. If you are going to hold a press conference, hold it in the mid-morning. The later in the day you hold it, the less media you will draw because of deadline scheduling conflicts.  If a story that the media considers more urgent, or more ratings worthy breaks at the same time – you’re out of luck. We have held some very successful press conferences.  But we’ve also held some conferences that were passed-over because of a high speed car chase in progress, a breaking murder story or a celebrity drug bust.   Those are the breaks.

There was one case where two TV crews had arrived and were setting up to cover a press conference we had scheduled, suddenly each producer was paged. Next thing I knew they were packing their gear and heading out the door. A fire had broken out at a local refinery and they were on their way to cover it. Needless to say, that was the end of that particular press conference.
Whereas there is a time and place to hold a press conference, in my experience most press conferences are ineffective, because the story or pitch usually does not warrant that type of media approach. Try to think like the media, play devil’s advocate with yourself. If you were a harried producer or editor, and were pitched a story on your proposed press conference would it be of interest to you? If the answer is no, forget going the press conference route. Reframe the hook and pitch it as a feature to the various outlets.  Chances are you’ll be more successful and your story will have a much longer lifespan.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

 

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Successfully Marketing via the Internet

October 12, 2010 Leave a comment

The entertainment and the information industries have never encountered times like these.  The internet changed all the rules without bothering to inform anyone.  Even the sex industry, which initially saw the net as its cash cow is hemorrhaging money at record rates.  The two most obvious victims are the newspaper and the music industries.  As a generation came of age believing that content and intellectual property was free – everything changed.

According to the Economist, since 2000, 72 American newspapers have folded and circulation has fallen by a quarter since 2007.  But that pales compared to the thrashing the music industry has taken.  According to some accounts 95% of all music downloads are illegal.  95%!   What industry can survive that?  The book industry is following suit and the film industry is playing with new models in hopes of hanging onto as many dollars as possible.

So does this spell the end of these industries?  No, that’s not happening, but these are trying, difficult times as everyone from CEO’s to new artists are trying to figure out models that work.  And those models are there.

In India, the number of daily newspapers has surged by an amazing 44% according to the World Association of Newspapers.  The Times of India with a circulation of 4m is the world’s biggest English-language newspaper.  As publishers shift from English language and focus more on regional and local language publications, there will be an even greater growth.  The situation in India is a very different one compared to that in the U.S.  The internet has yet to take hold there as it has here.  But there is still a lesson to be learned.  For example, the newspaper industry in India is slowly moving from the English-language monolithic model to a more segmented, niche approach.  Therein lies one of the main secrets to success in this brave new world.

This is no longer a time to throw out as wide a net as possible; this is a time of specialization and niche marketing.  Find your market, focus on your target, and define who your viewers, readers, listeners or buyers are.  Now market to them specifically; use the internet which has created these challenging times as your ally.  The net offers you some amazing opportunities and avenues to communicate with your consumers and clients.

Develop a marketing strategy based on traditional public relations and social media.  Create free content that visitors want to read that will then lead them to content or products you can sell.  Have them join with you, become part of your tribe (so to speak).

A targeted media relations campaign can help establish you via magazines, newspapers and TV, you can then utilize that press coverage by amplifying it online.  Have your PR work for you.  It can separate you from your competition and establish you in your field Post your media hits on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and YouTube.  Post them on your site and your blog.  Create a targeted offline/online media relations approach.  You’ll soon discover that the internet (the culprit that caused all these problems in the first place) can become your most effective marketing tool and your number one ally.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

 

Filed under Entertainment, information, Internet, internet marketing, Media, Media Relations Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Creating A Blog Buzz via PR

October 7, 2010 Leave a comment

Content is what makes the world go round on the internet and when it comes to marketing, content truly is king; but is it enough?  For example, if you create a blog that is poorly designed or has poor functionality, you can end up posting some great content that never gets read.  You want to offer your readers valuable information, but you want them to enjoy their experience, want them to come back, and refer others to your site.

Let’s say you have a great idea; you’ve developed some dynamite content and have created a blog that works? Now what?  It used to be that the name of the game was getting articles indexed on Google and other search engines.  Google was king.  It still is high royalty, but if you ignore the social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Digg and YouTube, you’re doing you and your business a real disservice.  A concentrated social media campaign has to be at the top of your online marketing.  You don’t need to spend all day working every site out there.  Utilize each social media site and share links in the categories that best target your audience and put your focus there.

Linking to, commenting on and recommending other blogs is a great way to increase visitors and readers and to develop important relationships with other bloggers.  Consider adding a blog roll and spotlighting some of your favorite information. Allowing readers to comment is another way to generate interest.  The more you increase the level of interaction, the better.

Now let’s jump offline for a bit.  How about launching a public relations campaign around your blog?  Try creating an interesting angle or story idea that ties in with your blog.  What about your blog is different or unique?  What topics does it address? Does it help people solve problems?  Is it funny?  Controversial? Irreverent?  Does it appeal to a specific niche or target audience?  Or how about your story?  What has your journey been creating the blog?  How has it impacted your life?  Come up with some different angles, write a fun or incisive press release and pitch your blog as a story to the traditional media.   If you can launch an effective media campaign and generate some press coverage – that will give your blog more buzz than you can imagine.  Turn your blog into a media story.  Develop stories and angles that interest the press, and watch the media buzz build around your blog.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

Filed under Blog, Blogging, Branding, Business Strategy, Marketing, Media Coverage, PR Campaign, Public Relations, target audience Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Truth About Content Marketing

September 21, 2010 Leave a comment

Content marketing has become a new buzzword.  It’s spawned its own cottage industry; there are content marketing courses, experts, books, etc.  According to Wikipedia,   “Content marketing subscribes to the notion that delivering high-quality, relevant and valuable information to prospects and customers drives profitable consumer action. Content marketing has benefits in terms of retaining reader attention and improving brand loyalty.”

That’s great and although I’m a big believer in content marketing, an important point to realize though is that content marketing existed well before this term was coined and well before the internet became such a dominate force.  At my firm our focus has always been on content, on valuable information that the public and the media can utilize.  Good public relations firms have been utilizing content marketing for decades.  The concept is not a new one. It’s only the spin that’s different.  Similarly, media relations experts have been building and developing brands  long before the term “branding” became such a catch all term.

The emphasis on the approach, style and content are really not new, what is new is the mode of distribution.  Social media, blogging, online marketing.. those outlets are relatively new.  Still, they are the channels of distributing and disseminating information, they are not the information itself.

The new mantra is that “on the net content is king”, but in reality content always was.  Whether writing a press release, a white paper, or an article or pitching a TV segment, developing a good story and creating strong content have always been the bottom line.  An effective PR campaign has always depended on strategic content development.

The shift is in the medium(s).  Now you can deliver content via the traditional press outlets of TV, magazines, newspapers and the radio, as well as via blogs, vlogs, social media, and email marketing.  Using this combined approach a company can grow a business, build a brand, and develop a strategic reputation-building approach.

But keep in mind that a standard pitch or sales laundry list does not qualify as effective content.  The job is to solve a problem, offer a solution, advocate a new idea, or reveal a new way to approach a problem. You want to be inspiring, thought provoking, and offer cutting edge approaches and effective solutions.  You can discuss what’s new and what’s next, but the bottom line is that your content is useful and speaks to your target market.  How can you make your customer’s lives easier, happier, more time effective, more cost effective? Offer anecdotal stories that illustrate these points.  In this case content means value.

So, yes content marketing on the internet is an extremely important marketing tool, although social media and blogging are relatively new mediums, the basics of creating impactful content that tells a good story and offers value to the reader is as basic as marketing itself.  Content has always been king.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

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How to Effectively Work With Your PR Firm

September 2, 2010 Leave a comment

Perhaps the most difficult concept for those new to PR to fully understand is that an effective public relations campaign is a gradual building process.  It is the most effective and powerful form of marketing.  It offers validation, credibility, reaches your target market.  But, seldom does it happen overnight and to be honest, there are often real pitfalls to campaigns that move too quickly.  A gradual sustained build that offers a cohesive story and establishes a brand is the best approach.

When launching a public relations campaign keep the following in mind:

You need to define your stories. It’s important to create different stories to meet the needs of different media outlets.  I’ve found that it’s often effective to initially send out a general handshake release and then drill down to more media specific stories.

Develop pitches for the various types of media.  For example, TV is a visual medium.  You want to offer them more than a talking head.  Think of visual oriented segments or stories you can offer.

Keep in contact with your public relations firm, but don’t try to direct or control the campaign.  If you’ve hired them, let them do their job.  Otherwise you’ll never really know how the campaign could have worked.

It’s important that your communication with your PR firm be free flowing.  Keep in touch but don’t demand an excessive amount of time.  Again (and I know this can be difficult) trust the firm you hired to do its work.  Remember if you’re demanding they spend their time communicating with you, they’re not spending that time pitching the media.

Remember that PR is a gradual process.  Give it time to work.  If you keep digging up your bulbs to see how their growing, you’re eventually going to end up with a lot of dead plants.

Don’t go into a campaign expecting to land a national TV segment or a magazine cover within the first month or two, that’s not a PR gameplan, that’s a fantasy.  And, as I mentioned previously, I’ve worked with clients who landed major national media right off the bat.  Ironically that’s not always the most advantageous situation.  A gradual, organic build is the optimum approach.   If you hire professionals that know their field, you work with them and give them enough time to launch a campaign, chances are, your PR efforts will be successful.

Prepare for your media interviews.  Your PR firm can set up interviews for you, but once those are set you need to be able to articulate your story, stay on message and meet the media’s needs.

Develop anecdotal stories and testimonials that can be used in the campaign.  They are often your best stories.  For examples, a physician’s most important stories are his patient’s stories.  His expertise and knowledge is important, but what’s truly compelling is how he has changed his patient’s lives.  Those are also the stories that the public will identify with.

PR and media relations can brand your company, take you to the next level, grow your business and establish you as an expert in your field.   But, as with so much in life, for it to work, you need patience, preparation and sometimes have to get out of your own way.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

Filed under business, Business Strategy, Marketing, Media Relations, Public Relations, social media Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Demonstrating Your Value to Your Prospects

August 20, 2010 Leave a comment

You know what your company’s value is.  You understand why your products or service are so important to your target market.  You understand what makes you unique, what separates you from the others in your field.  You can explain exactly what makes you and your company so amazing.  The sad truth is that your customers don’t really care about your bio, how great you are, how long you’ve been around, etc.  What your clients and customers care about is what you can do for them; how you can make their life easier, how you can save them time, money, help grow their business.  What they want to know is how they’ll be better off by buying your product, or using your service, or working with your company.

It’s important to know what your prospective client’s needs are and how you can meet them.  Focus on how you can solve their problems not on singing the praises of your company.  This sounds easy, but it can be tricky.  The confusing part is that your prospects aren’t always exactly sure what they want.  Often if you don’t ask, they won’t tell you.  If you misjudge their needs you might give a great pitch but it will fall on deaf ears.  Your job is to determine what your prospects needs and wants are and then illustrate how you can meet those.  As I mentioned, this can be a bit of a mind field.  If you’re giving a one-on-one pitch, you have the luxury of asking specific questions, but in your marketing, advertising or public relations efforts, you need to make sure you are addressing the specific needs of your target market.  Often a company can address several needs or issues, and different clients will be looking for solutions to different individual needs.

Each business meets different needs.  There are times when a business is meeting needs that the business owner is not even aware of.  For example you might think you’re selling someone a car as a means of transportation.  In fact transportation could just be an afterthought, what some clients are buying is style, or comfort, or security.  Let’s take my business for example.  Our focus is PR, media relations, blogging and social media.   Clients come to us for various reasons.

Through a PR campaign, they want to:

1. Reach their target market via the press and the media.

2. Sell more products.

3. Land more clients and/or business opportunities.

4. Position themselves via the media in front of investors

5. Introduce a new product or service to the marketplace.

6. Establish themselves as experts in their field.

7. Establish themselves as a professional at the top of their field.

8. Gain credibility and validation by being featured in the news.

9. Save marketing and advertising dollars via a PR campaign.

Those are the main reasons clients come to us, but each client has his or her main reason.  One might be focused on building sales, another might be looking to entice investors, and still another might be looking strictly to position herself as an expert in her field.  For some clients the bottom line is the primary issue, for others it’s the credibility and validation factors.  These are all values, but what is valuable to one client, might not be that important to another.  We’ve worked with clients who can’t possibly take more clients for months.  That is not their concern.  But they do want to be viewed as the best in their field and being featured in top tier media can accomplish that aim.  We work with others who want to build their business, sell more products, and land more clients.  Those are their primary goals and that is the value we offer to them.

So, make a list of the value that you offer your clients.  Make this a stretching exercise.  Move a bit beyond your comfort zone.  Are there emotional values you offer that you’ve never considered?  Once you’ve developed your list, take a look at your marketing, PR and advertising efforts.  Does your marketing address your accomplishments or your client’s needs? Once you answer that question, you’ll know what changes you need to make.  Focus on your clients, and you’ll never go wrong.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

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How To Identify Business Opportunities

August 14, 2010 1 Comment

Chances are you’ve been focusing on your prime business opportunities for a while.  Or at least what you think are your primary opportunities.  The trouble is business owners generally get locked focusing on what they see as their primary markets and seldom look at other opportunities.  Sometimes that means looking at ancillary markets that could possibly bring you new opportunities.

One way to broaden your perspective is by looking at sub-markets in your arena that are poorly served. Perhaps these avenues could represent a new market. Consider looking at your client’s clients.  Are there services or products that they might need that you could supply?

Is there something in your field that’s missing?  Maybe it’s something that others think could never be addressed.  Well, what if with some creative thinking there is a way to address it and help solve a problem that others haven’t thought of.

Look at your industry as a consumer.  What would you change?  How would you do business differently?

One of the most interesting approaches is to let new business opportunities find you.  You’ll never know all the opportunities that are out there, that’s just not possible.  But what if you get your story and information in front of prospects, potential clients, opportunities that you don’t even know are out there?

This is one of the most amazing benefits that traditional public relations can bring to your business. Whether you choose to hire a public relations firm, a PR consultant, or launch a media relations campaign on your own, by garnering media coverage in newspapers, radio and/or TV, your story and your business can be showcased to prospects, investors and possible business opportunities that are perfect for you.  Most of these you’d never know existed.

Via the press you’re presented as an expert, one of the tops in your field. The real plus to this is when a prospect calls it’s a completely different conversation than if you instigated the conversation through a cold call.  When they call you, it’s a completely different conversation.  As a business owner you couldn’t ask for much more.

So, start looking for new business opportunities, shift your prospective, look at your field and your business as a problem solver.  What problems are out there and how can you make money by solving them?

Perhaps most important, position your business so your opportunities can find you.  Even if you’ve never tried PR, try putting your toe in the water, give it a try.  When your phone starts ringing, you’ll know you’ve made a strong business decision.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

Filed under business, PR Campaign, traditional media Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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