According to the text, Mass Media in a Popular Culture, a study of The New York Times and Washington Post was conducted by researcher Leo Sigal in 1973.  He discovered that about two thirds of the published stories from those two papers originated from either news releases, handouts, and documents provided by news sources to reporters.  Thus, the initiative for the story was from the source, not the reporter. This is why Public Relations (or Media Relations) is so important for business owners and entrepreneurs that want the media to write stories about them.

One way to think of this type of exchange, or the tactics involved, is through the term “information subsidies,” coined by Oscar Gandy.  It isn’t hard to determine who is made to profit or benefit from this exchange of “news”; those that have something to gain from it, or those with the advantage of public relations skills, most notably companies and organizations known as PR firms.  A lot of the ideas fed to the media outlets are dumped, but still many are chosen.

These are two ways to improve your chances of getting media attention (the good kind):

(1) Timing is important!

Have your information arrive in the newsroom at “slack times”–the beginning of the editor’s day, and weekends. Weekends are especially important because there is less official news to cover.  Be considerate and use common sense when making phone calls and sending e-mails.

(2) Focus on topics of current interest.

Relate your product, service, event or whatever it may be to some current event or interest that affects the general public, and that will automatically increase your chances of attracting media attention.

-Amber Moller, Public Relations at Cal

I’ve included more info about the event below - I hope you can make it! Of course, even if you can’t make it, donations are greatly appreciated and are fully tax deductible.

Benefit Concert to Reintroduce Importance of Art
As schools across the nation cut their art and music programs, Bay Area non-profit organization, Induz, hopes to raise funds for new projects in the US and India with the KRIA World Fusion Music & Dance Benefit Concert. The concert, featuring a blend of world music and dance performed by local and internationally acclaimed artists, hopes to bring attention to the countless benefits of art and expose children to different cultures. The event will include an art auction.

Guest of Honor: Actor Faran Tahir (Ironman, Lost, Star Trek)

Performances will feature:

• Santoor Maestro (Internationally Acclaimed Grammy Nominee)
• Pt Tarun Bhattacharya (Master Percussionist & Composer)
• Jim Wendt & Eric Everett (Jazz Musicians)
• Shivani Thakkar & Troupe, Holly Shaw, Project Pulse and Katy Barnhill (Dancers)

KRIA will be held September 20 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Find out more at www.Induz.org , 510-875-5006 or info@Induz.org.

So you’ve started attracting media attention, but they want you to give them something they can take with them and refer to later. What do you do? At Three Girls, we create virtual press kits for our clients, hosted on our Ultimate Press Picks site. These kits are a one-stop-shop for the media, offering everything they need to know in a format they’re familiar with. But what if you can’t afford to hire a firm to create a press kit? Here are three tips I found at the National Federation of Independent Business online:

1. Write clearly…A compelling headline can draw your reader in, while a few short, concise paragraphs can let them know if they’re interested in learning more. If they are, direct them to your Web site where they can read more [This is one case where less is more – the goal is to be short and to the point, but informative as well].

2. Include company information…Every single component of your media kit should include a media contact, a phone number and e-mail address. Since small businesses don’t always have publicists, make sure to include the title of the media contact so members of the media know to whom they’ll be talking [Make sure you include your website as well].

3. Be helpful…Members of the press are busy people, too, so whatever you can do to fit your business in a story for them, the less work they’ll have to do tracking down more sources…Also, think about your business structure for ways to promote your business. If you recently doubled your revenue in the last year or added employees, ask the publication to consider you for an article on business growth or hiring new recruits. You may not get the plug you originally wanted, but you will get exposure [You can even include Story Ideas that offer a variety of suggestions for angles the media can take].

In addition to these three tips, I would recommend including basic information, such as how much your product(s) or service(s) cost. At Three Girls, we always include high-resolution images in the virtual press kit so the media has access to everything they’ll need whenever they’re working on their story – day or night.

1. Write one-to-one. Imagine you’re sitting at a table directly across from your best prospect, looking him in the eye and discussing how you’ll meet his individual needs. To increase your marketing response rates, address your prospects on a personal level, as if you were having a one-on-one conversation.

5. Provoke a reaction. Have you ever noticed that many marketing materials open with a question? Ads of all kinds, and direct-mail and sales letters in particular, use questions as headlines, opening sentences and throughout the body copy. Questions provoke answers, keeping prospects thinking and engaged with your message. Get the idea?

Read the full article at Entrepreneur.com.

• The median cost to women who start up a business is $2,000 (when Erika Taylor founded Three Girls Media, it was with a $3,000 personal loan which was paid back within the first year).
• $143,726 is the average net worth of a female entrepreneur.
• Women’s net business income grows at an annual rate or 7% - nearly twice as fast as men’s.
• The number of women-owned businesses has risen 42% in the past 10 years.

Here are a few more fun facts about Women in Business I found on the National Women’s Business Council website:

• In 2004, women accounted for more than 51 percent of the United States population and 47 percent of the American labor force.
• As of 2006, there are an estimated 10.4 million privately-held businesses in which a woman or women owns at least 50 percent of the company. Among them, 7.7 million are majority-owned.
• The largest share of privately-held majority women-owned firms is in the service sector, with more than two-thirds (69%) of women-owned firms in services.

Be sure to check out the National Women’s Business Council site for more stats on women in business!

• Read other things the person you’re pitching has written. Get a feel for their style and consider whether or not this is something they would cover.
• Make the pitch as easy to digest as possible. Whoever is receiving your pitch is undoubtedly extremely busy and will only have time to skim the note, so use formatting (such as bullet points or bold text) to make the information easy to pull out.
• Make sure whatever you’re pitching is timely, accurate and relevant.
• Be polite. This may sound like common sense, but a “please” and “thank you” go a long way.
• Focus on the relationship. Your interaction with the reporter is building a relationship with them, whether it’s by phone, email or in person. While they might not be interested in your company now, you don’t want to burn bridges trying to convince them they are. Instead, focus on building the relationship and helping them find something they are interested in. With a positive relationship built, you can approach them again in another few months with a different angle and see if they’re interested or not.

Step 1: Define and write down your objectives for your publicity or media plan. How will you design your public relations (PR) campaign? Will it be designed to:

• Establish your expertise among your peers, the press, or your potential clients or customers?
• Build goodwill among your customer, supplier, or your community?
• Create and reinforce your brand and professional corporate image?
• Inform and create good perceptions regarding your company and services?
• Assist you in introducing a new service or product to your market?
• Generate sales or leads?
• Mitigate the impact of negative publicity and/or corporate crisis?

In order for your publicity and media plan to be successful it’s first most important to determine and define your objective. With a clear objective in mind, you have laid the ground work to complete a plan.

Step 2: Define your goals in achieving this objective. It is important that your goals be specific, measurable, results-oriented and time-bound. These goals must be in line with your overall business, marketing, and sales objectives.

Step 3: Determine who your target audience consists of. Who is it that you want to reach with this campaign? What do you want your key message to be?

Step 4: Develop a schedule for your PR campaign. Coincide your plan with other marketing and sales efforts.

Step 5: Develop your plan of attack. What communication vehicles will you use to get your message to the public? Examples may include:

• Press releases
• Articles
• Customer Success Stories
• Letters to the Editor
• Press Conferences, Interview, or Media Tours
• Radio, Television, or Press Interviews
• Seminars or Speaking Engagements
• Event Sponsorships

Select three from the list and beginning researching and developing your approach.

Step 6: Put measures in place to track the results of your PR Campaign. After each campaign, sit down and review the results. Did you achieve the defined objectives and goals of this campaign? Should you consider modifying your original plan? If so, how and why?

With your company objectives, goals and target audience in mind, most consultants and firms (including Three Girls) would be able to help you develop a realistic schedule, plan of attack and measures for tracking results.

This week on PR 101 Radio, Erika spoke with professional food writer Amy Sherman, who shared some tips on dealing with reporters as well as their pet peeves and passions.  I found this segment particularly intriguing because you rarely get to hear from the other side—the journalists who are flooded by press releases, pitches, media kits, follow-up calls, and so much more on a daily basis.  I just wanted to share some important points Amy brought up during the show and add some basic etiquette tips to keep in mind when pitching the media.

1. Do Your Research – Before carelessly sending along an expensive sample package of your products or even a simple pitch letter, make sure you are sending it to the right person.  Find out what types of stories the reporter usually covers and decide whether or not your product or service is actually relevant to the reporter’s readers.  You don’t want to be pitching a food item to a journalist who covers fashion—you’ll only end up wasting your time and the journalist’s, and he or she is likely to ignore any of your future correspondences.

2. Respect the Journalist – Since you, and hundreds of other PR professionals and businesses, are constantly demanding journalists’ time, attention, and resources, the least we can do for them is to respect their requests.  Many journalists will list their preferred method of correspondence, whether it be by e-mail or phone, as well as whether or not they want you to follow-up (many reporters don’t want follow-ups, because they will contact YOU if they are interested in your story).  The reporters know best what work for themselves, even if you think differently.

3. Respect the Deadline – So you’ve pitched the reporter, and he or she is intrigued and wants to learn more about your product or service or wants a sample.  You should respond with all the information requested in a timely manner and send over the samples as quickly as possible.  Keep in mind that journalists are working with tight deadlines, and if you can’t be counted on to deliver when they ask, chances are they won’t want to depend on you for their current story, or any future ones for that matter.

4. Build the Relationship – A strong relationship with a reporter is beneficial for both parties: you just might have the perfect product for his or her next perfect story.  The possibility of working again with the same journalist is, well, very possible.  That’s why it is important to be cooperative and resourceful and to make a good impression the first time around so that reporters will want to collaborate with you again.  At Three Girls, whenever we get press coverage for one of our clients, we send the reporter a hand-written, personalized Thank You note.  It’s a small gesture, but it’s meaningful to many reporters who receive little appreciation, if any, for their hard work.

Pizz’a Chicago in Palo Alto, California does a fantastic job posting the newspaper coverage they have received, in addition to several awards they have won. Not only is all of this posted, but it is all over the walls so it’s very easy to see right when customers come in.

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport had coverage and awards posted, but not quite as prominently. I noticed a wall with about 50 awards and press clippings as I walked from my gate to baggage claim. While it was on a wall everyone walked by, it was hidden from the general public and anyone coming into the airport, so the only people that had the opportunity to see it were drained from a flight and thinking about claiming their bags, getting to the hotel, etc. This audience isn’t going to be interested in noticing what is on the wall.

I guess the best piece of advice I can give regarding posting your coverage is to keep your audience in mind. Is it displayed prominently in a location they will be sure to see? Will they want to see it when they walk by it? Will they be impressed by it? If you were the customer, when and where would be the best time to have the opportunity to see previous coverage and awards? Audience is key.