{"id":53771,"date":"2018-01-19t05:00:02","date_gmt":"2018-01-19t10:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=53771"},"modified":"2018-01-24t12:31:00","modified_gmt":"2018-01-24t17:31:00","slug":"are-you-newsworthy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2018\/01\/19\/are-you-newsworthy\/","title":{"rendered":"are you newsworthy?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>concrete tips on attracting the media’s attention.<\/strong><\/p>\n by sandi leyva<\/i> as a marketing channel, public relations is one of my personal favorites. it includes getting mentioned in news or trade media and publications, having an article\u00a0you wrote published or reprinted, applying for and winning awards, or otherwise being in the public eye for one reason or another.<\/p>\n more small firm growth strategies:<\/b> make newsletters work for you<\/a> | technical aspects of video and youtube<\/a> | social media basics for accounting firms<\/a> | how to maximize online profile sites<\/a> when i started a photography studio several years ago, i sent sample photos of my work along with a letter explaining my business to several news outlets. it was july, and in august, the sunday magazine supplement to the dallas morning news picked up the story and published my samples. they were portraits of cats and dogs, and my phone rang for days. within a week, i was booked through christmas, and my business broke even a year ahead of time because of that one piece of publicity. today, it\u2019s a little tougher to cut through all the noise of the internet, social media and news outlets. but publicity is still a fabulous way to build trust\u00a0and develop your reputation\u00a0as an expert. it can really make a difference in your accounting practice because so few accountants know anything about this channel. the trick is \u2013 as with all marketing \u2013 to go where your clients and prospects already are hanging out.<\/p>\n are you newsworthy?<\/strong><\/p>\n start by checking out your local newspaper to see what sections they have to offer. some have:<\/p>\n it\u2019s easy to take advantage of these routine items once you get organized. at the bottom of these sections, there is usually a blurb that tells you where to send your news and by what deadline. just add this to your internal procedures so that it becomes a part of your routine.<\/p>\n for example, on your new hire procedures or employee onboarding, add a checklist item to write a news\u00a0release mentioning your team\u2019s expansion. or within your event setup procedures, include sending an email with your event information to the news outlets you have collected information on.<\/p>\n you can use social media\u00a0as a sort of news outlet as well. while it\u2019s a form of social pr, it still works. for example, when we hold complimentary promotional webinars, we create an event on facebook\u00a0and invite all my facebook friends. we don\u2019t do it very often, and if people get bugged, they can unfriend me if they want to. you can also selectively invite your friends, or choose not to invite anyone if you are uncomfortable with this. because we also give free cpe, i think more people are tolerant than not.<\/p>\n you can also write a news\u00a0release or send the media a message for the following occasions that occur in your business:<\/p>\n news releases are a little old-fashioned, but some news outlets still take them, so here\u2019s a sample. put this on letterhead. use the format below, double-space and keep it to one or two pages maximum. end with a small paragraph about your business.<\/p>\n for immediate release<\/p>\n contact: jane jones, 999-999-9999 (your cell phone \u2013 you need to be available to respond to reporters\u2019 tight deadlines), youremail@yourdomain.com<\/p>\n title that grabs attention, such as<\/strong><\/p>\n business owners spend less time on accounting with new system<\/strong><\/p>\n abc accounting helps homeless<\/strong><\/p>\n abc accounting announces new staff<\/strong><\/p>\n a new accounting system called xero is getting the attention of small business owners. it\u2019s an alternative to quickbooks for very small businesses, service businesses and businesses that only need accounting to comply with tax return recordkeeping. the good news is it can cut your accounting time and costs significantly.<\/p>\n xero\u2019s secret is its bank feeds. it eliminates costly data entry (which is boring even to accountants!). xero is part of a growing type of accounting system called cloud accounting, where access is available online anytime, and is great for collaboration. it\u2019s highly secure and uses the same encryption required by health care professionals to keep your data safe.<\/p>\n abc accounting staff jane jones is certified as a xero advisor, which enables her to provide technical expertise as well as discounts to small business owners on the software. anyone interested in xero can register to receive a complimentary report, \u201c10 money-saving secrets about the new xero accounting system.\u201d sign up at www.abcaccounting.com\/xero<\/p>\n abc accounting helps small business owners streamline their accounting tasks so they can get back to business faster. we offer bookkeeping, payroll, quickbooks and xero consulting, and tax return preparation to small service-based businesses in the plano, texas area. our website\u00a0is www.abcaccounting.com.<\/p>\n [editor\u2019s note: we have three clients ready to interview who have just installed xero.]<\/p>\n distributing your news release<\/strong><\/p>\n first, post the news\u00a0release\u00a0on your website and\/or blog. it\u2019s really simple to add a web page, and what we do is have a page called press. we list not only news releases, but we also list news clippings, which is where you get your name in the paper or an article\u00a0published, or something similar. see some samples:<\/p>\n then you\u2019ll also want to send it to as many news outlets as you have time to send it to. a good way to get organized is to make a list and add to it when you have a chance. when you send your news\u00a0release, send it via email and paste it in the email or attach it as a pdf. never attach it as a word file because most reporters will not open them because of the risk of viruses.<\/p>\n you can also get it widely distributed through an actual newswire, however there is a cost. websites like the following provide this service:<\/p>\n each release will cost from $80 to $200 or more depending on your distribution options.<\/p>\n developing your own media list<\/strong><\/p>\n in the long term, it makes the most sense to develop your own media\u00a0list of reporters who write on your topic or business in general. you can begin to develop relationships with those reporters so that you can become a constant source of expert information for them. and initially, you can get the research done by a student majoring in pr.<\/p>\n to get started making your own media\u00a0list, you\u2019ll want to figure out what papers, blogs, radio stations, magazines and other news outlets your prospects are reading. then look at what reporters are covering stories that cover your expertise. add those reporters to your list. track name, email, topic and news outlet to build your list.<\/p>\n getting the call<\/strong><\/p>\n interviewing effectively with the media\u00a0requires a special type of skill. if you need to develop this skill, consider hiring a media consultant who can help you become media-savvy. here are some quick tips:<\/p>\n keeping your business name in the media\u00a0will help people remember you when they need your services. another way you can do it is by writing and submitting articles.<\/p>\n sometimes when you send a full article\u00a0or a tips sheet, a reporter will get an idea that it will make a good spot on the news. especially if you tie it to current news, you will likely get attention.<\/p>\n offer articles that give advice, such as five tips to organize your bookkeeping or three tips to save on taxes.<\/p>\n we have agreements with a few editors within the accounting industry. and although intuit pays us to write articles for them, occasionally, we send them an article\u00a0to publish for free. we also have informal arrangements with:<\/p>\n i suggest you write three to six articles on spec (which means on your own time and dime), and then offer them to these publications. at the least, you\u2019ll have copy for your own newsletter\u00a0and blog.<\/p>\n reporters are always looking for an expert\u2019s view. when a plane crashes, they call the pilots they know. when there is a political scandal, they call in the political commentators. and when there is news around accounting, business and taxes, there\u2019s no reason why they shouldn\u2019t call you. all you need to do is get in their rolodex.<\/p>\n at first, you may have to get a little creative to get their attention. i\u2019ve heard of book authors who sent reporters their book along with some doodad gift that helped them stand out from the crowd. i wouldn\u2019t recommend a singing telegram, but i would recommend something unusual that is tied to what you do.<\/p>\n for example, accountants could send a bottle of red ink with a note of 10 tips to avoid losses in this recession. they would look at this as a story idea. then be available for an interview, have some catchy sound bites ready and turn around their questions fast.<\/p>\n better yet, work the leads that come in from reporters who need story help now. subscribe to haro, help a reporter out. although there are packages available, you can also subscribe for free to try it out: http:\/\/www.helpareporter.com\/<\/p>\n consider advertising in the yearbook of experts, authorities, and spokespersons (www.expertclick.com), used by thousands of media personnel looking for people to interview.<\/p>\n consider also becoming a radio show guest, a teleseminar guest and a guest columnist for a blog or newsletter. all of these add to your news\u00a0mentions and boost your credibility.<\/p>\n it\u2019s very important that you tie your ideas in with a current news story. you can have fun with it. if a celebrity screwed up on their estate planning or avoided filing taxes, you can make a comment about it. if a large company goes bankrupt, you can give your ideas and tie it to avoiding financial problems.<\/p>\n current events that are hot right now and will be through tax season:<\/p>\n even though it\u2019s not hot, it\u2019s controversial:<\/p>\n try these ideas as well as your own local stories and ideas to get the attention of the media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\na little more recently, i served on the board of directors of a nonprofit and became their pr chair. that\u2019s how i learned to do news\u00a0releases. i submitted event notices to local papers and was always able to get my event listed so that our attendance was strong.<\/p>\n\n
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becoming known as an expert<\/h3>\n
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