With the holiday season here it is a good time to let your customers know you care.

Here some tips for the business owners among you to show your appreciation. After all these are the people that have helped you come to this stage!

Showing appreciation is also a good way to remind them of your services, especially if it has been a while since they used your company. If they are regular customers you may even increase your business intake as everybody likes to know somebody is thinking about them.

Remember: What you send out there comes back!

Top Tips:

·Handwritten card

Send a card and make it personal. It is rare to receive a card that is not computerized and sent to 100 others. Personal is memorable.

·Telephone

Call your regular clients to wish them a Happy Holiday. If you are at the beginning stages of setting up your company and you have the time, call all of your clients. It is also an option to contact those that have inquired into your services. Again personal is memorable. A telephone call from you – the owner – beats a mass email.

·Mini Gift

Send something that is cost effective to you and that is small enough for the regular mail. Examples are small chocolates, a keying, and company pen or sample product.

·Coupon

Create a ‘money off’ or ‘free’ coupon for one of your services or products. Send this to your regular clients with a thank you note for their business.

No matter what you send or do your customers will be touched by your gratitude for their business. This is your chance to form or build on a bond with your customers. People like to spend money on the familiar and a company they like. Happy customers are returning customers!

Kerry Bannigan is a Personal Life Coach in New York City. She specializes in adult children of divorce, relationship, career and weight loss coaching. Kerry Bannigan Life Coaching motivates you to step outside of society’s conditioned environments, encourages you to express your own core values and challenges you to step on the path to your desired destiny. http://www.kerrybannigan.com

Successful buisnesses know that media attention reaches consumers better than advertising can. A feature story on a start-up’s new product or service, for example, can send the business into a new stage of growth. Publicity can help bring your business greater visiblity and success. Publicity lets the public know you exist and creates crediblity and good will. That makes customers and prospects more receptive to your products and services.

Fortunately, you don’t need special expertise or training to create an effective publicity program. You need to define the message you want the publicity to convey and what you want the public to do as a result, for example, respect your business, give you money (if you are a non-profit), or respond better to your sales messages.

Publicity is a message that is purposefully planned, executed, and distributed, without payment, through selected media to further a businesses interests. Publicity tells the world who you are, what you do, and why it’s important. It’s news, which has greater credibility to most people than advertising. Best of all, it’s free.

Although, publicity can be distributed through any type of media, print media offers the best opportunities for most businesses. Newspapers and magazines have a lot more space to fill than TV or radio, so they’re more likely to cover you.

Here are five steps to creating successful campaign.

1. Know your buisness. Research and assemble information so you can answer the following questions, Why did you start your business? What are your businesses goals and objectives? What has your business accomplished? What is your business doing right now? What is the future for your business? Who are the board members, management, department heads, and key staff?

Much of this information should be put into your press releases, and the rest may be used when an editor or a reporter calls or e-mails you for more background.

2. Define your long-range publicity goals. Here are some examples of what your goals might be: To win recognition and awareness of a specific product, service, project, program, or policy. To establish, build, or improve your identity, reputation, and credibility. To enlist volunteers. To attract the public to a specific event. To give special recognition to board members, executives, or employees.

3. Write specific, measurable, and attainable objectives for each goal. Show what will be done, when, and by whom, as well as the desired end result. Measurable criteria for success can be defined by using phrases like "to increase…, to improve…, to develop."

4. Create a written plan. Get input from key people in your business to establish where you want to go and how to get there. Determine what assistance you need to carry out the plan, then establish a budget. You may want to form a publicity committee to help manage specific projects or serve as business representatives.

5. Develop a publicity schedule. Schedule and prioritize all known events or news items for the coming year. This allows you to consult editors in advance about assigning space or coverage for your important news stories.

If you have a business, you need to have a web site. Your web site makes it possible to reach wider target audiences more effectively and efficiently. The internet gives the public direct access to web sites, so anyone can get your information, not just the media. You can put a "Media Page" or "Press Room Page" on your website to provide content for the media.

All contents Copyright (c) 2004 Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. A former ad agency executive and marketing consultant, Joe’s work in personal development focuses on helping his clients identify hidden marketable assets that create windfall opportunities and profits, as well as sound personal happiness and peace.

Joe can be reached at: joe@jlmandassociates.com

Read more articles and newsletters at: http://www.jlmandassociates.com/

Most of the people I hear from hate networking. They go only because they know they "should," but it’s like pulling teeth for them.

If you’ve experienced the usual clammy grip of fear when it’s your time to introduce yourself, the following may help you feel more at home, make deeper, more lasting impressions, and attract voluntary referrals from many of the other attendees.

First, if you want to take some of the pressure off, it can help to consider your first half-dozen events to be nothing but practice.

It helps even more if you go specifically to listen and get to know who’s there, rather than to "sell" your own story. So take along your business cards, but dump your nice four-color 12-page brochures. There’s a better way to make powerful impressions.

Here’s an example that happened to me on Monday.

My wife does a lot of work for an NGO here in Japan that helps North Korean refugees, but I have little direct participation, other than running their English language website ( http://www.northkoreanrefugees.com ).

This past Sunday, we flew over to Seoul for the three-day North Korean Holocaust Exhibition to be held at the Parliamentary building.

The event started with the usual speeches and ribbon-cutting. Then the main organizers all split off, doing individual interviews with journalists. The regular attendees wandered around viewing the exhibits. And those who were there to gather information or disseminate it began mingling, meeting and introducing themselves. In other words, this turned into a networking event.

I wasn’t there to sell anything or to persuade anybody, so I wandered around looking for the people who appeared too intimidated or too shy to mingle. These are the folks who hang back by the wall, or who stand alone looking wistful.

I found two ladies who told me they were doing a paper on refugees, so I led them over to the two main activists (I had exchanged emails with the activists for a couple of years, but had only met them in person minutes earlier).

I walked up, tapped both of the leaders on the arm and said, "Excuse me, but you two need to talk with these ladies. They’re doing research on your topic. I think they may be able to help you tell your story." Then I backed away and let them have at it.

Later, I met a German journalist who had just arrived in Seoul as the new correspondent for his publisher. I found out what kind of information he was looking for, then led him over to a lady — one of the refugees who had managed to escape through China — and introduced him.

Now, bear in mind, I didn’t even know the lady, and neither he nor I spoke any Korean, but I took him over and we tried talking with her anyway. Sure enough, some people nearby stepped right up and offered to interpret. Again, I just backed away and let them work.

Later, these people came back to me, appreciative and wanting more information about our NGO and website.

When you concentrate on giving and on priming the pump, good stuff can flow. People WILL remember you if you go out of your way to spread THEIR name around. Boy will they remember you.

Charles Burke is the author of Command More Luck, the book that shows you why all those things keep happening to you. Learn why "luck" doesn’t work the way you’ve always been told. Not even close. The bad news — There’s no such thing as luck. The good news — There’s something even better. Learn how it works at http://www.moreluck.com

If a reporter approached you about an interview, would you know what to say do or even how to dress for one? Would you know how to answer questions?

Have you ever wondered what the secret of working effectively with the media is? Do you wonder how to increase or even have quality coverage?

Quite often, what you don’t know can hurt you.

Most people have no idea on how to prepare for questions. It is important when you run a business to know what to do in a crisis and how to handle yourself and your staff.
As well, preparing yourself for working with the media can bring you rewarding coverage, instant credibility and increase sales and profits.

Some of the items to consider are; how to dress during an interview, what to have ready, what never to do and how to answer leading and hostile questions.

When it comes to what they might ask, there are things to think about in advance:

* Determine what it is that you want to say and what points you want to get across.

* Having note cards in point form can help jog your memory. You do not want to be searching for answers and risk coming across as lacking the expertise they are looking for.

Have these basics answers ready:

* Why does it exist

* Why is it important

* What is the purpose of your work, organization

* Who benefits from this

* Why is it unusual, unique or different from what has been done already

* What made you enter this field

Remember, never slander or appear to slander others or their beliefs. It will only harm you in the end. You never know what the reporter’s likes, dislikes or beliefs are.

* Always take the high road.

Be careful if they ask you your opinion on something. Many people do not realize the difference between opinion, judgment and criticism. If you end up in the latter two, you can greatly harm yourself and your reputation.

Also, think of the interviews from your audiences’ point of view, not necessarily the reporter. People care about the benefits to them more than the features.

Know:

* How will this affect them

* Will it improve their life

* Save them money

* Help them or their family get ahead

* Help the environment

Have any supporting material with you, especially for newspaper. You may want facts, quotes, statistics, definitions, contrast, comparisons, and your personal experience.

When you can personalize it and move facts to people, it becomes more interesting and personal.

Learning basics protocol on how to compose your self and how to answer questions will go a long way in building your credibility and showing yourself as a valuable source.

When you are seen as a valuable source, they will come back for more information, which leads to more coverage and more credibility.

All the Best!
Maria Boomhower
The Master Communicator
http://www.falconfreedom.com

Master Communicator Blog
Ezine sign-up Click Here

P.S. If you like what you’re reading in this ezine, you’ll love the book, “Media Protocol” It’s a manual that helps you Increasing quality coverage and build credibility with the media.
Media Protocol

Sure, you’re a business, non-profit, association or government agency manager specializing in activities like sales, human resources, distribution, finance, program management or any of many other operating functions.

So you know what you’re doing.

But what about the money you’re hopefully spending on public relations, which happens NOT to be your managerial specialty!?

Are you doing the action planning you need to alter individual perception leading to changed behaviors among your most important outside audiences? Are you trying to persuade those key folks to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that lets your department, group, division or subsidiary succeed?

Or are you narrowly focused on tactics instead of that core PR strategy? Tactics like brochures, broadcast plugs and press releases which are simple devices public relations calls upon from time to time to move a message from here to there.

When you adopt the core PR strategy discussed in this article, you are then free to move beyond tactics and pay closer attention to the perceptions and behaviors of your most important external audiences, the very people who could hold your professional success as a manager in their hands.

Which means that you have little choice about doing something positive about the behaviors of those key external groups of people whose behaviors most affect your operation.

Energizing such an effort is the reality that people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is usually accomplished.

Happily, results can come quickly when business, non-profit or association managers use public relations to alter individual perception among their target publics, leading to changed behaviors which helps achieve their managerial objectives.

But please keep in mind that your PR effort really must demand more than special events, brochures and press releases if you are to achieve the quality public relations results you’re counting on.

Fortunately, those results can happen right away. For example, capital givers or specifying sources begin to look your way; fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures appear; politicians and legislators begin to view you as a key member of the business, non-profit, association or government communities; customers start to make repeat purchases; membership applications rise as do welcome bounces in show room visits, and even prospects starting to do business with you or community leaders beginning to seek you out.

Another bonus is that your PR people are already in the perception and behavior business, and can be of real use for your new opinion monitoring project. But be certain that the PR staff really accepts why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. And the reason why: perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

Sit down with your PR staff and go over your plans for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Questions along these lines: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Do a comparison using your PR people in the monitoring job versus the cost of using professional survey firms to do the opinion gathering work. You may find that using your public relations people is the better choice. But, whether it’s your people or a survey firm asking the questions, the objective is the same: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Here, you’ll need to establish a goal calling for action on the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. Will it be to straighten out that dangerous misconception? Correct that gross inaccuracy? Or, quickly stop that potentially painful rumor?

Of course you can’t move forward without a supporting strategy to show you HOW to reach that goal. Truth is, there are just three strategic options available to you when it comes to doing something about perception and opinion. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. The wrong strategy pick will taste like sun-dried tomatoes on your Lemon Meringue pie. So be sure your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You wouldn’t want to select “change” when the facts say “reinforce.”

It is here that you have the opportunity to write a persuasive message that will help move your key audience to your way of thinking. It must be a carefully-written message targeted directly at your key external audience. Your very best writer will be needed because s/he must produce really corrective language. Words that are not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if they are to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind.

If any step in the public relations problem solving sequence can be described as “fun,” it’s selecting the communications tactics most likely to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. There are many available. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be certain that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

It’s not generally recognized by many writers, but HOW you communicate must also concern you since the credibility of any message is very fragile. Which is why you may wish to unveil your corrective message before smaller meetings and presentations rather than using higher-profile news releases.

Sooner or later the subject of progress reports will surface, which means you and your PR team should view the notion as an alert to begin a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. You’ll want to use many of the same questions used in the benchmark session. But now, you will be on strict alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

The icing on the cupcake is the fact that you can always speed things up by adding more communications tactics as well as increasing their frequencies, should program momentum slow.

Yes, it seems fairly safe to say that you know what you’re doing as a manager of one of the traditional operating functions in a business, non-profit, association or government agency.

But the seminal public relations questions still await your attention. What are you doing to alter individual perception leading to changed behaviors among your most important outside audiences? And are you trying to persuade those key folks to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that let your department, group, division or subsidiary succeed?

Only in that way will you move beyond PR tactics like special events, brochures, broadcast plugs and press releases to truly achieve the best public relations has to offer.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net. Robert A. Kelly © 2005.

Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has published over 200 articles on the subject which are listed at EzineArticles.com, click Expert Author, click Robert A. Kelly. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.PRCommentary.com

Your public relations people are busy. The buzz is all about hits on a radio show or mentions in a newspaper column. Or, which to do first, the trade show exhibit or the video clip. All useful tactics, but hardly the detailed planning needed to REALLY do something about the behaviors of those outside audiences that impact you the most.

Without that planning, those changes in target audience behaviors you’ll almost certainly need to achieve your objectives is unlikely to come about. And that just shouldn’t happen.

Here’s a simple plan that can get everyone working towards the same external audience behaviors, and put the public relations effort back on track. People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired- action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.

Which makes this worth mentioning one more time: whether you are a business, non-profit or association manager, you need what that fundamental premise promises

- the kind of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your objectives.

I’m talking about behavior changes like community leaders beginning to seek you out; new members signing up: customers starting to make repeat purchases; organizations proposing strategic alliances and joint ventures; prospects starting to do business with you; politicians and legislators unexpectedlyviewing you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities; and even capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way.

It all starts when you sit down and actually list those outside audiences of yours who behave in ways that help or hinder you in achieving your objectives. Then prioritize them by impact severity. Now, let’s work on the target audience in first place on that list.

I’ll wager you don’t have access to data that tells you just how most members of that key outside audience perceive your organization.

Assuming you don’t have the budget to accommodate professional survey work, you and your colleagues must monitor those perceptions yourself. Interact with members of that outside audience by asking questions like "Have you ever had contact with anyone from our organization? Was it a satisfactory experience? Are you familiar with our services or products?" Stay alert to negative statements, especially evasive or hesitant replies. Watch carefully for false assumptions, untruths, misconceptions, inaccuracies and potentially damaging rumors. Any of which will need to be corrected, because experience shows they usually lead to negative behaviors.

So, because the obvious objective here is to correct those same untruths, inaccuracies, misconceptions and false assumptions, you now select the specific perception to be altered, and that becomes your public relations goal.

But a PR goal without a strategy to show you how to get there, is like a Mint Julep without the mint. That’s why you must select one of three strategies especially designed to create perception or opinion where there may be none, or change existing perception, or reinforce it. The challenge here (a small one) is to insure that the goal and its strategy match each other. You wouldn’t want to select "change existing perception" when current perception is just right suggesting a "reinforce" strategy.

Now you must morph into a writer, if you are not already endowed with that talent, and prepare a compelling message carefully designed to alter your key target audience’s perception, as called for by your public relations goal.

You may find that combining your corrective message with another newsworthy announcement of a new product, service or employee will lend credibility by not overempha- sizing the correction.

Your corrective message should contain several values, clarity for example. It must be clear about what perception needs clarification or correction, and why. And your facts must be truthful, of course. In addition, your position must be logically explained and believable if it is to hold the attention of members of that target audience, and actually move perception in your direction.

At last, the easy part - selecting the "beasts of burden" - the communications tactics you will harness to carry your persuasive new thoughts to the attention of that external audience.

The tactics list is a long one. It includes letters-to-the-editor, brochures, press releases and speeches. Or, you might select others such as radio and newspaper interviews, personal contacts, facility tours or customer briefings. There are dozens awaiting your pleasure.

Sooner rather than later, your colleagues will ask you if any progress is being made. By which time you will already be striving to answer that question by again monitoring perceptions among your target audience members. Using questions similar to those used during your earlier monitoring session, you will now look sharply for indications that audience perceptions are beginning to move in your direction.

Fortunately, you can always put the pedal to the metal by employing additional communications tactics, AND by increasing their frequencies.

But, as this article suggests, concentrating on tactics is important, but only at the right moment. What must come first is an aggressive public relations plan that (as, by now, you have no doubt surmised) targets the kind of key stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your objectives.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.

Robert A. Kelly © 2003.

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi- cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations.

Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com; bobkelly@TNI.net

Public relations entail media relations, creation of press releases, copywriting and making of brochures/catalogues, advertising, and sponsorship. Whether you have a home based business, a freelance service provider, or run a small firm/ business, you will need to ensure that the world knows you exist and what you have to offer. When you don’t have a large budget to hire professionals, you can, with a little thought and planning, do your own PR.

You will need to:

• Do some research and discover how you can promote your business/work.

• Create a vibrant presentation highlighting your business—use this presentation as often as possible.

• Maintain a network list. Be sure to add at least two new contacts each week. You can use this to send mailings and offers. The list should be up-to-date with all changes in address/ profiles updated regularly.

• Design an electronic newsletter to send people once every three to six months—this can detail your latest achievements and innovations. Such newsletters will keep your name in front of people in your field. Include positive feedback from your clients.

• Contribute articles/tips to magazines/business publications related to your field— regular writing will serve to create a memory in the minds of readers.

• Use all opportunities however bizarre they may seem. For instance, a speciality carpenter once left brochures in his dentist’s office reception area. He got many clients got by doing this simple exercise. Keep your eyes and ears open for new and innovative paths. You could put up a stall or banner or sponsor an event at a local church, bazaar, or city festival.

• Send out pitches like clockwork—make them interesting by using contests, advice columns, or quizzes.

• Always carry a business card, which clearly states what you do. A name and address alone do little to inform people what line of business you are in.

• Think about promoting your work by linking with a related business –offer to promote them in return for their doing the same for you.

Success means:

• Identifying the audience.

• Contacting the most appropriate media people—journalists, interviewers, show hosts, and so on. Preparing media interview questions and answers –they will ensure you come across as confident and as a pro.

• Creating a web site and publicizing it well. One can consider, exchange banners, links, as well as online advice columns and blogs. Be sure to ensure search engine optimisation.

• Writing an e-book for customers giving advice and tips that are useful and one of a kind. This can be used as a give-away.

• Writing effective phone and print publicity pitches that are ready-to-use.

• Offering to speak for free on the radio, at local events, as well as chamber of commerce events—choose topics of interest to people and relevant to your work.

• Making the press release interesting and relevant.

• Providing relevant details but cutting out the fluff.

• Highlighting the human-interest angle in all articles, interviews, columns, and profiles.

• Including contact names, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and fax numbers.

It’s important to get your marketing message across affordably and effectively —to do that you must establish an ongoing relationship with the media. This will help you generate ongoing awareness of your company and services. Most importantly, do a budget costing for the PR—to be worthwhile, the expenses incurred must be realized through increased business opportunities.

Above all, draw up a workable PR strategy and be sure to evaluate the success of the PR regularly—a critical evaluation will ensure that you can re-think unsuccessful plans and enhance successful ones.

Paul Wilson is the content manager for http://www.1888PressRelease.com, the premier website to Submit Free Press Release for any announcements including launching of new product or services, new website, announcing new hires, sponsoring a special event or seminar and more. He also manages content for http://www.1888Discuss.com.

Just think about it.

If I come to believe that you really didn’t dump those chemicals in the river, I’ll probably stop picketing your business.

Or, if I now believe you actually care about me as an employee, I may stay with the company.

And if I become convinced that you provide quality service at a fair price, I’ll probably do business with you.

All of which means that what I think about you - what perceptions of you I hold in my mind - can change my behavior in a way that you prefer, or hate.

So, since my behavior is affected by my perception of the facts, it suggests that those perceptions might even be created from scratch, or changed, or existing behavior reinforced through a well-planned public relations effort.

Fact is, they can be, and that should interest you. Imagine being able to affect the behaviors of members of your key target audience! What would THAT do to your bottom line?

Happily, it’s not that difficult to do.

Start this way. The foundation on which successful public relations outreach is built is, in reality, YOUR outreach. So become a willing participant in the public business life in your marketing area. That means activities such as sponsoring special events, making speeches before local business and fraternal audiences, and sitting for newspaper and radio interviews. That builds the good will you may need in troubled times.

A good starting point is staying in touch with those folks whose actions either help or hurt your operations. When you interact with them, ask them what they believe about your products, your organization and you. Remain alert for looming problems. You can call this the information gathering phase.

Now it’s time to list your key audiences. At the beginning, concentrate on those actions that REALLY concern you and start your interactions with members of that audience. They can include stakeholders like customers, employees, prospects, media, community residents, local government agencies and many others.

When you discover a troubling perception, do something about it as soon as you can. Working with your public relations advisor, establish your public relations goal. Examples: neutralize that negative rumor that you hire illegals; prove that your process does not pollute a nearby lake; or restore the faith of that group of former customers.

If you fail to attend to them, any one can hurt your business.

So, with your goal set, you must now decide what your strategy will be in dealing with the perception problem.

We know there are just three choices available to you in dealing with such opinion problems. Create new opinion, change existing opinion, or reinforce it.

Work closely with your public relations advisor in deciding which it is. Then, proceed by preparing persuasive messages carefully and creditably designed to counter the misconception you have uncovered. Run the messages by outsiders so you can gauge just how persuasive they really are.

Here, it’s time to select the communications tactics needed to carry your persuasive message to the attention of that very important target audience. Fortunately, there are dozens of communications tactics available to you such as print and broadcast media interviews, awards ceremonies, emails, promotions, press releases, newsletters, personal meetings, speeches and open houses.

But your work is still not done. You need to continue monitoring members of your target audience to measure not only how aware they are of your message, but how well they received it.

Depending on the responses you receive, it may be necessary to adjust both your message content and your mix of communications tactics.

Until something better comes along, we have little choice but to continually track perceptions among key audiences by interacting with them and by monitoring other sources such as media reports, speeches by local influentials and emails from other interested parties. Then, create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action those people whose behaviors effect the organization.

Using this approach, you will find it easier to accept and act upon the notion that what people believe really can bring you success.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.

Robert A. Kelly © 2003

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi- cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations.

Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com; bobkelly@TNI.net

Is it easy to get a picture published in the media? This is a question I am often asked by companies with a news item they wish to send out as a press release. The quick answer is no it isn’t. However, that isn’t to say it is impossible.

We have pictures published in the national and regional media as well as the trade press on a regular basis and your chances dramatically increase if you follow a simple set of instructions. As a general rule of thumb, the nationals are the hardest in which to have a photo published while the regional dailies, weeklies and trade press offer a far easier target.

The first and foremost thing to consider is whether your ‘news’ is in fact newsworthy. The fact that you have a new director or a new product is probably very important to you, but will it be of interest to the readers of all the publications you send it to?

Look very carefully at the audience you think will be interested and the publications they are likely to read. Having established this, take a look at those publications and analyse the style of articles and pictures they use. The closer you can match their style, the increased likelihood of your article being used. Is is often worthwhile using the services of a professional copywriter to do this for you.

When analysing the style and type of pictures used, especially in trade publications, be aware they are only too often sent a boring head and shoulders shot and a bog standard product picture. Because that is all they are sent, that is what they end up having to use. If you can offer them a picture that breaks this mould and still meets their house style, they will probably be only too happy to receive it from you.

Now you know what type of picture you need, choose a photographer to shoot it for you. Just because you have always used a particular photographer to shoot your product shots for you, that does not mean he is necessarily the right photographer to take this picture for you. If he has a proven track record in having pictures published in the media, that’s great. But if he hasn’t, maybe it is time to look for someone who does media work on a regular basis. If he doesn’t know what an IPTC field is then you should be looking elsewhere.

On the subject of IPTC fields, they are simply hidden fields embedded in an image which hold amongst other things, caption and image title information. Recent research, (source: Pixmedia Picturedesk report, Q1, 2005 - http://www.pixmedia.co.uk) has shown that 75% of images submitted to the media fail to have completed IPTC fields and are regularly rejected because they lack them.

These fields are easily completed using PhotoShop. The File/File information menu will take you to the required fields. If you do not have a copy of PhotoShop, simply ask your photographer to fill the fields for you.

The format of the photo is equally as important as the content of the photo itself. Send it in the incorrect format and it will rejected out of hand, or bounced by the server. (This probably doesn’t need saying, but do not send prints or transparencies by snail mail.)

The ‘print size’ or dimensions of your photo should be large enough to allow the publication to use it at a decent size, but not so large it causes the file to crash the journalist’s mailbox. (This guarantees your article will not be used!) I recommend the longest side of the image should be 8 inches at 300dpi or 2400 pixels.

Save your image in RGB JPEG format. This is a whole other topic which I will try to cover succinctly. The JPEG format is a lossy format. This means it discards image information to decrease the file size using a complicated algorithm. You do not want to throw away so much information, the image quality is degraded to such a degree it cannot be used. But if you leave it on the highest setting the file will probably be too large for the email address of the publication to accept. So you need to find a compromise. I recommend a high quality/low compression setting of 10 or 11.

As you can see there is more to preparing an image to send to the media than you might have originally thought. If you are briefing a photographer, say you want your ‘final high res images to be 8" longest side x pro at 300dpi, RGB JPEGS saved at JPEG 11 compression with completed IPTC fields’.

You should always telephone the publications in which you want your article to appear before you email the release and photo. Give them the bare bones of your story and ask if they want more information. Tell them you have a photo/photos available. Ask what email address you should send it to. The address for the photos will usually be different for national newspapers, so it is especially important those IPTC fields are filled in! Without them your photo and copy will never meet again.

Given that your photo meets all the right technical criteria, all you have to worry about now is how important your story is compared to the others competing for the space on the day, in the view of the editorial staff. If your ‘news’ is not rated highly enough then no matter how good your photo is, it has little chance of being used.

Supposing your news angle is good enough and they want to use your copy, they will then look at the picture. It needs to run a separate gauntlet against all the other photos the publication has available for that page. They are extremely unlikely to run a photo for every story so you really want your photo to beat the competition in the creative photography stakes.

This is where all the aspects of the photo have to come together. The publication will probably be looking for a main photo for the page and then one or more smaller supplementary ones for other stories. The lead story nearly always goes ‘above the fold’ or at the top of the page and that’s where you want to be. It is entirely possible your story may qualify as the lead, but if the photo is lacking, your story will be knocked back to a lower, less desirable position or not make the page at all.

In conclusion, if your ‘news’ is good enough to be published you should always send an imaginative photo with the article which meets all the technical specifications.

Good luck!

Written by Simon Apps, ex-staff press photographer and founder of Professional Images, http://www.professional-images.com. Professional Images provide PR and editorial photography and a full photographic service to the business sector.

This article may be used freely provided a live URL link is provided to http://www.professional-images.com. Used without the link, you will be breaching copyright.

Simon Apps is an ex-staff press photographer and founder of Professional Images, http://www.professional-images.com

Professional Images provide PR and editorial photography and a full photographic service to the business sector.

I believe this about public relations.

People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. So, when we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action those people whose behaviors affect the organization, the public relations mission is accomplished.

That fundamental premise grew out of many years in the public relations business. A time when I became increasingly appalled at what many general management people believe about public relations, if anything, and how the discipline does or does not fit into their organization’s strategic plan.

The result is, I’ve become a "preacher," but not to public relations practitioners. Rather, I direct my commentary to those general management people who, daily, pursue their goals and objectives largely without the insights, behavioral strategies and sheer power public relations can bring to the table.

Here’s what I believe they’re missing, i.e., the essentials that flow from the fundamental premise at the top of this article.

Any organization - non-profit, association, business, public entity, including your own -MUST take into account the perceptions held by those external audiences whose behaviors affect your organization, or the behaviors flowing from those perceptions can hurt.

What my commentaries often say to these managers is this: Is it just a matter of "hits?" You know, articles or interviews sold to editors? Is that all there is to public relations?

Or, could there be more to it?

Of course there’s more to it!

Why do you want the "hits" in the first place? What are you trying to accomplish?

I believe you want the same thing every other buyer of public relations services wants: to change somebody’s behavior in a way that really helps your organization reach its objectives.

So, wouldn’t it make more sense to start at the beginning and save tactics like "publicity hits" for that moment when you need those "beasts of burden" to do their thing? Namely, to efficiently carry persuasive messages to a key target audience of yours?

Sure it would.

So let’s start by taking a close look at those external target publics. They’re so important because how they think and behave can actually determine the success or failure of your business.

Don’t believe it? Look at those audiences whose behaviors directly affect the organization’s operations, in particular those completely unaware that the organization even exists. Are they likely to buy its products or services?

No.

Look at an external audience where members harbor a serious misconception about the organization. Does this reduce their desire to do business with you?

Yes.

Look at an external audience some of whose members believe a grossly negative and inaccurate set of facts about the organization. Will those people be first in line to buy its products or services?

No.

Obviously, what your key target audience believes about your organization matters, and matters a lot!

Why not begin by heading-off such a situation by listing those outside groups - those target audiences - in order of how much their behaviors affect your organization?

We’ll use #1 on your list as our trial "public."

Start by interacting with that group of people. Of course, if the budget will stand it, you could use a survey firm to gather their feelings, thoughts and perceptions.

Minus such a budget, do it yourself, and with colleagues, by carefully monitoring how these people feel about your organization. When you interact this way, you get to ask a lot of questions and gather a lot of information you really need.

What are you hearing? Misconceptions that need straightening out? Rumors that should not be allowed to fester? Inaccurate beliefs about your products and services that could drive people away from you? Notice other perceptions about you and your organization that need to be altered?

The answers to such questions prepare you to create your public relations goal. In brief, alter, and thus correct, each misconception, or inaccuracy, or rumor. Worthy goals all!

You’ve made some real progress by monitoring perceptions within your key target audience. You’ve established your public relations goal, and selected the right strategy to achieve it.

Sad to say, there’s a little more work to do in the form of "The Message." Hopefully, this will alter people’s inaccurate perceptions about you and the organization.

But it must be carefully written so that it is persuasive and perceived as creditable and believable. And it must speak the truth clearly and with authority.

Now, here is where your "beasts of burden" come in. They are the communications tactics that will carry your newly-minted message from your computer direct to the attention of those key target audience members whose behavior you hope to alter in your direction.

Happily, there are scores of communications tactics awaiting your pleasure. You might use a speech to communicate your message, or letters-to-the-editor, press releases, emails, brochures or face- to-face meetings, and many other tactics.

Sooner or later, you’ll wonder if you’re making any progress towards your behavioral goal. Of course, you’ll monitor local print and broadcast media, but REmonitoring those key audience members by interacting with them all over again is the real ticket.

This time around, you’ll be looking for perception and attitude changes hopefully produced by the combination of your persuasive messages and carefully targeted communications tactics. And you’ll be asking lots of questions all over again.

If you note considerable movement in opinion in your direction, you may consider your public relations goal as having been achieved.

Should little movement be noted, adjustments to the frequency and quantity of you communications tactics should be made. Your message also should be reviewed for its content and direction, and tested again for effect with a panel of target group members.

Either way, your public relations program is on track and preparing to deliver the key target audience behaviors your business needs to succeed.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.

Robert A. Kelly © 2003.

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi- cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations.

Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com; bobkelly@TNI.net