So, you’re ready to roll
up your sleeves and get your publicity machine
cranking. What avenues are out there to tell your
story? Here’s a list of possibilities, in
no particular order:
- On and offline news release distribution
- Writing articles for trade publication
- A blog
- Print or e-newsletters
- Writing articles for web site content
- Creating a press kit
- Writing white papers and reports
- Tip sheets
- Generating interviews for on and offline publications
- Online forums and discussion groups
- Speaking engagements
- Workshops / Seminars
- Your website
- Writing a book
Setting Up Your Plan
You’re not going to get too far without a
well thought out plan of action. Some of the best
sage advise I know is “Plan your work and
work your plan.” Without a written plan,
you’ll find yourself floundering faster than
molasses going up a hill in January.
A publicity or public relations plan is usually
a subset of a marketing plan. The marketing plan
is a subset of an overall business plan. But,
that’s a topic for another newsletter.
Here’s what’s typically included in
a p.r. plan:
Executive Summary
This is a one or two page summary of what you’re
planning to do, how you plan to do it, what result(s)
you’re striving to reach, how much it’s
going to cost and when key things will happen.
Current Situation
This section of your plan is an honest assessment
of where you’re at now and usually some information
about how you landed yourself in this situation.
Include any public relations and publicity efforts
you have in place, or have done in the past. and
how well they’re working (or worked).
Goals
This is where you’ll list what you’re
trying to accomplish. Goals should be realistic,
attainable and measurable. For instance, setting
a goal to get on the cover of Business Week’s
next edition isn’t likely to happen. Submitting
a news release to them just might.
Budget
List all anticipated costs for your publicity
activities. It’s a good idea to tack on an
additional 20%. Most things tend to take longer
and cost more than you think they will. It’s
also a good idea to create a spreadsheet where
you can track what you did, when, how much it
cost and what the return was for each effort.
The bean counters like to call this tracking ROI,
or Return On Investment. If you don’t do
something like this, you’ll have a hard time
really knowing what’s working for your hard
earned dough and what’s not.
Schedule
It’s a good idea to transpose your action
plans to a calendar. Ideally, this is a software
calendar that includes alerts. Set alerts to remind
you of what needs to be done with enough advance
warning so you’re not scrambling to meet
your deadlines.
The point here is to leave nothing to chance.
Putting a system in place will help to keep you
on track. If not, I can guarantee you’ll
get busy with this or that and put things off
… tasks which never seem to get done.
With your goals, action plans and calendar in
hand, you’ll be able to effectively implement
your plan.
Don't forget to forward
this newsletter to your business associates.
The
Odell Team
330 Schneider Street, S.E.
North Canton, OH 44720
330.499.3441 voice
330.499.0596 fax |
