Melissa Cassera
Publicity Specialist - TV Spokesperson Marlton, NJ
http://www.casseracommunications.com
Melissa's Blog
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It's inevitable. You send a pitch to the media and then....nothing. Now you start to worry. Will they respond to my email? Will they call? Days or weeks go by and you follow up again. Nothing. Your brain overloads with thoughts:
- Maybe it went in their junk mail?
- Maybe they never got my message?
- Maybe they are too busy and will get back to me another day?
- Maybe they hated it.
- Maybe they hate me.
- I suck.
- PR sucks.
- I give up.
Does this situation sound familiar?
I remember when I was a needy, angst-y youth - I would wait by the phone for the boy I liked to call. Then I would ponder every possible excuse why he didn't (maybe he lost his beeper, or got stuck at football practice, or fell in a ditch?) Reality was...he just wasn't in to me. All those hopeless days and sleepless nights waiting by the phone when the answer was right in front of me. When the book, and following movie, appropriately titled "He's Just Not That Into You" came out, I was well past my year [...]
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DISCLAIMER: This headline is only intended to grab your attention. I really don't think local networking sucks.
But I used to.
A bit of backstory. When I first started my Publicity firm I did all the things that I thought new business owners were "supposed" to do. I joined the Chamber (we have three in my local area of Southern New Jersey and even more in Philadelphia), joined the local women in business association, joined BNI, and meddled in some other strangely-named lead generation programs.
What I found was that many of the people that joined were either 1. not the decision maker, or 2. more interested in selling to me than hearing what I offered. In fact, the only good thing that came out of any of them was that one woman mentioned that I should check out Savor the Success - and that's how I learned about this super-fabulous community.
So, my father-in-law recently started in-person sales training and consulting in my local county and, to lend some daughter-in-law mo [...]
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I always end every PR coaching session by giving my clients homework. With some assignments I get the groan of overwhelm. But this assignment usually results in every one of them thinking I’m the greatest teacher on earth.
The assignment? Take a few hours and head to Barnes and Noble or other local bookstore that has a large variety of magazines. Bring your laptop (or a pen and paper) and literally read magazines for as long as you can possibly spare the time to do so.
Sounds fun – right? Curling up with a bunch of magazines that normally we only do as a “downtime” activity.
But the real purpose of this exercise is to get familiar with each and every magazine on the market that’s appropriate for your product, service (or you as the expert). As I’ve been hammering home in the Savor PR videos and various blog posts, knowing the publication you are pitching inside and out will increase your chances of landing a placement.
So schedule some time in your calendar for a bookstore [...]
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Today I vlog about how to package your products to make them more appealing for the media!
Pitch Holiday Gift Guides Part II! - Packaging from Melissa Cassera on Vimeo.
Don't miss out on my FREE teleconference next Monday, July 7th at 8pmEST where I'll share the inside scoop straight from the editors on what they want to cover this holiday season. As a special bonus, our favorite selling expert Julie Steelman will be hosting to put her savvy sales spin on my pr advice!
Sign up at http://www.easyprsecrets.com/holiday-teleconference
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Today I vlog about what to do when the media requests samples - which can turn out to be quite costly!
Pitch Holiday Gift Guides Part II - Samples from Melissa Cassera on Vimeo.
If you're interested in learning more about my Pitch a Gift Holiday Gift Guide program, email me at casseracommunications@gmail.com for early details! This package includes not only pitching for holiday gift guides BUT a full 2011 PR plan crafted by yours truly with a list of media that showed interest in your brand. All that for less than what I charge for a one-month retainer.
On a secondary note - I believe my next order of business is to hire Jenn Flaa to teach me some camera tricks. :) This was the fourth take filming this vlog!
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aka: Why Melissa is not crazy for talking about December holidays in May
Holiday Gift Guides are one of those amazing opportunities every year to get editorial coverage for your product that really has the power to boost sales. Not only is an editor, producer, writer, anchor, blogger or other influential member of the media touting your product as "the" gift this season, you're also getting your product in front of thousands of consumers in the crucial 4th quarter holiday sales season.
Easy peasy, right? Well, not so much.
Remember that while you're happily pitching away, there are also 3x the amount of other competing business owners doing the same thing. And because the media is ever-evolving, we don't always have the advantage of being "in the know" - even if we do our homework and study everything about a particular outlet. Here's why:
• The normal member of the media that handles your "beat" (beauty, food, fashion, etc) is not necessarily your contact for the gift guide. [...]
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If you're soliciting the media for coverage, you must have one critical element - NEWS!
A "hook" is the newsworthy tie that should be included in your press correspondence (press releases and pitches). Your "hook" has the power to either get fabulous coverage or get your pitch thrown in the virtual (or real-life!) trash bin.
So how do you develop an exciting news hook?
It's actually not that difficult. There are many sources of "hook" inspiration that are just a click of the mouse away. Here are some of my favorite ways to find "hooks" for client pitches:
Holidays
When in doubt, find a holiday to tie-in your product/service or expert status. Poke around Chase's Calendar of Events to find hundreds of holiday tie-ins.
Example:
May is National Barbecue Month. A nutritionist might pitch a story about "Give Your BBQ a Makeover - 5 Heart-Healthy On-the-Grill Options." A food company might offer a pitch on "Spice up your BBQ - One Food you Never Thought to Put on the Grill. [...]
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I don't know about you, but I'm getting more and more excited about Rock the World every single day - and Angela's daily announcements of the press who have accepted her invitation to attend make the event all the more enticing!
Bumping into a member of the media while circulating Rock the World may send shock waves through your system. You might immediately want to tell them how amazing your product/service is, and why they should cover it. If you remember three words from this article - it's these:
Resist the Urge
Instead, follow these tips to make the most of your time with the media attendees:
Focus on the Relationship
The ultimate goal in any PR campaign should be building relationships with members of the media. When the media begins to view you as a valuable source, you'll have a much easier time getting their ear when pitching ideas and a great chance of securing coverage.What Do They Need
We all know what we need - more media coverage! But what do THEY need? Begin yo [...]
