Rembrandt’s Blog

When you prepare to contact a reporter, it is essential to conduct some research first. Media members receive hundreds of calls and e-mails each week, and you want to make a good, first-impression without being annoying.

To stand out and get your story heard, here is a simple reminder of ten questions you should never ask a reporter:

1. My client just created a new product, will you write about it next week?
2. What are your columns about?
3. How do you spell your name?
4. Will you write a feature story about our small businesses?
5. We are having a press event tonight, can you come?
6. Did you get my fax?
7. Are you going to write about the press release I just faxed to you?
8. Our CEO is available to speak to you now. Do you have 30 minutes to hear his story?
9. Can I proof your story before it goes to print for errors?
10. The local paper and CNN just did a major story about my client. Would you like to do the same story too?

These are just a few of the many annoying, time-wasting questions reporters receive every day. What others do you have to add to this list?

Instead of asking dumb questions, please do your homework first. Research the appropriate media venues and review archived and current articles, television programs, radio shows, etc. Discover appropriate beats, deadlines and as much information as possible before you pick up the phone.

You’ll save time and increase your chances of getting some good publicity. But most importantly, you’ll start to build a reputation as a valuable resource for future stories.

Do you need help increasing site traffic, getting media mentions and increasing sales fast? Please contact me here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Chocolate. Jewelry. Cards. Ethical Roses.

Ahhhh. All nice things for Valentine’s Day… Wait, ethical roses? What the heck is an ethical rose?

Well, that’s exactly what I thought when I was driving home from a meeting and listening to a very interesting radio spot.

According to the announcer, we need to buy “ethical roses.” No, a dozen roses from just any florist or store are not good enough. In fact, you may want to just throw them out if you get them and consider it an insult.

Yeah. Right.

I don’t know about you, but isn’t it difficult enough just to remember these holidays when you’re trying to run your business – let alone, get your significant other to remember them?

Now, we are not supposed to “settle” for regular roses. No. After all, who knows how they were treated?

Snapped off the vine as a mere bud.

Ripped away from family and home never to see another raindrop again.

Stripped of their thorns and left to stand in a depressing bottle of water waiting for delivery.

Oh, the horror!

Good grief. But you know what? I’ve got to give the agency that came up with this idea a hand. The advertisement caught my attention, provided a unique niche to stand out against all of the other Valentine’s Day commercials, and here I am talking about it.

It just goes to show the importance of words. People like me, the media and your customers, really do pay attention to what you’re saying.

With this in mind, how much old information is on your Website right now?

How many grammatical errors are going out in customer e-mails, newsletters, blogs, and other correspondence?

Are your team members using the appropriate language to build buzz about your products and services?

If you don’t have time to check the words being using in your organization, find someone who can review them for you. This is the only way to keep track, and fix, the messaging that is being distributed.

After all, if your competitor is taking the time to create and share memorable phrases like “ethical roses,” they may be stealing your customers, and valuable publicity, from you right now.

Do you need help writing SEO copy for your e-mail auto responders, newsletters, blogs, articles, and more? Please write to me here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’d love to hear from you. In the meantime, have a Happy Valentine’s Day! (and please forgive my ignorance about “ethical roses”)

Last week, I was on a much-awaited, exclusive teleconference with a well-known and very successful business and marketing consultant. As the call began, the tips and ideas started flowing, and I feverishly took notes and tried to digest all of the information.

Everything was going really well, but then…things started to get ugly.

About half way through the call, the sound got weaker and weaker on my phone.

“What’s going on?!”

I decided to walk around to see if the signal got stronger in different locations. First, I went into the bathroom and closed the door. (How strange it was to be listening to a business call in the bathroom!)

But the sound level on the phone didn’t change so I went outside. Well, the leaf-blower person was out there blasting away so that didn’t work AT ALL.

I ran back into my office. Then, I put an ear plug in the ear that was not connected to the phone. That seemed to help a little, and I continued to listen to the call and take notes.

Problem solved… for now.

Then the big moment came when we could ask questions directly to the speaker.

Woo Hoo! I got through and was able to ask my question. The expert started giving me some excellent words of wisdom, and then… dial tone. My phone went dead!

Ugh! The receiver said, “Battery Low!”

What do you mean “Battery Low”? I just charged the phone for eight hours!

Anyway, it was time to move fast. I slammed the phone back on the charger and quickly picked up my cell phone. I dialed into the conference number. Phew! The call went through and so far, so good.

Then, the recorded voice asked me for my password, and I entered it.

“The password is unacceptable. Please try again.”

I tried again.

“The password is unacceptable. Please try again.”

I tried again.

“The password is unacceptable. Please hold for the operator.”

AHHHHH!

I then put my cell phone to the side and tried my landline phone again. And what do you know? I got through, and the expert speaker was still responding to my question – What luck!

Then, he finished, and said:

“Does that answer your question, Melanie?”

I started to say “thank you,” but he couldn’t hear me. He went on. “Melanie? Are you there? It looks like we lost Melanie. Well, that’s all the time we have. Thanks for joining the teleconference today.”

Ugh! I guess when I called back into the teleconference the second time, I wasn’t patched through to the non-mute function for people asking questions.

Oh well. My phone went dead again right as the speaker was saying goodbye anyway.

Fortunately, I was able to send a note to the teleconference organizers thanking the speaker for answering my question.

And the morale of the story is…

Get a good phone. (I had fun throwing my old one as hard as I could into the trash bin)

No. Well, that’s part of it. The real morale is that after screaming at my awful phone, I learned something from this. We all have “Lucy” moments (as in Lucille Ball in “I Love Lucy”), and I was able to laugh about it.

Do you laugh at your “Lucy” moments?

If not, it’s time to take things a little less seriously and enjoy life. And even if you can’t have a good laugh, think how great it will be to share your story with your significant other at the end of the day, at a party with friends, at the next conference with your peers… or on a blog like this!

With this in mind, do you have a good “Lucy” moment you’d like to share?

Please feel free to share it below or send me a note. After all, we could all use a good laugh and see that we’re not alone when it comes to dealing with all life throws at us.

Who knows, we may learn something about ourselves from your “Lucy” moment!

And if you have questions about boosting sales, awareness and credibility fast with publicity, SEO copywriting and marketing, please let me know here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’d love to hear from you!