As A Busy Editor, Which Press Release Would You Choose

Business, Small Business.

How to pitch stories to print, online & broadcast media - creating win - win collaborations with media to get your story in the news requires time, energy and imagination. The American Birkebeiner, the largest cross country ski race in North America, is a good example.

And, if you want to get in the limelight, it' s something you have to learn as more and more editors struggle with limited time and resources and the" shrinking newsroom" . - with more than 9, 000 skiers and 15, 000 spectators and 3 days of racing and events for all ages and fitness levels, you' d think it would be easy to get reporters on board to cover the plethora of human interest stories, the ski for the cure program, the challenge of training for a long - distance event, and on and on. More often than not, however, I' m up against shrinking budgets and staff cutbacks. Sometimes it is easy. No doubt you are discovering the same challenges as you launch and conduct your own publicity campaigns. I can already hear you saying, "If the editor likes my idea, why do I have to do HIS/ HER job? " It' s the reality of getting featured in the news today, so get to work learning how to write a balanced article that' s tailored to a particular publication.

Here are 3 tips to help you reach your publicity goals: Print: When it comes to newspapers and magazines, you' ll not only need to pitch a story idea to a busy editor, you' ll likely have to write the story and provide photos. - know the medium. Know the audience. Know the editors. Meet their needs and you' ll find yourself consistently getting free publicity. The great news about getting published online is that your article, usually lives online, once posted forever. Online: When you write a story for a print publication, leverage your efforts by submitting it to online publications as well.

Again, know the medium. - know the audience. Know the editors. Remember to post your article to your own online Newsroom as well. Identify your hook, and follow up, practice your pitch with a well - written, succinct release that shows the producer how your story idea is the perfect match for their station, program and audience. Television: It' s a challenge to get television crews on site so do your homework ahead of time.

Help them do their job by supplying contact information of folks who would be interesting interviewees, if you, and' re lucky enough to have b - roll footage formatted for broadcast media, send it on. - many small business owners are surprised to find that crafting a press release is more like following a recipe than writing a creative essay. Once you define your message and target media, write a press release a busy editor will pick up and publish or air. Industry dictates certain formatting requirements that can' t be overlooked, even within the seemingly impossible 400 word count limit. Imagine you are an editor who receives dozens, of press releases, even hundreds every day. But why all the rules? You' re looking for news, good news that will attract readers or listeners and increase subscription numbers.

You receive a press release with standard formatting, and an informative, complete contact information writing style that requires very little editing on your part. - you are under deadline and have a big hole in our newspaper or broadcast. Another press release contains a mish - mash of fonts, and missing or, salesy language incomplete contact information. If you want your press release to get published or aired, follow traditional formatting standards: Use 8 x 11 paper when you' re faxing a press release. As a busy editor, which press release would you choose? Use a one - inch margins on each side of the page to increase readability at a glance.

Include contact information two lines under" FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. " Include your name, fax, phone, email and website in case an editor wants to contact you to verify or clarify information. - type" for immediate release" (no quotation marks) in all caps at the top of the page. Use a Bold typeface for the headlines, and capitalize the first letter of each word. Include the who, when, what, where, and why in the opening paragraph so that the editor can discern the essentials of your release in a minute. Include the city and state from which the press release is being issued along with the date that it is being sent at the beginning of the first paragraph of the body of the press release, ie, MADISON, Wis. , January 7, 2007 Begin first paragraph here. The headline and first paragraph of the press release will make or break your chances of being picked up. Use the word" more" between two dashes and center it at the bottom of the page to let editors know that another page follows. 1At the top of the next page, include a line with the name of your business and topic of release and second line, with the date, single spaced and add# Double space and continue your release. 1Use three number symbols, centered and immediately following the last paragraph to indicate the end of the press release.

Complete the full paragraph at the end on each page instead of carrying it over onto the next page to make it easier to read and comprehend. - when you send a press release without the three numbers symbols at the end, there is always a risk that editors will assume the document is incomplete and therefore unusable. When you give editors newsworthy stories on a silver platter, you are helping them meet deadlines, fill pages or air time, and maintain the interest of readers and viewers. Getting your message into the hands of the right media is well worth the time and effort. You' ll also find yourself being featured regularly.

All Successful Businesses Have Systems

Business, Small Business.

5 sure - fire strategies to have more time - who else wants to get more done, with less stress, in less time? Managing how you spend your time on a day - to - day basis and also increasing the amount of productive time you have, are the keys your productivity, health and quality of life. As a solo entrepreneur it often seems like everything and everyone demands your attention all at once.

Time Management Strategy# 1. - time management problems are often caused by overwhelm. The best place to start managing time better is with yourself! Often what happens is that an entrepreneur will start a task, put it on, get overwhelmed the back burner and then either start it again at a later time or ignore the task until a deadline is missed or a crisis emerges. Each time you go back to an unfinished task, you need to take extra time to re - familiarize yourself with it and figure out where you left off. A lot of precious time is wasted this way.

If you miss a deadline or a crisis emerges this means you will have to play" catch up" and work more hours. - also, set deadlines for completing each piece. A strategy to overcome overwhelm is to break up the task into smaller pieces and tackle them one by one. Block out time in your calendar and stick to your schedule. Time Management Strategy# 2. If you don' t have the expertise for the project or you hate doing it why not give the job to someone who has the know - how and actually loves doing it?

Work in an organized work environment. - how much time have you wasted looking for paperwork? Is your office cluttered and disorganized? The Wall Street Journal reported in a survey they had done that the average white collar worker spends 6 weeks a year looking for paperwork! They need papers to remind them to do things or as a way of organizing projects. Most people have paper clutter because they don' t have a systematic way of handling their paper flow.

To manage your time effectively you need to create a filing system where you can quickly and easily file and access information when you need it. - plan and structure your work week in your calendar. Time Management Strategy# 3. A system that has worked well for me is scheduling Rest Days, Income - Generating Days and Business Development Days. On these days you are free to do anything except work related tasks. You set aside time for yourself first by scheduling Rest Days. This is the time you need to rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit.

Focus on your the operations of your business - marketing, administration, finances, personnel, sales etc. - next, schedule your business development days where you will work on your business. Whatever days you have left of the week are Income - Generating Days or" billable time" , working IN your business. Set as many( or as few of these days) as you like each week, as long as the total adds up to 7 for a full week. Note that without Business Development days you won' t have any Income - Generating Days! Within each day, I schedule some time for unexpected things that come up that are urgent and demand my immediate attention. Time Management Strategy# 4.

Life does happen so by planning ahead to accommodate this, I' m usually ok and able to stay on track. - focus only on what you do best. Track and examine how you spend your time in a typical week. Apply Pareto' s 80/ 20 rule which states that that 20 percent of your activities produce 80 percent of your results. What do you enjoy doing? What do you dislike doing?

What do you do well? - what things aren' t you doing well? Eliminate or delegate everything else. You will discover that the things you enjoy doing are your unique strengths and that add the greatest value to your business. The# 1 reason for business failure which accounts for 61% of failures, according to Dun& Bradstreet, is Managerial Incompetence defined as" the skillful use of resources to accomplish a purpose" . You have the power to double your productivity and eliminate time wasters but are you using it? Harness the real power of leverage when you tap into other people' s time and skills.

Time Management Strategy# 5. - michael gerber, author of the" e - myth" tells us to make our companies" system dependent, not people dependent" . Systemize and automate routine and repetitive tasks to save time. What this means is that systems run the business and people run the systems. Edwards Deming, a statistician who revolutionized American business practices, tells us that 97% of all failure is due to the SYSTEM and not the person. Dr. All successful businesses have systems.

Common activities include invoicing, managing emails, client intake, scheduling, marketing and sales, managing paperwork activities. - to systemize the first step is to figure out the activities that are routine to your business. Also, examine ways in which you can use technology to automate your systems. Not only will your daily productivity increase but also the quality of your life - I think that' s why many solo entrepreneurs went into business in the first place! By using these strategies I guarantee that you will recapture hours of wasted time and redirect your time to more productive use.

We Nailed Almost Every Piece Of Business Successfully

Business, Small Business.

A tiger doesn't change its stripes, working as a team - when choosing to hire vendor services at work, or for a project, hire vendors who share the same business philosophies regarding contract commitment and client service. Sharing dissimilar business philosophies doesn' t necessarily make one person wrong and the other right. If you don' t, you will be endlessly fighting word games and politics with your vendors, while setting yourself up for a conflict with your client or employer.

It makes the two dissimilar entities hard to combine into one coordinated effort. - and it seems that it' s these fundamental principles that divide us and make working relationships like a circus act gone wild. Although we all grow and adapt to current business climates, we do not change who we are fundamentally. Recently, I hired a vendor from my past to supply bands for me for events that required music that I didn' t carry in quantity. These differences forced a breach in our working relationship. It was a company with whom I had philosophical differences in the past.

They caused a temporary parting of the ways personally, but that changed with time. - and 2) my social event business grew exponentially and i needed quick access to new ideas in entertainment. We reunited this year to conduct business for two reasons: 1) I was solicited by the vendor to consider new music products now available with that company. We nailed almost every piece of business successfully. But we ran into behind - the - scenes issues in delivering the product on time, delivering the exact product, the characterization of the product, and the manner in which the product was identified. The bands were that excellent. In order to reach agreements between us, so that the orders could be completed, lots of emails were exchanged, and private time, phone conversations scheduled was spent strategizing so that the relationship could continue in a professional and calm manner.

We don' t substantially change. - but we are who we are. In the last round of emails, I believe true sentiments were exchanged, and a suggestion that the business arrangement move from a power struggle of philosophies and practices to a suggestion not to work together. You might disagree with the consideration of gender, but I' ll give you a current example of why I included this. There are elements in our personalities that dictate our behavior in business: our degree of competitiveness, our desire for money, our level of humility and pride, our feeling of gratitude as we become more and more financially successful, and our gender. I saw it happen in the 80s when I developed a radio promotion for the Clyde Beatty - Cole Bros.

Invariably a woman called in to feed a man to the lions. - circus called" feed your friends to the lions. " it was an opportunity for radio listeners to win tickets to the circus by naming someone who was causing disruption in their lives to be metaphorically fed to the king of beasts. Twenty years later, Donald Trump remarked that he saw gender - driven results with his gender - specific versus mixed gender teams on the first season of The Apprentice. Yet the women won every contest when the teams were gender - specific. Women seemed to give up power when in conflict with men on mixed gender teams. Originally, I saw this as a sign of weakness in women.

I now speculate that women don' t want to spend the emotional energy it takes to argue ideas with men. - recently, i changed my point of view. For my purposes, with my music vendor, I decided that, a man my time could be better spent finding product and vendors that shared the same concerns, the same ideas, the same commitments of responsibility, and similar communication styles. I wasn' t going to change my mind about my principles, nor was he. I did not want to spend any more of my time debating philosophy, or client responsibility, business technique. Old metaphors sound corny, but there' s so much truth in them.

When I set up interviews with animal trainers and their beasts as marketing director with the Beatty - Cole Circus, I would always warn the media folks that the animals( whether bears, chimps, elephants, or tigers) were still wild. - a tiger doesn' t change its stripes. They are trained, not tamed. Lots of caution and care should be taken when anywhere near animals larger and faster than humans. If they feel threatened, they will strike. It' s the same when working with people - know their essence, their character, their strengths, and their motivations. We need to build strong teams of people who can function as a unit, even for short - term work.

Humans are still tribal and gravitate towards people who share similar values and perspectives. - the quality of the product or service that we' re buying is important, but so is the like - mindedness of the people who deliver it. Find stripes that compliment yours.

What Do You Want Your Business And Life To Look Like 5 Years From Now

Business, Small Business.

Mastermind your way to business success - i' m a big believer in mastermind programs and success teams. If you' re a business owner you may notice how easy it is to get stuck in the details of running your business and how hard it is to stay focused on the big picture of where you want your business to go. A business mastermind team is a group of entrepreneurs who get together to support each other in growing their business, in moving through stuck places, and in brainstorming ideas for new opportunities.

If we don' t get support and feedback from other people who know us and our business well, it' s almost impossible for us to see how and where we' re getting stuck. - the benefits of participating in a mastermind team are many. We don' t often take the opportunity to step outside our business, take an objective viewpoint, and reconnect with our vision. You benefit from the creative ideas of many people instead of just your own limited thoughts. The synergy of the group helps you to step out of your comfort zone into the place of new possibilities. The group will help you problem solve your biggest challenges.

The group will also hold you accountable so that you' re more likely to take action to reach your goals. - the first step is to get clear on what you want to create. If you want to pull together you' re own success team, here are some tips to get you started: Create a vision of the outcome you want. What do you want your business and life to look like 5 years from now? The clearer you are on your vision and the outcomes you want, the more likely you are to achieve them. How do you define success? Write out your goals and objectives.

Writing out your goals and objectives to achieve your vision will give you and your group a clear roadmap to your success. - less than 5% of people write out their goals, but those who do are much more likely to achieve them than those who don' t. Decide who you want on your success team. Who would be the right partners for you? Think about who you' d like to invite. It' been said that our business will be as successful as the five business people we spend the most time with.

Take responsibility for your experience. - our income and success tends to stay in the same range as the group we' re connected to. Decide what you' d want to get out of being a part of a mastermind team. If these people were your' virtual board of directors' , how would you want to interact with them? What would be the best outcome you could achieve? Establish guidelines for trust, confidentiality, honesty, commitment, and accountability, timeliness. The group doesn' t need one leader, but it' s good for each member to rotate through the leadership role.

Rotate leadership. - this may mean the person who hosts the meeting reminds people of the day and time, facilitates the discussion, sets the tone, and keeps time so that everyone gets air time. A mastermind team can be a powerful support for your business success. Or, you may set roles for each member, such as meeting scheduler, note taker, host, and time keeper. Commit to taking action to create your own personal success team, and watch your results multiply.

There Are A Few Hurdles In The Way Of Six Sigma Implementation In Small Organizations

Business, Small Business.

Six sigma for small businesses - six sigma is a series of systems that focus on implementing quality measurement strategies based on data and statistical analysis to enhance operational performance. Though no such restriction was ever envisioned in its functional scope, it was rendered this status since only big businesses initially tried and applied the strategies to improvise their business processes( they had the money) .

In the early days of its introduction, 6 Sigma was commonly misconceived to be a big business strategy, applicable only to large corporations. - however, it has been subsequently demonstrated that 6 sigma can be equally productive when implemented in small businesses. Advantages. Its features of Measure, Improve and Control, Analyze, have the potential of regulating work with proper standards irrespective of the size of the organization or the project under execution. One major benefit of small organizations employing Six Sigma is that they can speed up the implementation of 6 Sigma strategies. Another advantage of applying the process in small corporations is that training lead times can be shorter.

Owing to factors such as fewer layers of management hierarchy, flexible process flow and quick access to the top decision - makers in smaller businesses, the execution of Six Sigma in such organizations can be quite fast and effective. - as the monetary expenses incurred on six sigma training are heavy, it is important to assess the savings that accrue from the first set of projects implementing the 6 sigma strategies. In addition, applying 6 Sigma strategies in a small business environment can help achieve breakthrough results since the period between implementation and visible results is almost negligible. Typically, it has been observed that the financial gains and the cultural conversion in management skills in smaller firms are rapid. In small businesses, individuals who are trained as 6 Sigma Green Belts and Black Belts can be used as trainers for coaching other employees. In such an environment, employees who being initiated into Six Sigma implementation are able to see for themselves, the process errors being made and are able to often come up with innovative solutions to overcome those and improve productivity.

This helps in achieving more, since the trainers and trainees work in the same environ and the former can demonstrate live execution of Six Sigma procedures. - in this manner, process issues get a two way perspective. Overall, changing the viewpoint of employees in a small organization is easier than in a large one. These perceptions are beneficial since 6 Sigma strategies are not stagnant and are in a continuously reinventing mode. Disadvantages. Firstly, small - scale firms have a shortage of ready funds for investing in 6 Sigma training and implementation.

There are a few hurdles in the way of Six Sigma implementation in small organizations. - secondly, small corporations cannot afford full - time black belt personnel to guide their staff. The salary demanded by such personnel is substantially high and smaller firms often prefer investing that amount in areas such as marketing and product development.

The Longer Guarantee Gives The Customer A Sense That You Really Believe In Your Product

Business, Small Business.

Small business marketing: reverse the risk and watch your sales soar - one of the primary obstacles that you must over come is the buyer' s sense that they are taking a risk when buying from you. To overcome this objection, you must reserve the sense of risk.

The more they feel that they are taking a risk, the greater will be their reluctance to make the purchase. - you must take on the risk yourself. Well, the following is a classic example of how this is done these days: A few days ago, I went into a store to buy a birthday present for a friend. Has it ever occurred to you how most businesses transfer the inherent risks of running such a business to the customer? I noticed a sign on the wall behind the cash counter that said" Absolutely no refund after 15 days" and I thought to myself, "How negative is that? " It sounded so severe and foreboding, even threatening. Especially, when the very same message could have been expressed in a much more positive way and help to build lasting customer relationships. I was wondering why these people would want to tarnish their customer' s goodwill by stating the policy in such a negative way and run the risk of turning off even one customer.

For example, the same line on the store' s return policy could have read, "We will gladly refund your full purchase price within 15 days. " The difference: I am sure the difference in the two approaches is quite apparent. - the above example is only a small one with perhaps only a negligible effect on sales, but the idea is to not state things in a negative fashion when there is a much better and more positive way of saying the same thing. In the first statement, it is implied that the customer has to shoulder the burden of responsibility while the second statement indicates that the store management is willing to go out of their way to help the customer. Your risk, your gain: The wide range of anti - customer policies employed by various businesses never ceases to amaze me. For example: "Our prices are the lowest in town or we' ll refund double the difference" or" If we don' t have your size in stock, we' ll make a special order and have it here within two days" or" Marketing that gets you results or it costs you zilch, zero, nada. The point that they all miss here is that, if you believe you have a sound product or service, then you should leave no stone unturned in advertising it to your customers. All of the above statements have a powerful and positive psychological impact on the mind of the customer.

If you were the gift shop owner, as in the earlier example, you may get a few returns and refund requests to begin with, but those will be of no consequence at all compared to all the new business you will be getting just by thinking smart and communicating right. - if you can perform, you must make sure you let people know. As a matter of fact, studies have generally found that with product guraantees, the longer the guarantee period, the fewer returns. Take for example an information product. The longer guarantee gives the customer a sense that you really believe in your product. If a customer has not had a chance to really get into the product and consume the information provided within the guarantee period, they may decide to return simply because they haven' t had the time to satisfy themselfves that the information is really useful to them.

Taking the risk on yourself is good for business. - on the other hand, if the guarantee is for a year, then they don' t feel rushed and if they never get to the product and it sits on the shelf unopened, they will have long forgotten all about it and the guarantee when the deadline comes up.

What Is Google AdSense

Business, Small Business.

Some of the ways you can make your website earn money - you will have a side income or more, theoretically. You' d better get back to your job before your boss makes it theoretical too.

You will be so successful, that you can, theoretically quit your job, join one of, theoretically my exotic trips, have great time, theoretically wity us, and claim you, theoretically' re earning a living without holding a job, theoretically. - here are some of the ways you can make your website earn money: you can sell your own products and services. You can advertise other people' s products and services. You can sell other people' s products and services. Of the many, many ways you can make your website earn money the one I am going to touch on today is" how to advertise other people' s products and services on your website" . To me, it is quite simply the best answer.

The advantage of advertising other people' s products and services on your website is, you don' t have to create your own products or services to sell. - you can write about anything, and your website will still earn you a continuous income. I must tell you that it isn' t the easiest to get accepted, but once you get in, you are on your way to earning an income online. There are many ways to add advertisements to your website, but the best of them all, is to enrol, in my opinion in Google AdSense. Now, unless you have just crawled out of a hole somewhere, or you' ve never used the Internet, you would have heard of( and more than likely, used) Google. Do you know, today more than half of all searches conducted on the Internet are done through that bizarrely simple - looking homepage of Google. com?

The majority of us use it for its Search Engine. - yep. If you' re a web publisher - that' s to say, someone with a website - you have the opportunity to harness that technology for your own benefit by enrolling to Google AdSense. But as much as looks can be deceiving, so too that simple looking Google homepage, which is a front for one of the most sophisticated technology on the web. What is Google AdSense. It places text, image and some times video advertisements on websites that enroll to it. Google AdSense is the ad serving program run by Google.

You are paid when someone clicks on the ads appearing on your webpage. - where do the advertisements come from? How does Google AdSense work. On the reverse side of the coin from AdSense is Google' s advertising tools called AdWords. Their advertisements appear in two places: as" Ads by Google" in websites participating in AdSense, and as" sponsored links" on Google' s search results. Businesses wanting to advertise through Google enrolls to it.

As a webmaster, you are concerned about the" Ads by Google" that you can place on your website, because it generates money for you every time someone clicks on it. - there is also other programs similar to adsense, but if you can get adsense, the other programs are all secondary. Those who are serious about earning from the web often work hard to maximize their AdSense income, and we' ll look into that in future chapters. Let' s straight away sign up into use AdSense, so that you can start putting the ads on your website. Now let' s get on with the business. I am assuming here that you do have a website to enroll, otherwise go through the earlier chapters to read about how you can go about setting one up.

To set up your Google AdSense account, go to the Google homepage and click on Advertising Program. - i will leave you to set up the account and submit the application. Then click to Google AdSense and follow the steps to sign up. Google will evaluate your website to determine whether or not they will to enroll you. Yes, Google may reject your application if they find that the website you show them is not suitable for their ads. You will receive a notification from Google after a few days of submitting your application, informing you whether or not Google has approved or rejected your application. For that reason, it may be to ensure you have some content on your website before attempting to apply with Google.

The bad news is, now the real work has just begun! - assuming that after submitting your application, you received the happy news that google accepted your application, then you' re in.