Over the years, I’ve always advised my clients that if you want to get in the news, you have to watch and read the news. I know it sounds a little like “bumper sticker” advice, but it’s really not meant as a sound bite. In fact, we use a practical application of that advice every single morning at our agency.

It’s actually a very simple list of easy steps that anyone can do, and it can get blockbuster results.

• Read the Feed (or watch the news) – A daily routine of following breaking news and popular stories is the first and most essential step in my formula for how you can get interviewed by the media. If you are Internet savvy and prefer to get your news digitally, tracking news trends will be a breeze. There are many online news outlets, such as Yahoo, MSN, CNN and AOL, that prominently feature on their sites the most searched and significant news events each day. There are also other online services, such as Google Alerts, Digg, and others, that allow users to stay on top of the hot topics. If your preference – like me – is to watch the news on TV and/or read daily newspapers, those are also effective methods for keeping up with the news cycles. Whether you prefer traditional or digital news, the key thing is to establish a news-tracking routine and stick to it. It will orient you as to which news topics are getting the most attention, and will be a strong predictor of which stories are most likely to have a longer cycle on TV news outlets.
• Identify a Hook – As you follow the news each day, think creatively about how your company or your expertise could be applied to comment on news events of the day. I’ll relate something that happened this past month, and how we applied it. We have a client who is a world-class financial advisor. He is a former Wall Street player who made himself very comfortable through that life, but felt another calling for himself. Now he works as a financial planner for families in trouble, and he’s extremely passionate about it. We were looking for news hooks other than the typical “Tips for the Rough Times” pitch that has been making the rounds since 2008. As we were doing that, it hit the wire that the IRS was going to be taxing the claims being collected from BP Oil by the workers displaced by the disaster. At the same time, we had just finished watching a clip of Anderson Cooper of CNN on the ground in Louisiana, covering the crisis. At that point, it rang like a bell – we’d send our client to the Gulf Coast to help those hardest hit by the disaster. So, in a matter of minutes, our team went from, “This is a great hook,” to implementation.
• Develop your Angle – Taking my client example from above, we developed an angle for him using the BP oil story as a launching pad. We emailed him to see if he had any specific tips for the Gulf Coasters, and he came through beautifully. We cobbled his tips into the pitch, and it flowed like this:
  
   

  A Guide for Gulf Coast Victims of the BP Oil Spill

  Financial Expert Offers Tips on Getting Through the Worst
  Gulf Coast workers displaced by the BP oil spill have had to deal with losing their jobs, losing their businesses and many are losing their homes. But there are ways that they can protect themselves right now from further damage. Money expert (name deleted, because we’re still pitching him and we don’t want to jinx anything!), has a slew of creative and practical tips for those affected by the disaster.

  He says that uncertainty on when the spill will be stopped leads to the uncertainty about long-term economic activity and its effects on employment, consumer spending and housing prices. So, he is advising people to do the following things:

  • Be Prepared. Prepare for the worst case scenario. Build up a cash position equal to 3-6 months living expenses. Keep a significant amount of cash in your house in case you may be forced to evacuate due to a storm or adverse environmental conditions. Keep enough gasoline on hand to be able to fill your vehicle.
  • Stock Up. Build up a supply of food and water in case a sudden evacuation is ordered or if city water sources are deemed undrinkable.
  • Get Trained. If your livelihood is based on fishing or tourism, consider getting training in industries not dependent on the fishing or hospitality industries. If worse case scenarios develop, jobs lost in these areas will not come back for many years.
  • Fill Out the Forms. Apply for all aid and compensation available from both BP and state and Federal government. If income has stopped or decreased significantly, apply for food stamps and other social assistance.
  • Watch the Real Estate Market. Be prepared for lower real estate values for some time to come. Even if the spill stopped tomorrow, the ecological effects will be felt for years. Gulf Coast real estate, both commercial and residential, is falling dramatically and will not rebound anytime soon.
  • Stay Well. Monitor your family’s health as there have been reports of mysterious sicknesses in Gulf residents and cleanup workers.
  • Read the News. Stay informed as best you can. In addition to traditional news sources, read blogs, where you may find reports that are not widely available to the public. BP and the federal government have not been fully forthcoming in informing the public of the extent of the disaster.

  Thanks for your consideration – let me know if you’re interested.

• Blast it Out – Once you’ve read the news, identified a hook and written up your angle, it is time to launch your effort. When you pitch something that is hot in the news, you also need to call producers individually to follow up, ensuring they received and read your email. Many national producers won’t take phone calls, so at the very least, send your emails with a return receipt so you can track that they opened it.

To follow through with the effort we began earlier this month, we have booked two national TV interviews and six local TV interviews across the Gulf Coast, with the campaign continuing all through the month. So the bottom line here is that by doing this daily exercise, you will enable yourself to take advantage of these kinds of headlines. And who knows? You might even be able to fold yourself into the national news cycle.

Ever since the days when every TV set was a massive 12 inches, and millions of Americans tuned in to watch I Love Lucy in glorious black and white, television has been in the center of our living rooms.

Today, the screens are larger, the picture is in high-definition color and the programming choices are near infinite. Also, in addition to shows of general interest, there are now literally hundreds of cable network shows that cater to specialized niche markets. Plus, millions are now watching TV shows on their cell phones and computers. All in all, TV viewership continues to soar.

So, whether you are promoting a book, your business, product, or service, if you want to reach the greatest number of potential customers in your target markets, your aim should be to get on the air.

I’ve written dozens of articles with tips on how to get on the air, but what happens once you get the nod? It’s not enough to just get on the air – you have to make the most of the time you have. In most guest-driven news and talk shows, the average segment length is in the 3½ to 5 minute range, so it’s important to make every minute count.

Here are some tips that will help you make the most of that interview:

• Prepare, but not too much. Of course you don’t want to go on the air blind, but you don’t want to over-prepare either. If you’re any kind of businessperson, you know your stuff inside and out, and can speak convincingly on just about any topic related to your industry. However, 3½ minutes is not enough time to get everything in, so you need to organize your messages and stay focused on them. Don’t try to come up with sound bites or cute slogans. Just be yourself and make your points. If it sounds too rehearsed, you’ll come off as a fake, and if it sounds like you are fumbling for what to say, you’ll come off as inarticulate. You want to walk that tightrope somewhere in-between.
• Don’t be too commercial. Television is the medium, but there is a difference between advertising time and show time. Consumers are used to commercials being, well, commercial. They know that in those 3 minutes of ad time, in-between show segments, companies are going to try to sell them stuff. Consumers generally dislike commercials, and when they sit down to play their favorite shows that they previously recorded on their DVRs, they usually fast-forward past the commercials. So, when you’re on the air in-between the commercials, don’t try to sell. If you do, consumers will either fast forward through your segment, or simply switch to a different show. Most likely, the producer of the show has booked you as an expert commentator on a specific topic. Stick to the topic, answer direct questions with direct answers, and give an informative and entertaining interview. If you do that, the hosts will generally make sure to mention the name of your company, your book or your product, because those are the elements that helped establish your credibility to be on the air in the first place! Just don’t be a carnival barker or an infomercial host. It will backfire, and very likely limit your chances of being booked on that or any other show ever again.
• Be yourself. When you’re watching TV, a lot of the on-air personalities make it look easy to be on TV. That’s their job – they go to school and are trained to make it look easy. When you arrive at the studio, it’s easy to be intimidated by the cameras, the set and the general sensibility of knowing you are going to be in front of thousands and thousands of people. Try not to let that get in your head. Don’t think of it as being on TV. Think of it as being invited into someone’s home to chat with them, because, in essence, that’s exactly what’s happening. You’re appearing in someone’s living room, so treat your interview as if you were out having coffee with a friend. You should still be passionate about your message and articulate about your ideas, but treat it like a one-on-one conversation. Engage the host, look at them when you talk to them, and just have an intelligent conversation.
• Post it online. In many cases, you can get a digital copy of your interview to post on your Web site, giving your interview a life of its own long after it has aired. After you post it on your Web site, make sure you email all your contacts and let them know about your interview and where they can see the clip. If you are involved on social networking sites, like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter, use those forums to spread the news even further. Maybe even post it on YouTube and other video sharing sites. It’s not enough to just get in the media – you have to promote the fact you were there, and let the good job you did on the air speak for you and your company.

If you can stick to your message, be yourself and let your intelligence and wisdom do the selling for you, your TV interview will do wonders for your image and your business.

Do you know what the media would consider newsworthy about you or your company?

Many new clients come to us with a strong opinion about what their “pitch” should be, but often miss the mark, in terms of knowing what will get the media to sit up and pay attention to their message. But it’s very understandable that this could occur, if you’re not working with the media the way we do, day in and day out, developing story angles intended to grab their interest.

For those who are new to PR, my message is this – think outside of the box! As normal as it is to be focused on your own company and industry or field of interest, there is a lot going on in the world, and your expertise might be news in ways that you’ve not previously envisioned.

I always recommend to my clients that they try to view their companies from the outside looking in, particularly, from the perspective of the media. The best way for you to garner the media’s interest is to understand what it is about you and your company that might be interesting to them. The process is actually quite simple.

1. Read the News – If you want to be featured in the news, you should read the news. Be general in your approach. Read the top headlines in all the categories, even if your company is in a niche industry, because you never know what is going to happen. For instance, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has focused a spotlight on oil rigs and the people who work on them. Journalists are looking at the companies who own oil rigs, drilling rights, and other oil company service firms. Analysts in that small business niche are being quoted in top tier media outlets, after existing for decades completely outside the reach of the media’s radar. So, go broad with the topics that you track, and don’t be afraid to become a little bit of a news geek. Being better informed about the world around you isn’t a bad thing, and the by-product is that you’ll be far more media savvy.
2. Track it Back – Now, as you absorb the headlines and the stories of the day, think about how one or more of them could track back to you, your company and your key messages. A good example comes from one of our clients, a maker of natural health supplements. Their primary product line uses a natural ingredient called Resveratrol. Clinical research has uncovered that Resveratrol can be helpful in reducing fatigue, restoring energy and safeguarding your immune system. Now, earlier this month, Reuters reported that doctors who performed an 11-year study of British civil servants discovered a direct link between heart disease and working 11 hours or more each day. Another story quoted U.S. Department of Labor statistics that more than 7 million Americans work at least two jobs. We combined those two pieces to demonstrate that millions of Americans are working way more than 11 hours, and are at risk for everything from chronic fatigue to heart disease. From there, it wasn’t too difficult to beat a path back to the client’s physician spokesperson who recommended a series of tips to prevent those outcomes, including a short tip about how some natural supplements can be helpful. At first blush, you wouldn’t imagine that labor stats and a medical study in Great Britain would have any relationship with a natural health supplement, but by thinking creatively, we were able to make the connection and develop a strong radio pitch for that client.
3. Be Opportunistic – The news happens fast, so be prepared to think just as fast. Recently we took on a client named Jane Heimlich, who has a dual claim to fame. She is the daughter of dance hall king Arthur Murray, who established the largest chain of dance instruction centers in the country. She is also the wife of chest surgeon Dr. Hank Heimlich, the creator of the life-saving, anti-choking first aid technique called the Heimlich Maneuver. She had just written her memoir, and was looking to promote it via media interviews. When we brought her on board, the new season for the network TV show Dancing with the Stars was about to begin. In reading her book, we discovered that her father’s TV show, The Arthur Murray Party, was the first network TV dance contest – and it involved the big stars of the day. So, we put together a radio pitch with the headline “Remembering the Original Dancing with the Stars.” We booked 15 radio interviews and a full print campaign with that angle, and we just refreshed the angle with the CBS announcement that they are giving Paula Abdul her own TV dance competition.

At the end of the day, recognize that your expertise can be stretched beyond what you have in your marketing plan, and you’ll be able to make you and your company more relevant to the press in a lot of creative ways.

Public relations is the hot potato of the marketing budget.

Chief Financial Officers hate it, while salespeople and business development executives love it. Every year, when the budget is drawn, this is typically how the conversation goes:

CFO: What’s the return on the PR budget?

Marketing Director: I don’t know.

CFO: Well, how much revenue does it bring in?

Sales Manager: I don’t know.

CFO: How many sales does it account for?

Sales Manager: I don’t know.

CFO: Well, I need to make some cuts, so I’m going to recommend we cut the PR budget next year.

Marketing Director and Sales Manager: NOOOOOO!!!! You can’t do that, sales will crash!

Describing the relationship between PR and sales reminds me of a line taken from Joni Mitchell’s hit song in 1970, “Big Yellow Taxi”:

Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone

The truth is, the ROI of PR is very different than the ROI of advertising and no less valuable.

But, because of the differences, it requires an altogether different yardstick than advertising’s traditional cost-benefit analysis.

When I speak to clients about the ROI of PR, I explain that it’s really twofold: first is the immense power of the implicit endorsement you receive when you appear as a guest on a radio or TV show, or when journalists write about you in their newspapers and magazines.

Second is what you do with the publicity you’ve gained. It’s great to have coverage in The New York Times, but that story or quote is here today and gone tomorrow. To get the maximum benefit from media exposure you’ve gained requires that you incorporate the coverage in all your marketing materials and advertising campaigns to ensure that the positive press gets seen by your customers and anyone with an interest in your company or products.

Salespeople love public relations because it gives them an on-the-record, tacit endorsement of the product or service from someone unconnected to the company and more importantly, someone from the media. The effectiveness of salespeople is greatly increased when they can demonstrate the quality of what they’re selling by pointing out that their company and its products or services are making news.

We see these examples in our daily lives, one of the most common of which is movie advertisements. In many cases, movie ads are sprinkled with positive reviews from popular film critics. The positive reviews from well-known movie critics can help make a film a box-office hit.

So, how do you apply this concept to your business? Simply put, when you get good press, you need to make sure your marketing and sales team is armed with the information. Consumers and corporate decision makers recognize the power of that third-party validation – it increases the respect with which your company and products or services are viewed and that is a key ingredient in making sales.

Is it possible to boil down that impact into some numeric formula for your CFO? Not so much. But like the song says, your marketing and sales people will absolutely miss it when it’s gone.

Emmy-Winning Client Proves Passion and Drive Can Overcome ANY Obstacle

I spend much of my time doling out practical marketing and PR advice based on the harsh realities of today’s new economy. People ask me constantly for ways they can market themselves affordably and more reliably, so I try to make sure most of my tips are grounded and instantly useful.

But there is one particular element I discuss quite a bit in my book, Celebritize Yourself – I also refer to it so often when speaking to clients and potential clients that I sometimes feel I run the risk of it losing its meaning.  The element I talk about copiously is following your passion, and because I hate the thought of sounding like a broken record, it’s refreshing when something happens that re-emphasizes the meaning of my words.

One of my clients, who has turned into a dear friend, recently came full circle on a dream of hers, and it was a dream driven by her passion. At critical times in her journey she had turned to me, unsure of whether she should bother pursuing certain projects, because she was torn between the harsh realities of the day and the vision that was burning in her mind and her heart.

Aurea McGarry began her relationship with us as a client promoting her book Live Your Legacy, where she advises readers on how to follow their passions to success. After a successful campaign, she asked for my thoughts about starting her own TV interview and documentary show, titled from her book, in which she would feature people who were doing good works through not-for-profit organizations.

If you knew Aurea and her story of all that she overcame – things like her father being brutally murdered, spousal abuse, losing her mother to cancer and being diagnosed with cancer herself – you would know that there isn’t a mountain this woman couldn’t climb. 

But beyond that, Aurea had a burning passion to spread her message of not just surviving, but thriving and helping other people overcome obstacles in their life. 

Given her amazing story and her very strong passion, my advice to Aurea was to go for it.  With her own conviction in place and the wonderful support she had from family and friends, Aurea moved forward with her plans to have her own television show.  She called it Living Your Legacy and in the summer of 2008, the first episode appeared on her local Atlanta PBS station.  It has been on the air ever since, but that’s not why I’m talking about Aurea’s journey today.

In a grand gesture of life imitating art, Living Your Legacy was nominated for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Interview/Discussion category in the Southeast Region. Her homegrown show was competing for the honor against programs from Fox, CBS, NBC and Turner Broadcasting. Over the past weekend, the awards ceremony was held in Atlanta, and her little engine beat the competition and took home the Emmy!

“I already felt like a winner, because this show – which was nothing more than a dream of mine a couple of years ago – has achieved recognition in the same breath as programs produced, financed and broadcast by the large networks,” McGarry said. “We’ve already made our point: You don’t have to be seen on network television to inspire people, to tell great stories and to produce a television show that has the power to change lives. But now that we’ve won the Emmy, it helps to validate that point.”

And it also serves to validate mine. There is no price tag you can place on passion, and its power can overcome any practical concerns, any business realities and any self-doubt you may have over the course you’ve chosen. Passion is the ball game. Always has been, and as Aurea has proven resoundingly, it always will be at the center of your success.

I have always loved authors, which is why I’ve spent twenty years of my life devoted to helping them promote their books and ideas!

I admire authors for their passion, tenacity and, well…chutzpah. Writing a book – and getting it published – is truly for the spirited and dauntless.

Over the years I’ve helped countless numbers of authors to become known. I have even counseled hundreds through the process, starting with the decision to write a book and all the way to arranging for their publicity to promote it.

Unfortunately, few have any understanding of how a published book ends up in homes across America. I’m quite certain that most intend for others to read their book – not leave it for the grandkids to discover in the attic decades from now. Yet, too many have the idea that since any published author can list their book on Amazon.com, that’s all that’s needed for their marketing!

Six months and thousands of dollars later, they have an impressive stack of boxes in their garage, but have sold only a handful.

When I speak with an author who has this problem, I practice “tough love” and ask, “if you have no marketing plan or promotional budget in place why did you invest all that time and energy to even write your book?”

I’ve heard so many reasons why someone was inspired to write. Everything from the desire to share lessons learned from a major life experience, or the desire for financial rewards from dispensing professional expertise, to simply wanting to be a famous author. These are all totally valid reasons for wanting to write a book! (Actually, there are really no wrong reasons – unless your message is about hate or the suppression of others.)

If you’re experiencing a problem with the promotion and sales of your book – let me suggest two very basic ideas:

1. Try to recall the reason you wrote your book in the first place, as it can be very motivating, and
2. Decide and implement a plan that will let people know your book actually exists!

In addition to getting your book listed on the major online bookselling sites, like Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, you should at the very least also have a website for your book, proudly displaying any favorable reviews you’ve received from noteworthy individuals.

Make sure you have a Media page where you can post media coverage you’ve obtained. I can promise you that if someone visits your site and sees a list of publications who have mentioned you and your book in their columns, or talk show hosts who have interviewed you on their shows – it speaks volumes about how important you are and the value of the message in your book! These are just a few book marketing basics.

Getting your book media coverage is where I can help you most. Nothing beats quality interviews on radio and TV, and positive ink in newspapers and magazines for having a direct communication with your target audience.

The implicit endorsement of show hosts and editors has incomparable value – their audiences trust them and are favorably influenced by them.

And when you get the media coverage, you absolutely have to back it up with some marketing efforts. The value of being on radio or TV, or being written about in newspapers and magazines, is really a one-two punch. First step is getting the media to interview you or write about you. That’s great if you are quoted in the New York Times, but it’s here today, gone tomorrow. So, YOU need to take the initiative, and unabashedly promote the heck out it through your own circles: social media marketing, friends, family, business associates, etc. It’s called “repurposing.” This is truly how to compound the value of the media coverage you’ve obtained.

And How to Make Sure They Invite You Back

Successful non-fiction authors know a secret.

They know that when it comes to achieving success with a book, it’s not just about literary talent, or even the cleverness of the topic or message. They know that – unlike the movie Field of Dreams, where all Kevin Costner had to do was build a baseball diamond and the fans magically would come – just getting a book published does not guarantee anyone will hear about it, let alone buy it.

What they know is that getting interviewed on talk radio shows is one of the best ways to become known and get their message heard by a wide audience. In fact, talk radio is more popular than ever, and with the increases in specialty programming that cover a wide gamut of topics, there is more opportunity than ever to become a talk show guest!

And let’s face it, what better way is there to:

• Kick off a coast-to-coast publicity campaign in less than three weeks
• Create promotional “buzz” for your book at the grassroots level
• Reach America’s greatest cities – Boston to LA – from the comfort and convenience of your own home
• Talk directly to your target markets

Sounds great, but how do you make this happen?  How do you get a talk show host to invite you to be a guest?  Having arranged talk show interviews for clients for twenty years, I know the precise formula for successfully hitting the talk radio circuit, so let me share some tips with you.

1.  Stay Current

First off, you need to follow the news. What are people talking about? What is the media saying? What’s the buzz? This is important because talk radio is all about current events. Current events in politics, business, the economy, sports, weather, health, culture. And when you know what’s current, you can package your message to fit the news, making you an attractive guest for a talk show. You need to scan the network and cable news channels, the newspapers, look at news Web sites, and, most importantly, monitor the talk radio landscape. Take time to listen to a few local and national talk shows, and get a feel for what the public is talking about.

2.  Tie-Ins to the News

A critical step is “packaging” your message. As you follow the hottest stories in the news, think of ways you can tie the message of your book into them.  Look for controversy or big names, big money, health, or even relationship issues.  These are always tantalizing topics for many talk show hosts and their listeners.  I’ll give you an example, because this step is a hard one for many people.  I had a client who’d written a book about the causes of bad breath. Yes, bad breath.  With a little help, that client became a popular guest on radio and TV talk shows about dating, first impressions (like job interviews), holiday menus and entertaining…you get the picture.

3.  Pitch Your Topic, Not Your Book

As you develop your message, keep in mind that radio hosts are interested in what you can do for their listeners, not what they can do for you.  They want an interview, not an infomercial for your book. So, when pitching to hosts and producers, put the emphasis on the issue you want to talk about on the air, rather than on your book. The fact that you’ve authored a book gives you credibility “currency,” so spend it wisely when pitching your cause. And when you’re on the air, there will be plenty of opportunity to plug your book during the interview.

4.  The Right Press Release Formula

Nothing is more important than the press release itself – it’s your key to the media’s door.  The quality of your press release has everything to do with getting booked as a talk show guest.  You want to make sure your headline is enticing – it’s got to grab the media’s attention. The text of your release should elaborate on the subject matter and what the “on-air” conversation will be about.  It’s always good to include a couple of juicy or provocative quotes.  Also include a short, but impressive bio, and 5 to 10 questions you’d like the host to ask you.

5.  Be Prepared For Your Interview

Before you go on the air, make a list of all the questions you think your host might ask.  Come up with the answers you want to give on the air and then…practice!  Enlist the aid of a friend to help you prepare, and ask that person to play the part of the host, while you answer the various questions.  The more time you spend doing this step, the more comfortable you will be during the actual interview.  And very important: don’t read your answers! Just talk to your “host” like you would talk during a meeting with a business associate.

6.  Be Relaxed, Friendly and Informative On the Air

Even if the host asks a tricky question – stay calm! Make sure your responses are thoughtful, insightful and entertaining. And above all, your comments should highlight your expertise on the show’s topic. You’re on the show because you have positioned yourself as the “go-to” person on the subject, so share your expertise with the host and his audience. Don’t answer each of your host’s questions with a plug for your book, but you do want to find (or create) a few openings where you can segue into the fact that “…your book addresses that very issue, etc.”

7.  Make the Host Look Good!

Make every effort to make your host look good, and thank him for having you on the show!  Don’t forget that it really is the host’s show…it’s his livelihood, his career, and will continue to be long after your 20 minutes are up. The interest and approval of the audience are very important to every talk show host – he’s there to inform and entertain.  So help him do well, and in most cases he will help you shine also…and be interested in having you back on the air.

I know I’ve given you a lot to chew on, but if you truly do each of these steps it can be a rocket ride to success.

You know what hard work is. You’ve put in the long hours, worked late into the night, done more working than eating during the lunch hour—all to ensure the success of your business.

You may be thinking about what else you can do to get the news of your products or services more broadly known within your target market. Or, you might be brainstorming future steps to expand your business and make it even more successful.

In either case, one immensely valuable marketing strategy can be summed up in two words: get published!

Now, you may be tempted to dismiss this out of hand…after all, you have a profession, and very likely it isn’t “writer.” But there are many ways to be published and each, separately or in combination, can be incalculably valuable in terms of its contribution to your marketing efforts.

We’re talking about:

• Articles written about you, or by you, which are published in newspapers and/or magazines.  They provide great credibility to your position as an expert in your field.

• Op Ed (opinion-editorial) pieces you’ve written that get published.  It’s a great way to take a stance on an issue important to your business and get published, and it positions you as a thought leader.

• A book with you as the author—my favorite!

Getting published opens the door to the media and provides a powerful platform that is magnified a millionfold when you subsequently get invited to appear as a radio or TV guest, or are quoted in the press.

Furthermore, when the press publishes an article about you, it is really a public relations coup! A paid advertisement is always seen for what it is—an attempt to persuade more people to buy your product or service. Don’t get me wrong…there is definitely a place for advertising.  But the power of PR is that when the press writes about you, they are giving a tacit endorsement of you and your business. It lends credibility which is absolutely priceless!

And, let’s face it—being published sets you apart from other CEOs and distinguishes you as a leader in your industry. Not only does it boost your status above that of your peers in the eyes of the public, it also makes them aware of what your company is about, who its leader is and helps them to form a positive opinion about your company and its product.

If you decide to be the author of a book or article but don’t have the time or expertise to write, there are droves of professional writers who freelance as ghostwriters (and are easily found on the Internet).  For many a busy executive this is the best and only way to go. There is no shame in employing a ghostwriter—their job is to translate your own thoughts into an enjoyable and clearly-understood form.  It’s no different than hiring any other professional who helps you run your business more smoothly.

The bottom line is that getting yourself in print can have a very positive impact on the success of your business. You can invest as much or as little of your own personal time to bring it about—it’s entirely up to you. But you will reap great benefits whichever path you take.

Why Everyone Has a Little Celebrity in Them – And What to Do About It

Everyone is a celebrity at something, and by “celebrity” I’m not talking about movie stars, professional athletes or those overnight sensations that are here today, on the cover of People tomorrow and gone by Friday.

True celebrities are experts. In a lot of cases they’re experts at acting, putting a ball in a hoop or looking sexy in next to nothing. But believe it or not, most celebrities these days – the ones that keep auditoriums and hotel conference rooms and even bookstore shelves full – are folks like you and I; people who realized what they are very, very good at and put it to use by celebritizing themselves (or putting their expert status to use as a modern celebrity).

You, too, can become one of these nowadays celebrities, no matter what business you’re in, how big your company is (or isn’t) or even if you don’t think you bring the chops.

The best part is, it’s as simple as 3-F’s:

Find…Yourself

To be a modern day business celebrity you have to know 1) What you’re good at, 2) What are you passionate about and 3) What people need from you. Celebritizing yourself is about knowing all three of the above, not just one or two.

So, what are you a good at? It could be anything: gardening, management, economics, knitting, housecleaning, politics – the works. The experts we all know and recognize and who become celebrities, everyone from Tim Russert to Ty Pennington to Linda Cobb, the Queen of Clean, to George Stephanopoulos, may come from a wide array of backgrounds but all have one thing in common: they know what they’re good at and do it very, very well.

Next, what are you passionate about? Now, being good at something and being passionate about it are two very different things. You can be great at fixing cars but hate talking about it, sharing it with other people. If so, this topic just wouldn’t qualify for the expert celebrity game.  But, if you look a little harder to identify what it specifically about fixing cars that you truly love and you find it’s restoring classic automobiles, now that’s something you could celebritize!

Finally, what do other people need from you? So what if you’re good at fixing cars AND passionate about restoring classics? Is there a market for that? Do people really want to talk about that? And are you the right person for the job? Once upon a time I might have said, “No, there’s no market in celebritizing yourself around restoring classic automobiles.” But that was before Car Talk on NPR made its and co-hosts (and brothers) Tom and Ray Magliozzi famous. That was before Antiques Roadshow captivated the country’s attention and before both the History and Speed channels became cable staples.

Nowadays, truly, if you are an expert at something, passionate about that thing and can find a market for it, you too can become a celebrity!

Focus…On What Works

We all know what’s going to work for us and what doesn’t.

Blink and Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell is a celebrity x 10 but I don’t think you’ll ever hear him screaming into a microphone on some shock jock’s call-in show; it’s not him, it’s not his audience – it doesn’t work.

On the other hand, Guy Fieri, celebrity chef, cookbook author and winner of the Food Network’s first “The Next Food Network Star” contest, IS just the kind of passionate, verbal, excited and outgoing individual who has made a career out of what works for him: using his natural passion and enthusiasm for his expertise – cooking – to create a personal brand that is suddenly dominating the Food Network scene.

Of course, even a profound extrovert like Guy Fieri pales in comparison to pundit, expert, author and popular CNBC host Jim Cramer. Cramer, with his trademark rolled up sleeves and loosened tie, intense eyes and voluble vocabulary, spends every evening shouting his message of the latest stock tips to an adoring and exceedingly loyal fan base on his popular TV show, Mad Money.

With his expertise, proven credibility and solid background, Cramer could have easily been a popular and successful pundit. But by finding his niche on his very own show, Cramer has truly shone and become what most experts crave: a celebrity.

Malcolm Gladwell, Jim Cramer and Guy Fieri are all experts; all are also bona fide celebrities.

And all are doing what works… for them.

Finesse…the Message

Finally, you need finesse; specifically, you need to finesse your message. It needs to be clear, concise and focused. For instance, if you are an absolute miracle worker when it comes to organizing things, it only makes sense that your message is organized as well.

What is that message? Let’s say over time you’ve realize that most people aren’t organized and even fewer people recognize the value of organization. So to make it clear for them just how important it is to be organized, you’ve come up with a simple three-part message that you communicate everywhere you go: your message is that organization saves time, increases productivity and boosts profits.

That message is delivered every time you publish something, hand out a business card or invite someone to read your blog. That message isn’t just the words you use but the graphics you use in your brochures, on your Web site and on your business card.

Let’s say you start a blog to spread your message about how important it is to be organized. You wouldn’t write about sports scores or share holiday recipes or Hollywood gossip, would you?  Hardly.  Your message is that organization saves time, increases productivity and boosts profits.

So every blog post must reiterate that message in articles that have to do with your core expertise. You’ll want to write about how an organized office is a productive office, you’ll want to link to news stories or breaking research that reveals organization boosts effectiveness by 28%, etc. Otherwise you’re just wasting that message, if not ignoring it altogether.

Embrace Your Expertise

So much of expertise is confidence, but we’ve seen how confidence alone isn’t enough to become a celebrity. The bottom line with becoming a celebrity is that once you find… yourself, focus… on what works and finesse… your message, the foundation is already in place for what promises to be a bright and celebritized future.

Becoming a celebrity next becomes a matter of taking all three of these vital core skills and truly embracing your expertise so that you will have the confidence to truly shine in whatever it is you are good at, are passionate about and can find an audience for.

Once all these elements align, the sky truly IS the limit!

It’s one thing to talk about becoming a celebrity in your field. It’s quite another to actually begin the process. To make celebrity an authentic goal, we must first desensitize ourselves to the very word “celebrity.”

The best place to start is to refocus away from Hollywood or the Big Apple and turn it inward, toward yourself, your company, product, service, or expertise, and your industry. Celebritizing yourself from the ground up brings to mind two of my favorite domestic goddesses turned celebrities: Julia Child and Erma Bombeck. I point to these two iconoclastic women because we’re talking about specific industries, and these two virtually created their own.

Julia Child loved two things: French cooking and her husband, Paul (and, I suspect, sometimes in that order). Although Julia’s background was in publicity and advertising, she single-handedly pursued her passion for French cooking with such expertise and zeal that no one around her could ignore.  Julia became one of the first “celebrity chefs,” and also one of the most recognizable women of the last century. Such celebrity chefs as today’s Emeril Lagasse and Rachel Ray owe their television careers to the pioneering efforts of Julia Child.

Truly, Julia is a poster child for how to first become a celebrity in your own field, and then for the world at large. So was Erma Bombeck. Dayton, Ohio born, Bombeck graduated from the University of Dayton in 1949 with a degree in English. She started her career that same year as a reporter for the Ohio Journal Herald, but after marrying school administrator Bill Bombeck, a college friend, she left the job to raise three children.

As her children grew, she wrote “At Wit’s End,” a self-deprecating tale about the life of a housewife. Seen first in the Kettering-Oakwood Times in 1964, Erma was paid a miserly $3 per column. The popularity of “At Wit’s End” brought national syndication in 1965, and eventually it ran twice a week in more than 700 newspapers. The column was collected in many bestselling books, and her fame was such that a television sitcom was based on Erma’s life. A humble $3-a-column gig for the local paper graduated Erma to full celebrity status.

“Celebrity” for these two icons grew not out of ambition or greed – though both women clearly had business savvy and realized the far greater audience fame could bring to them. What they became famous for was what they loved. Their passion turned into “celebrity” which, in turn, added “celebrity” to their passion.

There is a strong lesson in here for all of us. What is it? Simply this: celebrities are made, not born. What’s more, they share four similar qualities that you may already possess:

1. Passion: Julia Child never wavered in her passion for cooking while Erma Bombeck came to her passion for writing only once she discovered the confidence that came from writing – and writing well.
2. Persistence: Both women faced challenges and road blocks on their way to success. In this time of female presidential candidates, CEOs, talk show hosts and cable magnates, it is easy to forget that both Erma and Julia were products of the 50s and 60s, where men were the celebrities and women cared for the home and their children. Julia’s persistence to cook even when no one was watching or Erma’s to write while the kids were sleeping forged expertise in both their industries.
3. Pride: Julia and Erma never came off as egotistical or brash, not even when fame overtook them and created household names of normal women. Still, it was clear – especially in later years – that both women were not only proud of what they’d accomplished but what they stood for and the inspiration they gave other women.
4. Persuasion: Finally, both women used their respective art to persuade; Julia to persuade an entire generation (and even later generations) to discover the “joy of cooking” and Erma to persuade family members to celebrate their family bonds.

The idea that celebrity is only for movie stars should have withered on the vine by now; here we have two shining examples of homegrown women who started where they felt the most passionate and built a career from the inside out.

Neither Julia nor Erma became a “household word” overnight.  They each had their unique path to fame – but they both had this in common.  Both actually put their foot on the path, and took that first step…and then another, and so on.  It is a process; it does not occur in one fell swoop.  As Julie and Erma knew instinctively, to “celebritize yourself” is not about fame and fortune.  It’s about sharing your life experience and hard-won wisdom with others, who may need what you have to offer.  And without a doubt you must take stock of your assets and the resources at your disposal, and use them!  I wrote my book, “Celebritize Yourself,” to be a roadmap down that path, and it is my passion to help you find the path.

Warm Regards,
Marsha