Hello. I hope things are going well for you this summer.

Is your marketing in the doldrums? This time in Think, we're going to look at some ways to use your network to crank up your new business efforts. ReachLocal is one method I'm using. If you want to learn more about online pay-for-performance advertising, drop me a note.

Tell a friend and help me spread the Think virus. Now, let's get started.

Cordially,

Harry Hoover
harry@hoover-ink.com

Ink Briefs
As in every other business, journalism has its fair share of nincompoops. Just because a journalist is covering business doesn't mean that he knows the difference between an urn and earnings.

Here's a list from the Media Information Center of the 10 Ways a Reporter Can Screw Up A Story.


OK, I admit it: I'm cheap. I don't like to dole out money for media directories. So, I'm always on the lookout for good online directories that cost me nothing. Here are several for newspapers and one for magazines.

Online Newspapers

Press Display

Newseum

Metagrid




Are you unhappy with your job? A recent report indicates that many executives are unhappy and plan to make a career move this year.

If you aren't happy at [company], check out 6 Figure Jobs, a bulletin board and resource for folks in the six-figure club, or those who want to be.


You're about to use that famous quote from a classic work of literature or a verse from the Bible when you being to wonder, "am I remembering this correctly?"

Never fear, Online PR has a page that provides nearly 100 links for literary reference sites including literature, poetry, and Bible references.

Here is one of my favorites: Crime Culture.


About Hoover ink PR

Hoover ink PR helps position businesses that are serious about their success. Then, we craft and deliver bottom line messages that ensure it.

Who are we? We're a marketing communications firm with more than 26 years experience in providing services to financial, high tech, real estate, tourism and consumer products companies.

From employee relations and media relations to collateral material and e-newsletters, we develop the programs and communication tools that will differentiate you from your competitors. And that's the bottom line.

 
  D.A.N.C.E. With Me
Recently, a client asked what he could do to help my business, but I wasn't ready with the answer. A lot of us probably miss these opportunities because we don't think through what we need and how to respond when someone offers to help promote us.

Let's take a look at the D.A.N.C.E., a few simple ways you can enlist your network to help promote your organization.

Distribute and Display. Do you have literature or product samples that you can ask someone in your network to distribute for you? Perhaps you could ask them to place your information in their next client mailing, or hand out your brochures or samples at an upcoming meeting they are attending. If they have a high traffic office, ask them to display your products or material.

Arrange. Your contact knows a lot of people that you also should know. So, get her to arrange a meeting for you. It's best if you can get your friend to accompany you to the meeting. This helps place everyone more at ease.

Nominate. There are all sorts of awards and recognition programs. Ask someone to nominate you for appropriate business and community service awards. Your local Business Journal has a number of awards ranging from Women in Business and 40 Under 40 to Diversity awards. Client Heidi Hines just won a Business Journal Women in Business Award. Don't forget the community service related awards, too. For instance, client Jayson Colavella of Youth Link was named a hometown hero by WBT Radio.

Contact. Your network also can provide you with leads and referrals. Maybe he heard about plans one of his clients has for expansion. He could pass this lead along to you and direct you to the appropriate contact. Someone in your network could give you the names and addresses of people they think would be good prospects. Better still, they could make the first contact with the prospects and then provide you their information so you can follow up.

Endorse. Testimonials are a time honored method of getting others to promote your business. Ask your client if he would provide you with a quote on what he gained from your products or services. This endorsement can then be used in a multitude of ways from your website to direct marketing.

A good way to get others to D.A.N.C.E. with you is to do the same for them first. So, make a list of those who could help your business and then offer to help them first.

  Press Releases: Not Dead, Just Evolved.

Mark Twain once said the rumors of his death had been greatly exaggerated. The same may be said for the press release. It's not dead, but its mission has evolved.

Those PR practitioners who are spreading these death rumors would have you believe that press releases should never be written, nor distributed. I take issue with this old-school thinking.

Now, inundating the media with press releases has not been a good practice since shortly after Edward Bernays opened the first PR firm in 1919. Any competent PR person has known for years that garnering media coverage almost never directly happens due to a press release. However, that is fodder for another article.

Let's talk about the evolution of the press release into a solid tool for helping organizations deliver key messages to multiple audiences in the digital age.

In the not-so-distant pre-Internet past, press releases were aimed solely at trade and consumer media outlets. The media acted as the gatekeepers, taking your information and making decisions about how, or if, to use it. Organizations today are able to bypass the media filter in a number of ways, thanks to the net.

Consider this: both journalists and consumers use the web for research. More than 550 million searches are done daily via the web. And, every month, US web-users conduct 27 million searches at Yahoo! News, Google News or other news search engines.

Read the rest of the article