When I was in my "salad days," as they were once called, we did some wonderful publicity stunts. We held a barbecue - complete with tables, linens, wine glasses, tableware -- on the pedestrian islands along Market Street in San Francisco to publicize an upcoming show. I sent horses and dressed-up riders through on small city, past the newspaper offices, resulting in pic coverage for a charity event. We had a guy climb one of Chicago's biggest skyscrapers, launched a contest for guessing when the ice would break in the Yukon River, and did an assortment of fun events that generated news. For one of our consumer shows we were in every section of one of the nation's largest newspapers, during a two week period.
I could still pull off a stunt or two I'll bet.
On the other hand I haven't pulled a publicity stunt for a long time. I went from big city publicity to small city newspaper editor. From editor I went to author and back to publicity, -- I still enjoy helping a small business or individuals (I'm not too interested in the corporate go-round anymore) get themselves heard above the din.
In these times many small businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs cannot afford advertising agency rates for publicity. Many agencies also handle smaller customers by rote - they send out massive mailings hoping to get a hit.
I offer a completely different service. I go after exactly the media that will do you the most good using a completely unique message to that medium. Or I will, in two hours, teach you do do it yourself.
What I do, and teach in your office in two hours is to:
1. Think like an editor. When you realize what the media wants, you'll come up with a way to fill it. You will get covered.
2. Find the stories you are missing. They are there. I can help you find them.
3. Make things easy on the media and/or befriending is easy. Connecting with the media has a lot of benefits. Ever notice how the same sources seem to be used again and again by writers?
If you would like, I will sit down with you and talk about my services. Or, if you think you don't really need to hire a publicist then let me teach you how to do it yourself. I'll come to your office, bring materials, go over your specific stories and brainstorm, and give you a helluva two-hour tutorial on publicity for $165.
So drop a note personalpublicist@gmail.com or call me, 503.544.3886, with your questions. I look forward to meeting you.
John
