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PR 365

Must See Webcast: Passions, Priorities & Community

I recently participated in a one-of-a-kind live web event that was held on behalf of the R Baby Foundation, which was established in 2006 to organize and fund efforts to improve the outcomes of medical care for infants, particularly those who contract certain viral infections within the first month of life. The R Baby Foundation is dedicated to helping newborn babies with often-misunderstood viral infections and other infectious diseases receive the highest quality of care and service through supporting education, research, treatment, training and life-saving equipment.

I had so much fun moderating the webcast along with the incredibly inspiring Emily McKhann, co-founder of The Motherhood. Panelists include R Baby founder Phyllis Rabinowitz, along with seasoned and successful mompreneurs: Brenda Berg, Nicole Feliciano, Lauren Parisier and Kimberly Seals Allers.

The session featured candid insights, intimate confessions and thoughtful advice from women who have built their lives and their businesses around their passions and priorities. In case you missed it, you can watch it below!

R Baby Foundation "Live" (Unedited) from TrakVu.com on Vimeo.

Feeling inspired but don't know where to start first? Well, have no fear. Yours truly is launching an innovative fundraiser on behalf of RBaby. Starting today until Mother's Day, I am offering one on one PR 365 consultation for your brand. And if you book a 30 minute session with me, I will donate the proceeds to the RBaby Foundation. Email me at beyondpr@gmail.com for details of how I can help you build your brand and you can help RBaby make a difference!

Posted in: Events, PR 101 for Moms, PR 365, TV on 03/06/2010

PR 365...Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Lately, I've been speaking with a lot of individuals who are contemplating leaving a stable job so they could launch an entrepreneurial venture they've always dreamed of pursuing. While the prospect of doing what you love is exciting, before you utter the words "I quit," you really need to think long and hard about how you are going to earn a living.

My advice to people who want to go off on their own is to straddle both worlds for a while. There is nothing wrong with moonlighting if you're able to get your day job completed in a timely fashion. While you would love to devote 100% of your time to your passion, you may have a family to support, bills to pay, a mortgage, car payment, you get my drift. The prospect of entrepreneurialism gives you a sense of freedom but at the same time, you must be prepared to work longer hours than you've ever worked in your life.

Every entrepreneur I know has war stories and battle scars to share. They've had experiences where their concept may have failed miserably or the product they developed may have fallen on its face when it hit store shelves. But the one thing that sets these people apart from those who are complacent at a stable job is that no matter how many times they fail, they brush themselves off and start all over again.

In light of these tough economic times, my advice to dreamers with solid corporate jobs is to stay put while carving out time to do what you love. I truly believe the one foot in, one foot out method is ideal when you're contemplating going off on your own. Sure if you were single, without kids, or a mortgage to pay, things would be easier, but now that you do have all these obligations, you owe it to yourself and your family to put a solid plan together and map out how you will achieve your goals without having to give up your paycheck.

When I was growing up, I remember my parents worked 3-4 jobs at a time so that they could pay for our vacations, college tuition, my wedding and much more. That's the mindset we all should have these days. Always make time for the things you love and even if it doesn't prove to be a financial boon for you, it's important to keep those passions in your life even when you may feel like you have no time to do it.

So stop thinking that the grass is always greener. Trust me, it isn't. The life of an entrepreneur is a roller coaster ride filled with highs, lows, thrills and angst. Instead, rather than convincing yourself you'd be better off on your own, think twice about leaving and start thinking of ways you could potentially change your job so that it becomes more fulfilling to you. Nobody every gets what they want without asking for it - so devise a plan where you can create the ultimate career without ever having to leave your job.

For those of you who are ready to make a change, then do I have a course for you. Carley Knobloch, a life coach and mom has created a six week course called Perfect Moms Finish Last. Carley has interviewed 20 fascinating woman who candidly share their insights about the struggle to be a perfect mom while pursuing your career. All the interviews are available free for download plus, Carley is currently offering her expertise on the web via a six part workshop series that'll put you on course to pursuing your passion. Sign up for Carley's six week course today!

Posted in: Blog, PR 101 for Moms, PR 365 on 02/27/2010

PR 365...When is it Time to Hire a PR Firm?

As a publicist with more than two decades of experience under my belt, I know a lot about securing media placements for clients. I've pretty much secured coverage for everything under the sun - from talk shows, to primetime series, products, authors, celebrities and services and what I've learned over the years is that the best campaigns start with momentum and buzz.

When people come to me asking whether they should hire a PR firm, I usually ask them a few very important questions. What are your sales figures or traffic like? Is your product flying off the shelves? What has the reception been to your product or book?

Now if that person responds that sales have been slow, the product has not moved and people have little or no reaction to their product then my word of advice is you do not need a PR firm. You need a focus group to help re-develop your product so that it appeals to the masses.

And therein lies the problem of hiring a PR firm. Many companies believe that PR agencies will be able to raise awareness for them but if you don't have the goods to back up the pitch, then you are doing that PR firm a disservice. While publicists pitch editors and reporters all day, they also know that breaking into mainstream media is incredibly difficult. And if you don't have a product that is going to wow an editor or journalist then you have the deck stacked against you.

If you can't figure out a way to pitch media and land a placement, then a consultation with a PR professional may be in order. These days, if you pay a few hundred dollars for a consultation where you can be given an overview of what it will take to land a placement, you might actually benefit more than hiring an agency and throwing away a monthly retainer for months on end.

Nowadays, as PR agencies downsize, there are plenty of talented consultants available to take on clients and provide them with a realistic idea of whether a media campaign is viable. If you are interested in finding out about freelance publicity consultants specializing in book publicity, toys, children's wear and much more, then feel free to reach out to me at beyondpr@gmail.com and I can offer up my list of favorite freelancers. Plus, over the coming months, we will be featuring some of these individuals both in person and online where they will offer advice to our community.

If you're wondering if you've got what it takes to work with a mid-size or larger public relations firm, then you must commit to spending at least $5000 per month and commit at least 2-3 months to that agency. Larger agencies command between $10,000-20,000 per month and are typically hired by major brands who can handle everything from a full scale media campaign to crisis communications.

Finally, there are personal publicists who typically handle celebrities. If you think that by hiring a firm that handles celebrities will help you potentially make headway with your campaign, think again. I can't tell you how many times I've seen companies sign with PR agencies thinking that by some stroke of magic, their celebrity roster will potentially embrace their product. While it might be easier to get your product into the hands of a celebrity, unless you're willing to pay for that celebrity to endorse it, you are pretty much wasting your time with an entertainment firm.

These days, as companies and individuals search for ways to save money on unnecessary expenditures, you might be best served hiring a consultant who can help you achieve your PR goals on a budget that meets your needs.

If you have a PR question, please email me at beyondpr@gmail.com and we will post your answer on this blog.

Posted in: Blog, PR 365 on 02/11/2010

PR 365...How to Pitch Newspapers

If you're trying hard to land a story in your local newspaper but have been coming up empty, here are some tried and true tips to help you make an impact and land a placement.

1. Start with Your Local Newspaper or Family Parenting Guide. If you have a brand new product or book about to be released or if you're a parenting expert, then focus on pitching media outlets in your own backyard. Parenting publications are always on the lookout for great local stories and you might be just the person they're looking for.

2. Be persistent and helpful. I can't tell you how many times I pitch the same people in mainstream media. While they may seem interested one moment, when you try to follow up it can take five, 10 even twenty correspondences with them to get a response and move forward towards a booking or an interview. The squeaky wheel does get the grease. But when you are reaching out, be aware of what they're covering. Do not pitch something that they'd probably never feature. Do your research and hone in on the stories that you know would resonate with their readers.

3. Offer to contribute as a blogger to a Newspaper's Web Pages. One of my favorite writers, Jenny Isenman at Suburban Jungle has found a great way to make an impact with local media. She contributes regularly as a guest blogger to the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. Sure the newspaper could utilize some of their regular columnists but featuring someone who offers a fresh and sarcastic view of parenting fits the bill. Plus, that gives Jenny the opportunity to be connected to the publication so that if she wants to contribute content to the newspaper, they will more readily take and potentially accept her pitches.

4. Participate in Journchat with PRSarah Evans. This has become a fabulous find for me. Every Monday night from 7-10 pm ET on Twitter, PR guru Sarah Evans hosts Journchat a discussion with journalists, bloggers and publicists. This is your chance to be a fly on the wall and see what stories resonate with journalists and how publicists approach pitching them. Visit Tweetchat, enter #journchat and get ready to be informed.

5. Meet a reporter in person. If you've started to develop a web dialog with a reporter (you can find them on Twitter or via the website of their newspaper), take your professional relationship to the next level. Ask them to meet for coffee so that you can find out how you might prove to be a resource for them as you learn about the stories they're working on. If they don't have time to meet in person, then arrange a 10 minute phone call. Anyone can carve out 10 minutes from their day - no matter how busy they are. Just speak with them after their deadline - no reporter likes to be called while they are crashing on a story.

Incidentally, if you are looking to land a placement in a national publication such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times or USA Today, then you really should look into hiring a publicist. In this instance, the publicist who has direct connections to the reporters working on stories that make sense for your brand will help cut through the clutter, develop your pitch and land you the story you've been hoping for. If you'd like to find out some of my favorite publicists, I'll be sharing a list of top PR gurus in our next post.

The bottom line when you're pitching is to never give up. Of course, if someone says they're not interested, that's your cue to move on but that doesn't mean you should call it quits. Do your homework, develop your pitch and before you know it, you may wind up making the news.

Posted in: Blog, PR 365 on 01/30/2010

PR 365...How Not to Pitch a Blogger

I receive a lot of emails in one day. It's probably in the hundreds and I spend most of my day sifting through things that are spam, messages I've been waiting to hear back from, and pitches. Lots and lots of pitches. Considering I straddle both sides of the fence, I oftentimes am amazed by the mistakes made by publicists who find it hard to connect in the blogosphere. So while this blog usually offers advice to those of you looking to build your brand or platform, this post will focus on those publicists who are doing it wrong. Here's my list of do's and don'ts when you're approaching bloggers - use it wisely and you may not wind up in a recycle bin.

1. Don't Call Me By the Following Names: Hi Mom Blogger; Hello Mommies; Hey moms!... You may not realize this but it is condescending to address a parenting blogger as a mommy. Would you ever pitch an editor at a newspaper or magazine by sending a note that says: Dear Editor. Didn't think so. If you have the email address for a blogger, then you probably have their first and last name too. Before you hit send, find out the name of the blogger you are pitching!

2. Don't Get the Name of My Blog Wrong I recently received a pitch that was clearly a form letter and buried within the text was a line about how their campaign would be great for "Role Model" readers. Now I don't know about you, but the name of my website is pretty clear. It's at the top of my page and many of my posts start with the words Role Mommy. I have a Blog Talk Radio network with the name Role Mommy plastered all over it. There is no excuse for a publicist to not get the name of someone's blog correct. Would you pitch an editor at Glamour and then call the magazine Redbook? Didn't think so.

3. Do Know the Blogs You Are Pitching There are thousands of blogs on the Internet but it is very easy to do some simple research. Sure, you can certainly track a bloggers' traffic stats but more importantly, if you represent a brand and want to seek out people who could potentially support it in a positive way, then research writers who are already passionate about it. Don't just cast your net to the bloggers with the largest web traffic. It's not always just about blog stats. Many bloggers contribute to more than one site so even if their traffic might not be huge on their personal blog, they may write for larger outlets where they can garner lots of eyeballs. Plus, if they have a large number of Twitter followers and Facebook friends, you're suddenly reaching out to a wide group. Never underestimate the power of a true brand enthusiast. Look outside the net and you might just find a diamond online.

4. Do Establish an Ongoing Relationship with a Blogger If you enjoy reading a specific blog or have seen a post that caught your eye, then reach out to the writer. When you pitch them, share something about yourself and how you were able to relate to their post. One of my favorite publicists in the industry, Rob Wheat, who handles PR for Nintendo, should teach a master class on how to effectively connect with bloggers and journalists. He knows how to craft the perfect pitch, doesn't waste the time of a writer on deadline and also looks out for opportunities for bloggers as well. He's a pay it forward publicist and I feel lucky to have met him and become his friend.

5. Do Connect with Bloggers in Person Nothing solidifies a relationship with a writer than meeting them in person and finding out what interests them. Back when I was a full-time publicist, I'd constantly meet with writers and producers for lunch, coffee and at their office. As much as we've become a virtual world, it's still important to meet people face to face. If you want to meet a specific group of bloggers, then host a luncheon for them. You'd be surprised how effective your campaign can be when you spend time getting to know who you're pitching.

That's it for now. Happy pitching!

Posted in: Blog, PR 365 on 01/21/2010

PR 365: Breaking Through

The one thing I have learned as a public relations professional is that a lot of people are incredibly impatient when it comes to getting results for a campaign. Don't get me wrong, I am one of the most impatient people I know and when I've tried to secure a placement through traditional media and it doesn't work, while I'm completely frustrated by it, I always re-group so that I can figure out a way to break through.

So today's PR lesson is all about finding a way to get your story heard by the masses. It's not easy, but trust me, it can be done. So let's get right down to it. Let's say you're an author who has just released your very first novel. You have a publicist at the publishing house that published your book working on pitching you to media outlets but so far, they've come up empty. So what are some sure fire ways you can get some traction?

Share Your Cinderella Story: First - if you'd like to break into television, then you must feature video of yourself on your blog or website. While your first appearance may not be on Good Morning America, you should aim for the local station in your area. Share the story of how you managed to turn your dream of becoming a novelist into a reality. Everyone loves a Cinderella story...what is your personal fairy tale?

There is No Such Thing as Overnight Success: If you've published a non-fiction book or if you're the owner of a business and believe you have what it takes to be booked on Oprah, well, take a number and come back down to earth with the rest of us.

The way to build buzz about your book, business or brand is to first start out in your own backyard before you venture out into the great unknown. I recently interviewed Anita Renfroe - she's the comedienne and singing mom whose parody of the William Tell Overture went viral on YouTube and catapulted her career. Anita's story though is not one of overnight success. Did you know that she had already been performing for more than a decade before her kids convinced her that sharing one of her songs on YouTube would be the way she could get the masses to take notice? Little did Anita know that her kids were absolutely right. While she released the video on Mother's Day, by Labor Day, nearly 1 million people had seen her song and by then, the national shows finally took notice and the rest is history. Since "The Mom Song" made its debut, Anita Renfroe is an in-demand comedienne and singer who has appeared on all the national morning shows. She even admits that had that video been released at the beginning of her career, she probably wouldn't have been able to handle the instant notoriety as well as she does now. Thanks to her kids and perseverance, she is truly living her dream.

Stay on top of the News: Keep in mind that journalists and producers are constantly working on deadlines and oftentimes, they don't have time to speak with you about your innovative idea for a business. However, if your idea to become an entrepreneur sprung out of you being laid off and then finally taking the bull by the horns and deciding to pursue your dream, then suddenly, your story takes on a lot more weight. The next part though is the tough one. You need to back up your story with numbers. Are you in business for one year and your sales have skyrocketed because you're serving a need that was not met previously? Do you know other entrepreneurs or authors like yourself who would fit well together as a story to pitch a journalist or TV producer? While you may want to be in the spotlight, sometimes strength in numbers is the way to go.

Do Your Homework While you may be on the HARO newsletter database where you receive an email blast three times a day with a slew of PR opportunities, you may find that following a few of your favorite writers to be a successful outlet for you. Most writers have blogs and while you may feel intimidated to reach out to them, don't. Make sure you read their columns and know what stories interest them so that you are not wasting their time when you are pitching them.

If They Won't Cover You, Then Blog, Blog, Blog! - That's the beauty of blogging - even while you're waiting for that big publicity break to happen, you can be writing on your own website or blog, offering advice, sharing details about your latest book, or offering your own commentary on subjects that make sense for your brand. Once you've posted your blog, then share it on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and Digg. The only way for people to take notice is for you to be sharing your thoughts and opinions on topics that make sense for your book, business or brand.

Make New Contacts Every Day: I have to admit, when I first went off on my own, I became incredibly discouraged when many of my former contacts pretty much blew me off when I was attempting to pitch my clients to them. At first, I couldn't understand why I couldn't make any headway and then it hit me. Before, I was working for a major TV network and now, I was out on my own representing projects that weren't slam dunks. And so, as much as I liked and respected my former "friends" in the TV booking industry, I pretty much left them behind to meet new media contacts who did not necessarily know the old me. Suddenly, I was starting to get bookings again and before long, my clients wound up on national TV. Don't ever expect your old professional friends to come through for you - you come through for yourself and you will succeed without any strings attached.

That's it for today. If you have a PR question for me, please send us an email at beyondpr@gmail.com and we'll be sure to respond ASAP!

Posted in: Blog, PR 101 for Moms, PR 365 on 01/18/2010

Generating Blogging Income: PR 365

Today's topic du jour at PR 365 is not necessarily publicity related, but it certainly is relevant to the bottom line. At the heart of it, we are all searching for ways to make money through blogging, or through our businesses, and Sarah at Genesis Moments has this question for us:

Question: I would be interested at some point in knowing how to turn a site like DIY Frugal where I pretty much simply house my articles for my column in the local paper and turn it into a more useful site for people - like what other content, etc., would make it both more useful and possibly easier to generate income through (like adding affliate links, etc.) I don't have a lot of time to put into it but would like to make a few simple changes to make it worthwhile for people to come visit.

Answer: After doing a bit of research on my end, I found that the wonderful world of mom bloggers are an incredible resource in guiding you towards earning extra income through articles you've already written.

During an incredibly productive chat session yesterday with some of my favorite Lifetime Moms, Alyssa at Kingdom First Mom, Nicole at the Guilty Parent and Stephanie at Bizzie Mommy, they turned me onto several affiliate sites that are great places to start with regard to finding additional revenue streams. Some of those sites include:
My Savings Media

Commision Junction

Logical Media

Panthera Network

Our conversation then migrated into the important category of optimizing SEO on your site in order to raise traffic on your site - thereby increasing revenue streams for you! Right off the bat, Nicole pointed me in the direction of Angela England. She's @angengland on Twitter and according to Nicole, she's the keyword goddess. Angela has also written an ebook that will give you tons of great tips on how to turn existing articles into more cash by contributing to other sites or reworking the content so that you can turn it into several articles that can generate cash on a regular basis.

To order Angela's ebook, click here - I did and am finding it incredibly helpful. Plus, a portion of the order will be applied to a one on one phone consultation with Angela. No more ridiculously expensive SEO guys speaking algorithms and language we don't understand!!! Angela's tips are easy to understand and most importantly, you can apply them to your blog and your freelance writing career so that you can start making more money from numerous revenue streams!

Another great tip that Alyssa gave me was that when you write a title for your blog post, you should make sure your keywords are closer to the left hand side of your title. That means that instead of starting my title with PR 365, I changed it to Generating Blogging Income. Will let you know if that helps with my traffic.

Plus, I'm also told that if you have your blog hosted on Wordpress then that's a great way for you to instantly garner more traffic. I don't know why, but Google seems to pick up wordpress posts quicker, plus it's easier for people to comment on Wordpress. I haven't yet switched over to that system but if and when I do, I'll let you know if that helps with my monthly traffic.

Finally, another great tip was to follow #savvyblogging on Twitter. There are tons of great tips being offered every other second in that twitter stream. Savvy Blogging is currently asking people to provide links to posts on their own sites outlining their blogging goals for 2010.

At the end of the day, the best place to find ways to make money for your blog is to listen to the incredible members of the mommy blogging community who are doing it and are available to offer their expertise so that all of us can achieve prosperity in the coming year and decade ahead!

Meanwhile, here's another way to earn money with free swag compliments of Lifetime Moms.

Posted in: Blog, PR 101 for Moms, PR 365 on 01/06/2010

Self Promotion Do's and Don'ts

I have been in the business of promoting people for a very long time. And during that time, I have met an eclectic group of celebrities, authors and entrepreneurs. Some, are the kindest, humblest and inspiring people I know. And for those individuals, I would go to the ends of the earth to pitch their story or protect them when the chips were down. But then there are others whose egos were as big as a city block who were unappreciative, demanding and did not value my time or efforts. So now here's my question to you my budding writers, entrepreneurs and parenting experts? Take a good hard look at how you've been promoting yourself and tell me, which category do you fit into? Humble or egomaniac?

In this article, I'm going to give you some tips on how to promote yourself to others without making them think you are completely full of yourself. And trust me, sometimes it's hard to separate the two if you are passionate about what you're doing. But it is important to not cross over the line. And if you do, here are some do's and don'ts that'll help you avoid the pitfalls of self promotion.

1. DON'T: Look Out for #1 and Leave Others in the Dust - this is a classic scenario. You have just helped someone get ahead and rather than thank you for your support, they use the opportunity to further their own agenda and prevent you from getting ahead. Recently, a friend told me a story of someone she helped get a booking on a local TV news show. The woman was supposed to be paired that morning with a male counterpart that she was supposed to bring with her, but the day of her appearance, she failed to tell the producer that the other guest wasn't coming and appeared on the show by herself. The producer was livid. While the guest thought she'd be the shining star, she instead shot herself in the foot. If you promise you're going to deliver one thing and then choose to promote yourself instead without being upfront about it, you will never be asked back. Be honest and don't step on the toes of the people who help you succeed.

2. DO PROMOTE BUT DON'T BOAST: Self promotion is a two way street. If you are the type of person who only wants to talk about yourself and not take advice or listen to other people's stories about how they've built their brand, launched a product line or successfully published books, then you are doing yourself a disservice. Share your success story and then listen and offer advice to someone else - helping other like minded women like yourself is a sure fire way to gain respect and get ahead.

3. DON'T: GET BOGGED DOWN BY YOUR COMPETITOR'S SUCCESS: Now, here's a tough scenario. You have a direct competitor and it drives you crazy that they're getting all kinds of great press and you're not. What are they doing that you're not doing? If you take that jealousy and then speak out against your competition, the only business you are hurting is yourself. Though they may be ahead at the moment, if you take the high road and focus on your strengths, trust me, you will succeed. It's great to know what your competitor is doing so that you can forge ahead and think of ways that you can be better, stronger and more innovative.

For those of you who fall into the "Humble" category, all I can say is keep doing what you're doing. You have managed to handle your success in stride while being grateful to those who have helped you get there. I don't think I ever would have ventured out on my own without the support and encouragement I received from the incredible women and men in my life who have led me to amazing opportunities and rolled up their sleeves to help me when that boulder I was rolling up Success Hill felt like it was 10,000 pounds.

For those of you who have that mentor who has helped you succeed or advance in your career, be grateful, thank them and share what you've learned with other women as well. If we're all in this together, there's no telling what we can accomplish.

Posted in: PR 101 for Moms, PR 365 on 01/04/2010

PR 365...How Do I Spruce Up My Bio?

Our latest question comes from one of our favorite fashionista mamas, Nicole Feliciano, the founder of MomTrends and one of the gorgeous faces behind the brand new children's sample sale site Totsy. Nicole wants to know how she should enhance her "About Us" section on Momtrends.

Answer: After taking a look at your bio page, here's what I'd love to see. Just as you profile amazing moms at Momtrends, I want to know your personal and professional back story. The fact that you contribute to sites like Babble is impressive but I'd love for your readers to know more about how you got your start in the fashion industry and how you've evolved in your career after becoming a mom. I love the fact that you've been able to take your many years of experience in the fashion industry and apply it to your current role as a writer and trend expert.

Second, you should mention any media appearances you've secured and if you have a link to those appearances or some of your most impressive print or online clips, then include it in that section as well.

Your bio should also include information about how you're available for consulting gigs and brand spokesperson opportunities. Also mention brands you currently work with in this capacity, such as Totsy.

Finally, you should include a section on speaking engagements as well. If you've appeared as a speaker before, mention the names of the most notable conferences you've appeared at and then provide an email address where people can reach out to you to book you for an upcoming engagement.

You should aim for your About Us section to be a one stop shop that'll give readers, the media and potential clients the chance to see you in action as an incredibly dynamic writer, fashion expert and mom to two incredibly stylish and gorgeous children!

Good luck with Momtrends in 2010 and keep those questions coming!

Posted in: PR 101 for Moms, PR 365 on 01/03/2010

PR 365...The Art of the Interview Request

If you're a popular mom blogger, parenting expert or an author, you will most likely find yourself in a position where reporters and even TV producers might be interested in featuring you in a segment or news story. However, before you agree to share your story, I wanted to talk about the interviews you should stay away from at all costs. You see, not every interview request is reason for you to get your name out there. Some publicists will argue that any publicity is good publicity but I beg to differ. If you have an image you want to protect or if you value your time, then you should evaluate each and every opportunity and wait for the one that will bring out the best in you.

So let's take a few scenarios into account. If you many of you are subscribing to Peter Shankman's HARO (Help A Reporter Out) you will see a treasure trove of opportunities each day. But some of those queries are down right dangerous. I'm not going to out some of the offenders, but here are some tried and true tips to avoid the wolves in sheeps clothing.

Query: Looking for a family who has been hit hard by the economy - experienced a job loss, home foreclosed upon and is in dire straits. If you fit that profile, we want to feature you national television.
Response: Okay, you may be just that person. You have bills mounting, you're out of a job and you think, hey if I go on TV, maybe I'll find a job and maybe someone will help me out of this mess. Unless the TV outlet is Dr. Phil or Oprah, our advice is be careful. Any other news or talk show will just want to share your tale of woe offer you some empty advice and then send you on your merry way. And all you're left with is a clip of you talking about being in a really bad situation. Resist the urge and do not offer yourself up for this opportunity.

Query: I'm doing a story on the merits of mom blogging - especially want to talk to a mom blogger who does product reviews and gets paid for them.
Response: If you are getting paid to review products on your blog, please cease and desist - it is completely unethical to get paid to write a product review unless you specify clearly on your blog that the content is sponsored. Just as journalists don't get paid to write reviews, the same goes for your blog. And if someone sends you an Amazon gift card to post a review, then that's not acceptable either. Before you agree to an interview think about whether participating will help you or hurt you.

Query: Doing an investigative story on moms who work from home. - looking for a work at home mom willing to share their story on national television.
Response: Again - investigative story should tip you off. They are looking to feature two sides of the story. So that means that even though your story may be positive, the show may really be interested in hearing about people who have been scammed by work at home job leads. Talk shows look for conflict - if you're story is completely positive, then it might be a bit boring for them. However, if you were scammed, got out of the situation and then made a mint by taking the high road, more power to you. Bottom line - stay away from investigative reports!

Query: Looking for moms to sit in our audience to ask questions of our medical expert.
Response: If you have plenty of time on your hands, then feel free to respond and attend every talk show in New York City. However, if you think this will be your chance to make your mark on a talk show, think again. Being an audience member will not land you a big break, it'll just cost you about three hours of your time. Of course, there are talk shows that are fun to attend, like Rachel Ray, Regis & Kelly and Martha Stewart - so if you do get the chance to attend one of those shows, then definitely go - it's a fun experience.

For more media tips, visit our new column, PR 365.

Posted in: PR 101 for Moms, PR 365 on 01/01/2010

Older Entries

12/31/2009: PR 365...Bad Practices

12/31/2009: PR 365...Are Book Giveaways Worth It?

12/30/2009: PR 365...Blog Sponsorship Tips

12/29/2009: Introducing...PR 365!

12/23/2009: Why Moms Cancel