If you aren’t sure what to write, try a “list article.” That would be something like “Ten Things You Can Do to Improve Your Sales Right Now” or “Eight Secrets to Better Lawn Care.” Equally feasible is a Q&A-style piece that would address similar concerns. Just pose five to ten of the most commonly asked questions regarding your business or project, and then answer them in the same punchy style described above.
Whatever line you’re in, I’m sure you can concoct a list or a series of questions like this. They’re easy to write and very easy for readers to grasp. Best of all, editors love them. The key to dreaming up subject matter is to think in terms, not of your own benefit, but of the benefit of the reader. Of course, you’re out to promote yourself and your project, product, or service, but editors and readers don’t care about that. You must think altruistically if you want to reap rewards.
Op-Ed pieces to newspapers can be freely submitted as unsolicited articles. But before you write any other kind of article—for magazines, for example—you must first write a query letter to the editor, as detailed in the previous chapter. I don’t care how wonderful your piece is; most unsolicited manuscripts get thrown away without being read (unless the publication has a published policy of accepting them).
So write a short letter first, introducing yourself and your concept for the piece, and giving maybe a two-paragraph taste of what you plan to write. The letter shows you’re professional, respectful of the editor, and, most important, that you can indeed write. If the editor likes your idea, he’ll request the full article, and you will have thus established a permanent rapport with an important media player. And don’t underestimate the shelf life of these pieces.
Unlike newspapers, which wind up on the recycle stack the next day, magazines may stick around a long time. A friend of mine still gets inquiries for his business based on short pieces published up to five years ago in a trade magazine.
A few suggestions when preparing to write: Take an inventory of all you know about your chosen topic, but also include what you don’t know. This will determine what, if any, research you need to do. You can get the ball rolling by coming up with a catchy title or opening line. Check into books and magazines. If you have Internet access, use your modem to link up with the vast information-sharing computer network. Keep track of catchphrases and buzzwords to lend an authoritative tone to your piece; but remember, you don’t have to be the ultimate expert. Your goal is to present a crisp, thoughtful article that benefits the reader first of all and, with a little luck, will benefit you too down the line.
One other tip: Editors like to give things away to readers, especially if they’re free. If you can include in your piece an address where readers can obtain a no-charge premium—say a newsletter, a product sample, or additional information (with your name or your business name on it)—all the better.
Giving Good Phone
Conversation is the art of never appearing a bore.
—Guy de Maupassant
I wonder sometimes how business was transacted before the invention of the telephone. Of all the technological pillars that hold up our civilization, the phone is the most intrinsic. Without it, the foundation would collapse. I could live without the internal combustion engine, MTV, and the microwave oven. Maybe even without TiVo. But not without the telephone. And now, especially not without the cell phone—that thing has become part of my body, like a third ear.
Neither could any Guerrilla P.R. plan. While professional publicists may travel to Hollywood movie premieres or tag along on cross-country interview junkets, the Guerrilla variety are primarily housebound. Even when you’re on your Bluetooth, you are more likely to be making a trip to the supermarket than the Cannes Film Festival; you’re much more apt to be found on your phone in the dentist’s waiting room than in Steven Spielberg’s outer office. Your wings of freedom are found on the telephone lines, so you must use the phone wisely—and often—if you are to succeed.
P.R. people have a reputation for being abrasive, hyper, and cynical on the phone. I keep all those traits in my arsenal, but they are not the sum total of my phone persona. I would venture to say that those tools don’t get used more than a fraction of the time—I use them only when necessary—and they certainly shouldn’t be your stock-in-trade, either. As is true in all aspects of life, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Civility is the lubricant in the machine of human interaction, and you should always be your most polite when dealing with media. I’ve mentioned how busy journalists are. Be sensitive to that. I always begin a conversation, even with reporters I know well, with “Do you have a minute to chat?” If they give their okay, I’ll press on, but I make sure I obtain their permission first. Then I know they have consented to participate in the conversation.
Let me remind you once again of the importance of listening. Too often, conversations aren’t true dialogues as much as a pair of monologues, with one party pondering the next point while the other speaks. Pay attention. Listen to the other person, and trust yourself to think on your feet. People like to be listened to. They like people who listen to them, and the more people like you, the more inclined they’ll be to help you out.
Now, as for pitching by phone, I assume some or all of the following have been or will be done:
You have sent a press release in advance of the call. (Sometimes, cold calls are necessary, but do your best to avoid them.)
You are thoroughly familiar with the media outlet you’re contacting, including personnel, style, and audience, and you are reasonably familiar with the work of the reporter you contact.
You’re speaking with the person you intended to reach. Not an assistant, not a colleague, but the real McCoy. (I know this isn’t always possible, and you may at times have to deal with underlings.)
Don’t be insistent; go with the flow for a while.
You are prepared to answer any questions. This is something to take seriously, and you won’t know whether you’re ready unless you practice first. Conduct a mock conversation with a friend. Have the friend pepper you with all sorts of questions, even hostile ones. You have to be ready for anything.
Once in contact on the line, begin by summarizing the central point of your release. Even if the reporter received it, he or she may not clearly remember the content. After your summary, repeat the reason for your call—that is, you’re looking for an advance story on your project, coverage of the event, a calendar listing, etc.
What you say next depends on the reply you get. If the reporter shows some interest, offer a new tidbit of information not included in your release. Give reasons why the publication should want to cover your project, all the while keeping in mind the lessons from before: they need news angles, and they seek to serve their audience.
Take your cues from the person you speak with. If you detect irritation or impatience, say something like “I won’t take any more of your time” or “Give me just a minute more.” You can press the journalist somewhat for an answer, but if she says she can’t commit just then, accept it and ask when you may call back for a definitive answer.
If you are met with utter indifference, ask leading questions that require a response. For example: “Have you found that the paper has done stories like this in the past?” (it’s not a bad idea if you can cite an example) or “Would additional news angles help you?” (and then provide them). If the journalist still isn’t biting, offer to send more material (if you have it) and say you’ll call back in a few days. Gentle persistence erodes stubborn resistance. Of course, record everything on your tracking sheet. These suggestions are generic to all media. Getting what you want by phone involves careful manipulation of the call. You must feel in command even as you behave deferentially to the person you speak with. As the saying goes, you get no second chance to make a first impression.
Tips & Traps
Call from a quiet place. Background noise is distracting to both you and the party you’re calling.
Modulate your spea
king voice to avoid a monotone.
Don’t come off like a Boy Scout, but do speak with enthusiasm and vigor. If you don’t believe in your message, nobody else will.
Never show anger or frustration with the person you call. Even if they’re behaving abominably, you have to keep your cool to keep your connection.
If the person you’re trying to reach isn’t in, don’t always leave a message when you call. Sometimes media people rely on their voice mail to screen calls. If you leave two dozen messages, you will probably never hear from the reporter. Call with the intention of speaking to someone, but leave only a tiny handful of messages.
If you still have trouble contacting the person, call his or her editor and explain your circumstances. Surprisingly, editors and managers are oftentimes more easily reached than those they supervise.
I can’t think of anything worse for your business than being unreachable or missing important calls. If you don’t have a cell phone, get one now, before you read the next page. If you don’t have an answering machine or your cell phone doesn’t have voice mail (virtually unthinkable these days), change companies and get the machine. You can’t ever be unreachable.
Tech Talk
I have often believed that technology is the enemy of reverence. Now, that doesn’t mean I’m a Luddite with a built-in mistrust of all things that plug into an electrical socket. It means that the more we worship the technological and the more we lean on it and demand explanations for every mystery ever considered, then the more we lose our sense of wonder and our drive to accomplish.
Believe me, I have no desire to return to the days before the Internet, before television, before cell phones, fax machines, Bluetooth, BlackBerry, electric lights, radio, printers, computers, software, hardware, telephones, TiVo, air-conditioning, hybrid motors, nuclear energy, e-mail, digital cameras, camcorders, or dishwashers. I don’t regret that we discovered how to make fire. I’m not sorry someone rounded the corners off a rock and made a wheel.
But I do think we are a technology-obsessed society, one that has too much regard for the explained and too little for the unexplainable. The more we lean on what we’ve created, the less incentive there is to transform that which we were given to begin with.
I think the iPhone is a very cool gadget. When it was launched in June 2007, the iPhone—Apple’s all-in-one device that combines a cell phone, MP3 player (iPod), and wireless Web browser while adding digital pictures and a gorgeous touch-screen display—was the most coveted gizmo on the planet. People lined up for days outside the Apple Stores in Manhattan, San Francisco, and other cities for the privilege of spending $599 (plus another $59.99 per month for the service) on an iPhone.
But I’m more impressed with the way the iPhone was launched than I am with the device itself. The introduction of a device that nobody needed but everybody wanted was a brilliant stroke of P.R. (albeit not of the Guerrilla variety, since Apple had an enormous budget to play with).
At the same time that the entire consumer electronics industry was gathered in Las Vegas at its annual trade show (the largest of any industry in the world), Apple, in San Francisco, stole the thunder of all the new gadgets, gizmos, and megabytes being shown off at the trade show by throwing a little party for its latest innovation—the iPhone.
Months before it would make its debut in stores, the iPhone was already an object of intense interest. USA Today quoted David Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard Business School, as estimating the free publicity’s value at $400 million and saying, “No other company has ever received that kind of attention for a product launch. It’s unprecedented.”
How did Apple do it? First, it helps to have a solid-gold reputation as one of the most innovative and user-friendly companies in the world. Apple has a very small percentage of the computer market in the world (perhaps 4 or 5 percent), but it has a reputation as the groundbreaker, fostered by such products as the iMac and the iPod.
The iPod, indeed, was the product that put Apple in the nation’s—and the world’s—consciousness as a great consumer company. That little device, described in a book title as The Perfect Thing, became as ubiquitous as the Walkman had once been for Sony. It quickly took on the status of a generic: people would say “iPod” when they meant any MP3 player, just as they say “Kleenex” when they mean any tissue. So it didn’t hurt that Apple was coming off a product launch that had been monumentally successful.
Also, it had a star: Steve Jobs, the once-estranged founder of the company, had come back to Apple years before the iPod or the iPhone and had reestablished himself as the consumer-friendly Bill Gates. Jobs, in his jeans and running shoes, was the guy we all thought we could take out for a burger. Except that whenever he appears, he turns into the Great and Powerful Oz, and new and exciting products leap from his fingers. It was a major boon to Apple that Jobs was on hand to introduce the iPhone.
Apple insisted on control over its product. It made the iPhone available only to customers of AT&T Wireless (formerly Cingular) because that company would let the iPhone be what Apple wanted it to be without interference.
There was enough press coverage of Jobs’s introduction of the iPhone to create a new country. Magazines ran cover stories. Television news led with the iPhone. The Internet? It was nearly impossible to escape the iPhone. All this because a man stood on a stage and showed off a new telephone to a group of journalists.
Technology may very well be the enemy of reverence—I believe it is—but it can be a great deal of fun. And that will always make it possible for a man like Steve Jobs to attract a tremendous amount of publicity. We’re just waiting for the Next Big Thing.
People Get Ready
I imagine at times you’ve been miffed by my commanding you to “be interesting” or “perform” without some instruction as to how. Let’s start with some basics I’ve gleaned over the years. My theory about “perception as reality” holds true on every level. So, in your dealings with media and the public, you want to make a good impression every time. This section is meant to help you prepare for in-person interviews, TV appearances, and glad-handing of all kinds. Research has shown that people form strong opinions about others during the first seven seconds of meeting someone. Non-verbal signals are critical in determining the impressions individuals make on others. Appearance, dress, body language, and attitude all contribute.
Consider the famous Nixon-Kennedy debates in 1960. People watching on TV overwhelmingly felt Kennedy, with his easy manner and good looks, was the hands-down winner. Those listening on radio felt Nixon won, based on the content of his answers. That historic series of debates was a defining moment in establishing the immutable power of the mass media to influence events.
Peggy Klaus, a media readiness consultant and an astute observer of human behavior, assists actors, news anchors, and corporate leaders with what she terms “physicalization,” or ways in which the body moves. She emphasizes that our gestures should involve the least amount of stress. One should present oneself with ease and fluidity, seeking and finding a comfort zone.
This holds true not only for the body but for the voice. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s voice dropped five tones after her election, some feel because she was trying to sound more “mannish.” As a result, she was constantly hoarse. Later, she reverted to her natural speaking voice. She had found her comfort zone, and so must you.
Clearly, even on your level, the right signals must be sent from the start. So, when you are gearing up to meet with the media, observe the following:
Once again, do your homework. This goes for any contact you make with media reps. Know as much as you can about the newspaper, magazine, radio show, or TV show in question. Know who the anchors are, what section the reporter writes for, when the show is broadcast. If they perceive you as knowledgeable about them, they’ll be more likely to treat you with respect.
Be on time or even early for interviews, staging events, or anything else involving media. Punctuality is
a sincere form of courtesy; tardiness is a dire form of disrespect. This is especially true with TV. They’re on extremely tight schedules, and you could throw a king-size wrench in the works if you waltz in late.
Dress appropriately. Despite the title of this book, you shouldn’t dress like a Guerrilla. I don’t suggest you rush out and order a closetful of Armani suits, but dignified dress is a sign of self-respect, something you always want to convey. When you are on TV, dress is paramount. Unless your project is tied into the art world or counter-culture, make sure your attire is neat, well tailored, and on the conservative side. It will pay off.
Use open body language. In Guerrilla P.R. you’re a walking billboard. Everything you do communicates a message, including your body language. Look at yourself in the mirror. Are you expressive with your hands? Do you shift around? Do your eyes dart? Study yourself as if studying a lab animal, and be just as analytical.
Listen attentively. Listen to the questions asked, and read beyond the questions. Media people are diggers. Why do you think they call a hot story a scoop? Because they have an insatiable desire to get below the surface. You have to be ready to provide that, but you can only if you pay attention. By listening, you’ll be able to steer the conversation your way.
Until now, you’ve been assembling all the parts of your Guerrilla P.R. machine. Now it’s time to throw the switch and put your machine in gear. In the next chapter, we reach out to the various media, making your vision a reality.
* * *
GUERRILLA P.R. COMMANDO: Si Frumkin
There was a time when the term “Soviet Jewry” usually made people think of diamonds from Moscow, but that was before Si Frumkin came on the scene. A Holocaust survivor, the Lithuanian-born Frumkin arrived in America in 1949 as a young man anxious to start a new life. He built a successful business, earned an M.A. from the University of California, and started a family, but his real passion became the Jews he had left behind in the Soviet Union.
Guerrilla PR 2.0 Page 17