Can You REALLY Make A Profit?

I recently received a request to write about testing business ideas. While we can prepare for and plan our businesses around concepts and data, there is no real way to test if we're going to be successful or not.

There are some ways to double check if you are or are not on the right path when it comes to business. Here are my top three tips to see if you are on the right path to projected success;

#1. Focus on goals, don't just have them.

I know many people who write goals down. They have a goal for every part of their life. What they're missing is a plan. You need to have a goal followed by a plan and work at it daily.

#2. Be reasonable with your time frames.

Don't plan to be a millionaire at the end of two years. If only life were this easy. Make sure you have a realistic timeline to compliment your goals and your plans.

#3. Make profit your number one goal.

Don't think about expansion, second offices, etc. until you actually have a solid profit coming in. You can't just think big, you have to grow a profit to get big.

I hope these three pointers give you something to chew on over the weekend. There is no set answer to if you will make a profit. There is always possibility. It's how you navigate that possibility that counts!

Until Monday,

Velma Trayham

Google Penalties 101

I was asked about Google penalties the other day. Well, that is a broad topic. If you are a content writer or a tech designer, Google penalties and white hat marketing are like second nature. If you’re like us (the rest of the world), then you probably have no idea that Google can punish your website for certain reasons / actions.

First, Google doesn’t want to be mean. Google has a  great purpose in creating the penalty program- checks and balances. The company wants to give its users access to accurate information, not SPAM or  trolling websites. Google continually tweaks and improves its algorithms (how it ranks your website, etc.) so that the best of the web gets the exposure it deserves.

There are 5 very popular reasons why your website may not be ranking well on Google- almost all of them have to do with content, some of them with design and/or marketing. If you have purchased a template website without quality, original content and marketing-  be warned, you are probably being penalized by Google!

Now, here are the 5 most popular reasons why your website is being penalized by Google;

1. Keyword stuffed content. SEO is important but shouldn’t be abused. If Google detects a high number of keywords in a page, you will get a penalty.

2. Footer links. Not sure what this is? Ask your designer. You see, some web designers use footer links as a navigational aid. Most do it to impress clients with a great search engine ranking once the job is done. However, the longer the link stays there, the bigger the penalty.

3. Hidden links. All of the links on your site should be visible and useful to users. Anything that’s hidden (backlinks or transparent colored/coded) is considered suspicious.

4. Stolen (um, borrowed?) content. If you are using someone else’s web content, maybe even changing it a bit to make it your own, Google knows. CopyScape and other sites help identify plagiarism. Not only does Google see this as pointless duplication and will penalize your for it, they can turn you in for the duplication. Yikes!

5. Affiliate links all over the place. A high number of affiliate links is a red flag that your content may not be up to par. Although it’s possible to mask affiliate links with redirects, Google is wise on to this too. You shouldn’t be hosting more than two affiliate links on your webpage. Period.

Until next time,

Velma Trayham

My Fav PR Apps for 2015!

Let's face it... apps help keep us BUSY PR professionals on target and in the loop. I'm starting the second month of 2015 off with a list of my three favorite apps to keep business and PR pitches as organized as possible and without looking automated or unprofessional.

I'm listing my "Favs" below. Please connect with me by leaving a comment below this blog as to if you use any or all of these apps or what your favorite apps are.

1. PitchRate. This free service connects journalists with topic experts – such as small business owners – for free media coverage. HARO is good, but PitchRate delivers results!

2. Zemanta. Basically, this is a blog service on steroids. The service will index your marketing content for multiple Content Ad formats. It saves you tons of time and is worth signing up for.

3. Aminstitute.com. This clever website helps you develop the perfect headline for your next release or ad campaign. Oh, it is free too! You want to write in AP style, but you want to capture emotion- this website tool helps you do both.

Until tomorrow,

Velma Trayham 

Increase Your PR Revenue in 2015

Today I want to offer some basic tips that can help your PR company generate major dollars. First, don’t keep firing and hiring employees. Turnover costs more money than training or retraining an employee. It is actually more beneficial to invest in educating your current employees versus hiring and firing over and over again. Unless an employee committed and employment “sin”, try to work with him or her to help your own bottom line.

Don’t wanted 15% of your work week, which is the national average, on social media. You can delegate this work to an intern or a freelancer.  15% of your work week can be focused on seeking out and proposing new business leads versus working on social media. Writing blog posts and updating social media is important but a huge time water. Invest in someone else to do this for you so you can go after bigger business.

Finally, reward your customers. Find a way to give customers a reason to stay with you. Repeat business is important and easier to obtain than finding new business. If you have to give away a free Starbucks to a customer every month or pay for their business cards to be printed, do it. Do whatever it takes to keep old business- even if it comes to discounting a service or a product. In the end, you will make more money using this system.

Money is why we work.  If you are not making as much as you can each day then what is it that you are doing?

Until tomorrow,

Velma Trayham

"That's Not My Job".....

Here's my "what what" moment for the day. I was recently asked to do some booking / manager stuff for a PR client. Now, if I say 'no' then I am not a team player. I'm also not paid if I say 'yes' and I am a PR person- not a booking manager. There is so much risk in me saying 'yes' or 'no' that I often don't want to make these decisions.

I don't have an exact answer for you. I can say, however, that you should use your best judgement when making these decisions. Obviously, you don't want to say 'no' and have a client cut out on you. But you don't want to offer sub-par service or cheat yourself out of money, either.

What I would tell you to do is to set-up boundaries with your clients right before they sign with you. Don't allow yourself to be put into this position right off the bat. Note in all contracts that you are setting up the Scope of Work "as is" and anything else will either be charged at a certain rate or will be referred out to a partnering company better equipped to handle the request.

I wish everything was black and white when it comes to PR services, but it isn't. These things come up and they do so often. So, set boundaries ahead of time and visit each scenario on a case-by-case basis.

Until tomorrow,

Velma Trayham

3 PR Tools Worth Having

Happy Friday. I was recently asked a question about what PR tools are worth having. Well, there are a lot of select from when it comes to publicity tools and apps. However, I will say that the follow three are "must haves" for newbies and seasoned PR professionals.

1. PitchRate. This free service connects journalists with topic experts – such as small business owners – for free media coverage. HARO is good, but PitchRate delivers results!

2. Zemanta. Basically, this is a blog service on steroids. The service will index your marketing content for multiple Content Ad formats. It saves you tons of time and is worth signing up for.

3. Aminstitute.com. This clever website helps you develop the perfect headline for your next release or ad campaign. Oh, it is free too! You want to write in AP style, but you want to capture emotion- this website tool helps you do both.

Until Monday,

Velma Trayham

What Would Velma Do?

I want to start a series called "WWVD?" - basically, What Would Velma Do!  I get many, many questions throughout the day on branding and publicity. I want to reserve this series to every Friday. So, let's jump right into it!

Today's question is as follows, "Hey Velma, What do you do when your clients don't understand how to navigate Twitter?"

Answer- simple, education. Many publicists assume their clients know as much, or at least 50%, of them. This isn't true and you have to remember this. Unfortunately, many publicist don't educate their clients on what they are doing and why. First, you should always do this so your clients know your value. Second, you should do this so your clients know what they shouldn't do. I recently had a client who would post on Twitter about their services.... over and over again. This isn't going to get any traction as far as the brand itself and there is no ROI coming from these types of posts. So, I called the client and educated him on how to use Twitter and why.

So, today's thought is aimed at education. When you educate your clients on how to do certain things, or why you're doing certain things a certain way, you prove your value.

Until Monday,

Velma Trayham

When the Media Turns

There is a saying in the PR world that "no person in the media is a friend of the media." I laugh every time I hear this because it is so true!

Members of the press can be your best asset as a publicist, but they can turn on you quickly. If you deliver an exclusive to a different press agent, upon a client request,  your friend will quickly turn into a foe.  Further, if you invite the media to cover a client and then you have to cut them off, they will get upset.

So, how do you handle the media when they start to turn on you or overstep their boundaries? First, you need to act quickly and accurately. If a media person is upset with you, or you get the vibe he or she is upset, approach them in writing. 

Here's an example:
"john, I noticed today you seemed to avoid me at Client X's press junket. I wanted to touch base with you because I value our relationship. I hope you truly were not avoiding me, but if so- would like to take you to lunch and see how we can move beyond any challenges. Please let me know if I did something wrong or if you were simply busy."

Women have trouble being direct and there are a lot of female publicists.  This said, being direct is the best policy when you suspect trouble with the media. So, be kind and be direct.  Offer a neutral tone when addressing the press and extend a solutiuon first.

You also want to keep emotions out the mixture, which is hard. We are all human. Well, journalists today love to beat up publicist in social media forums. Why? We are paid better and we get to pick and choose our clients. Journalists don't and many of them regret this. So, when a publicist sends out a release with errors  or denies a press credential, many journalists are starting to call them out via social media. This can really make you mad and encourage you to go on a rant. Don't!

The worst thing you can do as a publicist is get emotional with a press member. Instead, make a concise public statement, like this:
"I saw John Doe's comment on my unfortunate spelling error today. It was a humble reminder that I am, in spite of my inner-dialogue lol- human! I have to work harder to catch these things as they go out, but I'm sure those who have been in my boat before understand." 

When the media turns on you, your career can be broken with no coming back. Follow the rules and examples I noted above, and you will be better suited to deal with crabby members of the press and people who simply don't like you.

Until tomorrow,
Coco the CEO

When It Is Over….

This week I’ve been asked about business partner relationships. I’ve spent the past couple of days dedicated to covering this topic on my blog.  As a result, I received a Tweet request on how to break up with a business partner. Well, first- you have to ensure you can legally do this. Then you have to consider if doing this will harm your company vs. if your feelings are simply hurt. If your feelings are hurt and letting go of the partner will harm the company, then this is a bad move to make. If your feelings are not hurt and keeping the partner on will harm the company, then this is the right move to make. Can you see where I am going with this?

Back to the point….. there are going to be times in life when people either grow apart of have a difference in vision when it comes to business. Below are my top three ways to let a partner go.

1. Make sure you have a contract going into the relationship. When you have to break up- don’t get personal about things, get contractual about them.
2. Never say anything negative about the partner in public or in an email. Be as positive as possible – even if the other person is being negative. Remaining positive will help your mindset and other people will natural gravitate to your side of the matter.
3. Be willing to take a loss, after all- losing a partner is a loss. You will have to prepare yourself for a lot more bumps in the business road. This is going to be hard, but not impossible. You can continue on without a business partner. If someone is harming your company, or your brand, it is time to call it quits. Like any relationship, don’t stay involved with your business partner simply because it is hard to say ‘no’ to them or because you are scared to venture out on your own.

Until tomorrow,

COCO the CEO

Your Social Media Accounts

It happens to the best of us, we see something online that is funny (but not PC) and then we share it.  No biggie, right? It's your personal account and you are entitled to your opinion. Well, I'm here to tell you that yes, you are entitled to your opinion. However, your opinion can get you into trouble and it can cause you to lose clients!

I've taken selfies before that I later had to go an delete because, while they were harmless, it isn't good branding business.  I tell all my corporate clientele to watch their personal social media accounts, even if they are private. It takes a second to snap a screen shot of something and friends today may not be friends tomorrow. So, instead of sharing or writing that questionable content, refrain from reposting!

I think this small piece of advice is the best advice I can offer.  Who we are in today's culture is a direct reflection of our personal social media accounts.  Case in point, check out this article on celebrity fails via social media. While the posts didn't damage their brands, think about how these brands could have been squashed if the same posts went out from a corporate CEO's account. http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/12/12/10-worst-social-media-screw-ups-2012/

Remember, if you wouldn't want your mom, the front page news, or your clients to see the post or the share, refrain from putting it on either your professional or personal social media accounts!

Until tomorrow,
Coco the CEO

When Reporters Cross the Line!

Do you know when a reporter crosses the line? Let me explain a bit about the unsaid rules of the press. You have two types of journalists to pitch to. The ones that can be bought and the ones that can't. Of course, the ones that can't be bought have more power as far as reach is concerned and people tend to trust them more. Anderson Cooper is one of these journalists.

The other type, the ones that can be bought, care about pushing the interest of their advertisers and typically will ask soft questions or deter away from hot button issues. You will work with both types of reporters within your PR career. Therefore, it is very important to know which types of clients to push to the different types of reporters.

For example, if you have a client who is always in trouble and can't handle himself well in-front of the media, putting him on Anderson Cooper's show is a bad idea- even if you vet the questions. This said, you could put that same client on any major network daytime TV show where vetting the questions is possible and you can brief the interviewers.

All this said, there is no safe bet. You may run across a reporter who crosses the line with your client. What do you do in this case? Do you pull the interview on live TV? This can make things worse for your client. Do you try to recover with follow up press releases and interviews? I wish I had the answers. You see, this subject has to be deal with on a case-by-case basis. There is no across the board answer.

When a reporter crosses the line, have a prepared plan read to be put into action for your client. Make sure you have a different plan for each client and you will be as prepared as you possibly can in this scenario. Remember, your a publicist - or at least trying to navigate your own PR efforts- and the current situation with your overall branding goals have to be the first thing you consider when responding to any reporter who crossed the line.

Until tomorrow,
Coco the CEO

Media Control and Michael Brown

This is a really sensitive subject for me as a black woman in the public relations world. Regardless of what you think happened to Michael Brown in Ferguson, the center issue at hand is his death is very tragic. I’ve spent the weekend watch CNN and monitoring the related hashtags on social media.  The main stream media isn’t translating the images and thoughts from social media onto their networks.

As a publicist, this tactic infuriates me but I understand it at the same time. The main stream media has to think about their shareholders, their advertisers, liability issues, and the danger of being charged with inciting a riot using the power of the press. So, they are very careful as to who they are interviewing and as to what images they are showing.

Social media, on the other hand, doesn’t have to worry about liability issues or advertisers. Posts are unedited, raw, and opinionated. These types of posts also offer a real perspective as to what people are seeing, feeling, and planning.

Since the audiences for these two types of media are very different, the emotions of the people are very different too! There is no consistent messages going out right now. The corporate communication people for the police department seem to be missing in action. The protesters aren’t aware of how to handle the media so mistakes are being made. The national media is scared to reflect what social media is showing.  Interviews with random sources are being allowed on air without being vetted. And as this media frenzy builds without any crisis communications plan, Michael Brown’s funeral is being planned.

I can only hope that reporters show both sides of the story in a respectful way. I can only hope that people giving interviews tell the truth- whatever it may be. I can only hope that when this boy’s funeral happens, the media handles it with integrity.

Saddened,
Coco the CEO