I’m very sorry for lack of any news on recent development of Evoque. It is caused because of my other commitments and responsibilities.  I was forced to move launch of Evoque to 14th of November, 2011. I’m sorry for any incovenience. Testing will become available around 6th of November, 2011. If you are interested, drop me a line.

Stay connected! Add me on LinkedIn.

Today I came up with a brief of Cherie Carter Scott’s great book - If life is a game, these are the rules. It inspired me to write this post and share my plans with you.

I’ve always been ambitious but didn’t know how to manifest it. I’ve been seeking the perfect way to let my creativity and entrepreneurial spirit run free. I’ve read a lot of inspiring articles with other entrepreneurs, listened to great e-books such as Millionaire Upgrade, watched hours of TEDastic speeches and other presentations of successful entrepreneurs such as Guy Kawasaki, just to learn how others found their way, what decisions they made and what did it cause.

Like in any kind of business, when sales people are trying to make you sign off the contract,they will not tell you many unpleasant things… In PR environment, there are 6 main issues you will not be told before bonding to pay your PR agency, and Lucy Siegel knows them well:

A recent survey conducted annually by the Oriella PR Network (which is an alliance of 15 PR agencies around the world) revealed a number of interesting issues regarding how social media has changed the nature of news-gathering and sharing. The Oriella Digital Journalism Study was carried out in March and April 2011 and is based on a survey of almost 500 journalists in 15 countries.

The study helps understanding what journalists currently are seeking in news releases. This post is a follow-up to give you advice on how to make your news releases more “targeted” and perceived by media as high quality. You can treat this article as a quick refresher course, but I’m hoping it will create stimulative debate on how can we better target media. Below you have 6 tips for making your message a must-read to the writers you’re pitching.

Today’s digital marketplace offers PR and Marketing professionals working in B2B environment a plethora of tools and channels to distribute messages. However, the quickly expanding social media also brings a lot of challenges to the table.

According to a recent Digital Readiness Report:

This is a follow up post to what I’ve recently read: a case study of a stupendous PR agency – Shift about message development for one of their client – pre-paid mobile company. The challenge was to change the common perception and behaviour of U.S. market towards pre-paid mobile phones, which were seen as the province of drug dealers and cheating hubbies.
Shift team came up with an excellent idea to use social media to analyse what people are really thinking about pre-paid mobiles in current economic climate. Rather than spending huge budget on enforcing brand with tailored advertising, they decided to address on-going concerns and deliver message with positive image of pre-paid phones:

Wikipedia defines Negative PR campaigning, also known more colloquially as “mudslinging“, as manipulative techniques used when trying to win an advantage by referring to negative aspects of an opponent company or of a policy rather than emphasizing one’s own positive attributes or preferred policies. In relation to Public Relations, mudslinging covers any public action which aims to smear opponent and destroy its reputation.

Negative campaigning can be found in most marketplaces where ideas are contested. In U.S. politics, “mudslinging” has been called “as American as Mississippi mud”. Some research suggests negative campaigning is the norm in all political venues, mitigated only by the dynamics of a particular contest.

Let me ask you differently: Can you afford not doing Public Relations? Whether you are a small company or established business with a strong growth, doing public relations agency is one of the most cost-effective business decisions you can make. If you feel you don’t have adequate media relations and copy-writing skills you should consider hiring a PR agency.

What a PR agency can do it for me what I can’t do myself?

Unless you are a former journalist or your blog has thousands of readers, creating strong publicity for your company can cost you too much time. PR agencies are specialising in seeking for their clients the best media opportunities and channels. The major benefits of hiring a PR professional (PR freelancer or PR agency) to launch your campaign are:

Inexperienced, often young publicists often do not know the basic rules of pitching to journalists and bloggers. Instead, they mass email a bazillion of pitches to people who don’t want them.  In order to NOT being blocked by a media member you should follow these simple steps below:

1. Know who you are pitching

Cold pitches are like bad cold calling. If you don’t research information about recipient of your message, the chances are your e-mail will be deleted with the speed of light.  Present only relevant material to the media member as they live on tight deadlines and do not have time to politely ask for more relevant info.  E-mails from the blue are not discourteous, but they are simply ineffective.