Canadian Small Business Women

Connection, Synergy, Community

Tell your story and grow your business but don’t make it personal!

 

Operating your own small business is a daily challenge. Writing about it, for some people, is even more so. My advice to small business owners who are looking to start their own blog is to star in their own blog. That statement however, comes with a couple of caveats: Don’t do it to often and don’t get too personal when you do.

If you own and operate a small business you know what goes into it. Often it’s a herculean effort involving long days (and nights!) and plenty of weekends too. You are passionate about what you do otherwise you wouldn’t do it. So why not share some of that passion with the world? The easiest place to start a blog (and we’ve talked about this before) is with you. Spend your first few blogs addressing the “who, what, where, why and how” of what you do. It’s ok to share your personal story. Perhaps you were motivated to start your business from a deeply personal place or as the result of an experience you had. For example, I recently wrote and published a children’s book about allergies that was a direct result of the experiences we have had with my own daughter. You can bet that in my blogs I will be sharing some of those experiences to create a relatable story for my intended target audience.

You don’t have to share the specifics but you can talk about why you do what you do and why you are passionate about it. Adding a personal touch or two to your blogs humanizes your product or service and helps people to understand your motivation. Even incorporating a “stock” kind of sentence or phrase that opens or closes each blog, one that is written from the heart (but which also relates to your business) is a great way to create continuity between blogs and to connect with customers on a more meaningful level.

The trick to this whole process is finding a balance.  Like Momma used to say “all things in moderation.” Sharing your story and “starring” in your blog is about including some relevant facts about yourself, or sharing insightful & humorous stories about your experiences, while still making sure that everything you do links back to the product or service you offer. The blogs are about you but not ALL about you. Share your story while making sure to leave out the really gory and personal bits. Unless you’re a divorce mediation specialist for example, we don’t need to hear your bitter divorce story. So find a way to get personal, without getting too personal! Finding an audience that can relate to you on a personal level can help grow your business!

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

416-420-9415 Cell/Business

writingrightforyou@gmail.com

Put Some Emotion Into Your Marketing

Emotions can be a powerful thing in business when it comes to marketing. Think about it. If you feel emotionally connected to something or someone, you invest more time and money into that thing or person. Why wouldn’t you want to tap into that power when it comes to your brand?

Everything you do when it comes to selling your brand story should be tapped into emotion to make a stronger connection with your audience.

Here are 5 ways to use emotions to build out your marketing and PR strategy:

Focus on the human aspect of your story

The media hears about so many different businesses, big and small, new and established. You have to set yourself apart from everyone else. Find a human interest story to focus on when you are pitching the media. All of a sudden the story becomes more than a business pitch – you have a living, breathing, feeling focus that your audiences can relate to and become invested in.

Be human

You do so much work to build your brand character so you can’t forget that you should interact with your audience like you’re interacting with a friend.

When in doubt, think nostalgia

Nostalgia will always be a good thing to tap into when you are trying to emotionally connect with your audience. The notion of the “good old days” brings on an array of emotions, and if you have done your homework on your target audience, then you will know what they are nostalgic about. Whether it’s Toys R Us getting their audience to think about never growing up or Tim Horton’s nostalgia over national pride, those are the campaigns that stand out.

Avoid fear

While “prankvertising” and other public stunts that invoke fear in audiences have become popular over the past few years, you have to stop and think how it will affect your brand. For some, playing on the negative side of emotions is great – if your audience is into that sort of thing. Fear as part of a marketing strategy works if you are launching a horror movie, an exhilarating extreme sports campaign, or a provocative public safety ad (PSA). Before having someone dressed as a demon jump out of a TV screen or have someone free fall towards earth from space, think long and hard whether it a) fits within your brand story and messaging and b) will draw people into your brand rather than repel it.

Think Seasonally

Throughout the year, there are holidays and special celebrations that are focused on specific emotions. Why not join in the discussion that is already happening and tap into those emotions people are already feeling. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, so you can focus on love and how that would fit into your brand story.

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

How to develop your story for the media

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Once you are ready to start planning for your media relations outreach campaign, the first thing you should do is make sure that what you have to say is relevant not only to your audience, but also to the media. You have to make sure that the story you are telling is the right mix of brand and human interest to make the media want to talk about.

Here are 5 ways to make sure that the story you are telling is media-worthy:

#1: Brainstorm

There are few things that are more satisfying than a great brainstorm session! The key is that whether you are having a solo session or a group session, no idea is a bad idea at the initial phase of the process. I like to get as many ideas on paper as possible then eliminate them one by one until I am down to the final 1 – 3 ideas. Then I look a bit deeper into those final ideas to make my final decision.

#2: Play Devil’s Advocate

I am sure you have heard that we are our own worst critic. Well, when you are taking your story to the media, this isn’t a bad thing. It will help you edit out the stuff that will weaken your story. Ask yourself tough questions and be hard on the idea. If you can answer to all of the things you are saying, then you know you have a great idea on your hands. If you are left more confused than ever, then you likely have to go back to the drawing board and tweak your idea some more.

#3: Compare to competitors’ stories

While you don’t necessarily want to get into a rut of “well they’re just doing it better,” you have to see what your competitors are doing so you can push yourself a bit when it comes to creativity as well as differentiating yourself. It doesn’t make sense to pitch the exact same story to the media as your competitors have done, however, you have to take into consideration whether they were successful with their story or not. If they were successful, look at similar elements you could focus on for your own story. If it wasn’t, then find a completely different approach.

#4: Talk about it

Once you have either narrowed down your options or you have landed on that great story, talk about it to family and friends. Gage their reaction. You can generally tell whether someone finds your idea interesting or not, and, on occasion you might find that friend who will be totally honest with you. Take the reactions and constructive criticism and apply it to your idea where appropriate.

#5: Develop consistent messaging

After your idea has been tweaked and criticized, you should have a great story idea to pitch. Now you have to build the foundation for your outreach by creating messaging that will be used throughout your pitches, media releases, media kits, etc. Your messaging document should be short points that outline your brand story. Consistency is key, and repetition will get you remembered.

 

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making it unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

Creating the Perfect Pitch

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A pitch is when you reach out to a media or influencer target to share your story with the hope that they will want to write about it or share your story in some way. The media receives hundreds of pitch emails every day. You need to find a way to stand out among the clutter. If you don’t, your email will quickly be moved to the trash.

What it really boils down to is that you need to be able to connect with another human being in such a way that they will want to hear more about what it is you are pitching. It is about building relationships. When you pitch the media, don’t think of it as a “one-and-done” strategy. Think of it as a long-term strategy where you make an impression and then you can keep the conversation going while you get more acquainted with your media target.

Here are a few things to consider to help you put together a great pitch that will get you noticed:

  1. Be selective with who you pitch. Your story won’t appeal to everyone. If your business is about beauty products, you likely wouldn’t pitch a sports reporter. While that is an extreme example, you do need to get to know the people on your media list. Look at what types of articles they write and what topics they cover. The goal is to tie it in with something they are interested in already. If that means cutting your media list in half, then do it. It’s better to have a highly targeted list where you have more chance of getting coverage than if you waste time pitching someone who would never cover your story.
  2. Personalize your pitch. Once you have your targeted list, take the time to personalize it by talking about how it fits within their overall topical focus. Reference articles they have written in the past. This will take extra time, but it will make a better impression on your media targets because it shows that you have thought about what you are writing rather than just sending a form letter.
  3. Remember that it’s not about you, it’s about the story. New companies and products come around every day – it’s not news to the media. You need to find a way to make your news stand out. Think about how your news fits into a broader storyline. That is what you want to focus on.
  4. Include a call-to-action – and don’t beat around the bush. Your pitch shouldn’t be too long. Keep it to a few short paragraphs. That means that you have to get to the point. Tell them why what you have to say is relevant. Tell them what you have to say. Tell them what you want from them. Make it easy for them to say yes by being clear and upfront about what you want.
  5. Don’t be annoying. We have all fallen into the “well, they didn’t answer, so I am just going to call again” trap. Often, if you are calling a reporter, they may say they prefer email on their voicemail. Or perhaps they have had a busy day and just didn’t get to it during that day. Give your pitch time to breathe before following up. Wait two days and try again. There will come a point that if they don’t respond to you, they likely just aren’t interested. Don’t take it personally, just move on.

Writing a pitch seems like an easy thing, but don’t get discouraged if you don’t nail it right away. It takes some getting used to. Give me a call if you need to bounce ideas around!

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making it unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website

How to Build a PR Campaign

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Now you know all about PR and what it can do for your business, it’s time to put together a fabulous campaign so you can start seeing great results. But where do you start?

Here are nine steps to building a great PR campaign:

  1. Set goals: What do you want to achieve?

What does success look like to you? Once you decide what the end game is, then you can decide how to get there. There is no point in putting together a strategy if you don’t know what you want to accomplish. In fact, you will find that your strategy will lack direction, which means you could end up doing things that aren’t right for your brand.

  1. Decide on your budget

This always seems to be the toughest thing for any business to do, especially small businesses or start-ups. There are a couple of things you should do before setting your budget. First, conduct a bit of research to determine industry best practices. If you plan to hire a third party to help you put your strategy together and execute, that also has to factor in. The two most important things to realize are that you won’t get anything for free and you need to be honest with yourself. Even if it’s time spent knocking on doors and you want to do it yourself, that is time spent away from your regular business operation – time is money. When you factor in a third party (like an agency), they usually base their fees on an hourly estimate. The cheapest is not always the best option, but neither is the most expensive. Find an agency that will work with your budget. You have to make sure that you are honest with how much you can spend and work within those parameters. If you are working with an agency, it’s frustrating for both parties if you say there is no budget and then you complain when you see the proposed quote that it is too high.

  1. Decide on your timeframe

Depending on what your campaign’s objectives are you can determine when you would like to start/finish your campaign. Make sure you are giving yourself enough time to get all the prep work done at the beginning!

  1. Identify your target audience

Is this campaign meant to target a niche audience? Perhaps there is an audience that you think your brand would be perfect for, but you haven’t really had the opportunity to tap into it yet. Decide who you want to reach and then make sure you learn everything you can about them – where do they go online? Who influences their decision-making? How do they like to learn about new brands? Etc.

  1. What is your story?

Determine what story you are telling. That means finding the unique sweet spot that will make your brand stand out from the rest of your competitors. You need to be able to identify why this is important for your target audience.

  1. What channels do you want to utilize?

With so many options available to you, you need to reign yourself in a bit. Don’t spread your budget and time too thin by trying to target too many channels at once. Once you have identified your target audience, then it should become clear as to what channels you can and should use. Keep in mind that your channels may be determined partially by your budget!

  1. Research

At this point in your planning, you need to research different aspects of your strategic choices. If you are having an event, what other events are on the same day in your city/industry that would conflict? Have any of your competitors done similar things? Did it work for them? How can you make your idea unique? What are the costs associated with what you would like to do? Educate yourself on what you need to know before putting your strategy into action.

  1. Create a critical path

A critical path is just a fancy name for a timeline. Work backwards from your end goal and note major milestones you would like to hit in your campaign. Then flesh it out by putting in tasks and who is responsible to get each task done. The best way to track this is to set up a chart. I like to work in weekly increments. I identify the date, the task, and who is responsible in the first three columns. Always add one last column for “status” so you can get the satisfaction of writing “complete” when you have finished a task – it just feels good.

  1. Hit the ground running

Once you feel comfortable with your critical path, you are good to go. It’s time to set your strategy in motion. Don’t be afraid to track results along to way to see if you need to tweak your approach as you go!

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making it unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/email/Website