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Advice about business and life often gets around to one
of those “80-20” rules. As in, “80 percent
of your business will come from 20 percent of your customers
or activities.” Here’s my twist on this for
publicity and marketing:
Build no more than 20 percent of your publicity and
marketing activities around yourself.
I know. Sounds crazy. “What else besides me would
I showcase in my promotions?” a sane person might
ask.
But hear me out. Think of all the advertising and marketing
messages you’re barraged with all day. Do you
welcome them? Do you feel, right now, like hearing from
one more person, one more time, about how great their
product or service is?
Well, neither does anyone else.
So there’s the problem with building your whole
marketing or PR campaign around your credentials, or
the superb service or product you offer. Sorry to break
the news, but most folks just don’t care.
So the question becomes, what do they care about? And
what should you build 80 percent of your PR around?
Here’s my simple to answer. You even knew it
all along, because it applies to you too. Most people
care most about one thing.
Themselves.
And that’s why any attorney or law practice should
build 80 percent of their publicity around what the
prospect cares about.
Here’s what I mean: Your service helps people.
You help them solve a problem, or enable them to delegate
a task they’d rather avoid. Every day, you share
and apply the highly specialized expertise and professional
knowledge you’ve acquired over years.
So that’s what your PR should be all about –
80 percent of it, at least; especially your media publicity.
Because in the media, information rules. It’s
the fuel that drives our society’s vast media
machine. You can’t watch TV news for five minutes,
or flip two pages of a magazine, without seeing an expert
featured.
My advice: become that expert. Talk to your prospects
– via the media – about the problems and
needs they face. Share the information and insights
you have on these topics. It’s much easier to
do than you might think. If you’re a family lawyer,
send the media news they can use on the latest in divorce
legislation. If you're a medical malpractice lawyer,
send them information about the most dangerous medical
procedures. If you do, the media will quote or interview
you on the topic. Believe it or not, reporters can’t
live without articulate experts to interview. Approaching
them, and offering your services, is not difficult.
Instant—and free—publicity for you!
And finally, if and when you are compelled to mention
yourself, do yourself a favor. Skip the adjectives and
superlatives. All of them. Because media folks aren’t
impressed.
What about the remaining 20 percent of your PR? Go
ahead and write some press releases about the awards
you won, about the new office you opened, about your
great skills. It can’t hurt. But don’t think
for a minute the media will embrace it as big news.
So remember the 80-20 rule. Give the media and your
prospects useful information they need, and let them
reach their own informed decision that you’re
a good resource. I have seen countless professionals
and businesses become media successes following this
route. Share your expertise and wisdom. A little bit
of it, you’ll find, goes a long way.
Ned Steele works
with people in professional services who want to build
their practice and accelerate their growth. The president
of Ned Steele's MediaImpact, he is the author of "102
Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice."
To learn more visit www.MediaImpact.biz,
call 212-243-8383, or e-mail him at: info@mediaimpact.biz.
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