"Publicity is the front cover of Time magazine. Promotion is the back cover". (Publicity).If your company doesn't have a public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most department, or it's limited to a couple of editors batting out press releases now and then, The Publicty Handbook is your answer. Written by publicist pub·li·cist n. One who publicizes, especially a press or publicity agent. publicist Noun a person, such as a press agent or journalist, who publicizes something publicist and direct marketing copywriter David R. Yale (a genuinely creative guy known to many newsletter and specialized spe·cial·ize v. spe·cial·ized, spe·cial·iz·ing, spe·cial·iz·es v.intr. 1. To pursue a special activity, occupation, or field of study. 2. information publishers) with Andrew J. Carothers, the 448-page Handbook is subtitled sub·ti·tle n. 1. A secondary, usually explanatory title, as of a literary work. 2. A printed translation of the dialogue of a foreign-language film shown at the bottom of the screen. tr.v. , "The Inside Scoop from More than 100 Journalists and PR Pros on How to Get Great Publicity Coverage--in Print, On-Line, and on the Air." Yale told NL/NL that "this completely revised 3rd internet edition [2001] includes a wealth of new material on electronic publicity." That translates into a 50-page chapter on The Internet: New Publicity Tools and New Audiences, which covers such topics as Where Are the Journalists?, On-Line Pressrooms, OnLine Publicity at Trade Shows, and the Direct Publicity Trend. Yale's Handbook makes a great companion to Become a Recognized Authority in Your Field--in 60 Days or Less by Robert W. Bly Robert W. Bly -- often referred to in the trade as "Bob Bly" -- is an authoritative writer on the subjects of copywriting, freelance writing, and other marketing/writing subjects. (reviewed in last issue of NL/NL) for those publishers who want to extend their brand beyond their subscription base and enhance their reputation as experts in their field. "What, exactly, is publicity?" Yale answers his own question: "It involves supplying information that is factual, interesting, and newsworthy news·wor·thy adj. news·wor·thi·er, news·wor·thi·est Of sufficient interest or importance to the public to warrant reporting in the media. news to media not controlled by you, such as radio, television, magazines, newspapers, trade journals, newsletters, e-zines (on-line magazines), and websites. Your goal is to earn coverage because journalists think your material will be of interest to their audiences. Your material, if it is used, may stand on its own as a separate story or show, or it may become part of a larger story that draws on information from several sources. "If you use slide shows, speeches, posters, brochures, newsletters, billboards, direct mail, and advertising, in which you can control how and when a message is used, then you have become a promoter rather than a publicist. Michelle Rapkin, publicity woman at Bantam Bantam Former city and sultanate, Java. It was located at the western end of Java between the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean. In the early 16th century it became a powerful Muslim sultanate, which extended its control over parts of Sumatra and Borneo. Books, explains the difference this way: 'Publicity is the front cover of Time magazine. Promotion is the back cover.'" Thorough Handbooks aren't necessarily to be read straight through, but one does want to have the confidence that, when needed for a particular project, the handbook contains the information and advice called for by the situation. The Publicity Handbook instills that confidence by its thoroughness. Here, for example, are its 13 chapters--each running anywhere from 20 to 50 pages, and each followed by a detailed checklist summing up its basic points: 1. Planning for Publicity 2. Working Effectively With the Media 3. How to Create Newsworthy Publicity 4. Writing for Print Media and the Web 5. Getting Newspaper and Magazine Publicity 6. The Internet: New Publicity Tools and New Audiences 7. The Art of the Publicity Photograph 8. Preparing Broadcast Publicity 9. How to Work Effectively with Broadcasters 10. When the Media Come to Your Doorstep 11. Making Controversy Positive 12. Solving Problems with the Media 13. Sources and Services for Publicists. This last chapter-- appendix, really--offers 50 pages of lists of every imaginable i·mag·i·na·ble adj. Conceivable in the imagination: imaginable exploits. i·mag service, resource, publication and product that a publicist could ever need. The Publicity Handbook, new edition 2001, by David R. Yale with Andrew J. Carothers, 448 pp., softcover soft·cov·er adj. Not bound between hard covers: softcover books; a softcover edition. , $22.95, McGraw-Hill. RELATED ARTICLE: David Yale's tips for writing headers for press releases sent via e-mail mirror those of marketers writing heads for promotional materials: Keep them short and make them specific. Bad example: Acme (company, jargon) ACME - /ak'mee/ 1. A Company that Makes Everything. The canonical imaginary business. Possibly also derived from the word "acme" meaning "highest point". 2. A program for MS-DOS. Introduces Rapid Implementation Methodology for Building B2B (Business to Business) Refers to one business communicating with or selling to another. See B2B e-commerce, B2C and B2G. B2B - business to business Portals; Customers Achieve Functional Portal Implementation Within Six Weeks. Even if it were written better, many e-mail systems display only the first few words--Acme Introduces Rapid Implementation Methodology for--which doesn't communicate anything at all. Yale offers this solution, "which communicates the real news in the story": New Method Gets B2B Portals Running in 6 Weeks. |
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