The Chocolate Walk is Tonight!

The Chocolate Walk is on tonight on Farnsworth Avenue.  All the storefronts and restaurants on Farnsworth are gearing up for the evening’s festivities.  Come on out and you will be treated to not only chocolate but also many will have special drinks to pair with the chocolate.  Um, chocolate and alcohol… a match made in heaven!  I know that Eco Beauty Bar, the new store in town offering all natural beauty products, skincare, artisanal jewelry, etc. (from one of the owners of the ShowCase Holiday shop), will be partnering with Sweet Inspirations  and will have chocolates from The Crafty Diva paired with white or red wines.  They are located two doors down from Jesters at 225 Farnsworth.  I know also that Shoppe 202 has had Chocolate Martinis and I’m sure all the restaurants will have amazing treats for you to sample.  It’s a great time so come on out with your friends and family. 

See you tonight!

Bordentown is Buzzin’!

Can I just tell you how excited I am to be part of the Bordentown Business Community?!  SbowCase is an irrefutable hit in town and the rest of the town is so abuzz with holiday cheer.  Tonight there are Carriage Rides in town and kettle corn stand, plus lots of other activities. Stores are open late, from the Old Town Book Shop to Sweeties and all the restaurants of course.  If you are a Bordentown resident or are in town from a neighboring hood, hope you are enjoying all of the Christmas Cheer!

 

And I want to just also offer a prayer to one of our country’s other small towns that right now is doing anything but celebrating.  My heart breaks for the beautiful little souls that were released before their time.  Such unspeakable horror that should never have taken place.  My heart is so broken that I can only speak of it in vague terms.  Let’s gather our spirits and pray for our brothers an sisters in Newtown, CT, as they heal during this unimaginable time of grief.  

Buzz Menu

Let’s face it, not everyone can afford to hire an agency on a retainer basis and that is why I started Build-A-Buzz in the first place.  I wanted to help companies do their own PR via PR advice, contact information and resources.  I also provide affordable lists via HandleYourOwnPR.

And now I’m taking this concept a step further by offering services that you can choose on an as-needed basis.  Here’s what’s on the menu:

BUZZ MENU: PR SERVICES A LA CARTE
Social Media Release               $500

Online release that links back to your site and is strategically written with keywords to maximize SEO and drive traffic to your site.
Traditional Media Release       $650

Development of traditional media release that is then distributed to key media outlets via email with a tailored pitch.
Media Outreach and Followup    $250/day

Development of a targeted media list followed by creative story angles to match editorial focus of each media outlet.  Follow up is conducted via email and phone.

Custom Media List Development       $300 for 50 contacts

I will customize a media list according to your product/services’ industry and segmented by media category i.e. magazines, newspapers, TV, blogs, etc.

Blog Writing        $100 per article (250-500 words)

Don’t have time to keep your blog posts fresh?  Then I will do it for you.  I will write pithy, interesting, SEO-maxed content that will draw in readers and engage your audience.

If you don’t see what you need on this menu, then get in contact so I can customize a program to match your budget.

Look forward to working with you!

Marina Echavarria

marina@realmny.com

Need PR Advice? Week’s Worth of PR Advice for Almost Free : )

I’ve shifted gears to focus on my online businesses and to provide valuable PR advice and consulting to small businesses and entrepreneurs on an as-needed basis.  No longer can clients afford to pay large retainers to have PR consultants build their brands.  Today, companies are doing it for themselves and just need some guidance along the way.  This is the wave of the future in PR and marketing.

That is why I am offering an affordable alternative to the traditional PR Retainer model. For just a flat fee of $250 I will provide you with sound advice on whatever PR problem you have or will develop a PR strategy for you.  You will have access to a full week’s worth of PR consulting…on anything and everything you need.  Need a press release? check.  Need a pitch for a particular editor or media outlet. check!  I won’t say no to any request unless of course it requires me to travel long distances! : )  As long as I can communicate with you via email, phone and, actually, will meet with you if you are in the New York area.

As a publicist, PR entrepreneur with over 20 years experience running my own firm and leading accounts at top level agencies in New York City, there’s NOTHING that will stump me in the PR realm.  So, go ahead, give me your best shot!

If you want to contact me directly, email at marina@realmny.com or call me at 917-836-7078.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Six No Fail Steps for PR Success

After 20 years in the PR business you get more than a “feeling” of what works and what doesn’t.  Below are the six steps that I’ve determined are essential to a successful PR campaign:

1. Develop a Strategy:  The first step to success is knowing what your goals are.  You must first set your sights on the kind of exposure you want, which media outlets you want exposure in; and, mostly importantly, what message you want to get out there about your product or service.
   1. Positioning: The most important part of this step is figuring out your company’s positioning.  What differentiates your product from competitors?  Do you have a proprietary technology – something that no one else has?  Are you a pioneer in this product or service or are you improving upon a product/service that is already out there?  These are all questions that need to be answered in your positioning statement.

1. Media Targeting:  Once you have your positioning statement you will need to figure out what media you want to target.  The most important aspect of this is getting to know each media outlet’s focus and that of its individual editors.  An obvious example is that you won’t be targeting car magazines if you are a beauty company.   Less obvious are finding the right editors within publications that feature several industries such as a newspaper.  Each journalist will have a beat and you have to find the right reporter with the beat that fits your product.
2. Press Release: Press Releases are great for getting some instant press. Most press release distribution services like PRUnderground.com, BusinessWire and PRNewswire, send your releases to hundreds of media outlets in a particularly market sector, simultaneously.  You can instantly score hits on Google News, Yahoo, Forbes.com and other online media outlets.  The press release also serves informational purposes for pitches.  Make sure you copy the text of the press release into an email instead of including as an attachment as most media outlets will flag emails with attachments as spam.  And finally, always link your releases to your social media accounts.
3. Once you have targeted individual editors as above, and have identified their area of interest, you will want to construct a well-written, pithy and interesting pitch to grab their attention.  The most important part here is to be short and sweet.  You only have the first two to three sentences to grab their attention.  And don’t forget the subject line.   This is actually the most important as they won’t open the email if the subject doesn’t catch their eye.
4. Follow up, follow up, follow up.  Once you send your amazing pitch email, the next step is to follow up in a couple of days with a phone call.  Most editors don’t like to get calls so make sure you know their particular “pet peeves.”  Most subscription media databases and the lists on HandleYourOwnPR.com will have a comments section with helpful tips including their contact preferences.   And be careful not to be too aggressive and aggravate the editor. There’s a fine line between persistence and persistence to the point of annoyance.  Be professional always and respect the editor when they say they are not interested; and ALWAYS thank them for their time.
5. Finally, once you have interest from an editor make sure you provide everything they need for the story.  Sometimes they need more information than what is provided in a press release or will require an interview.  You should also have great lo and hi res images available to send at a moment’s notice.

 

With this strategy, you should have a winning formula for PR success.

 

Good luck!!