By Johanna Baker-Dowdell, Strawberry Communications

Anyone who has ever tried to generate publicity for their business will know it doesn’t happen overnight; it’s more of a slow burn.

Of course there are ways to get noticed quicker, like pulling a huge publicity stunt like climbing up to place a banner on the Harbour Bridge for instance, but for those without that sort of bravery – or budget – a better way to speed up the process is to establish a great relationship with key journalists at the media outlets you want your business to appear in or on.

Here are seven tips on establishing and building a great relationship with the media:

1. Tailor any press releases or pitches to the journalist and their publication. Don’t send a bulk email to every contact on your media list. This is a waste of the journalist’s and your time, and will not endear you to that contact.
2. Respect the way the journalist wants to be contacted. Most prefer email, but some like over-the-phone pitches, information sent by fax, or a quick pitch via Twitter. Just ask them their preference and stick with however they respond.
3. Follow up anything you send. Journalists receive hundreds of emails and calls every day, so make sure they notice yours by following up with them using their preferred contact method.
4. Be available. If the journalist likes what you pitch, don’t make it difficult to contact you to find up more or organise an interview. Include several contact methods so they can get you while the story is fresh in their mind.
5. Think about deadlines. Journalists operate to strict deadlines daily, weekly or monthly, depending on the media outlet, so find out when your contacts’ deadlines are and don’t hassle them about publicity while they are in it.
6. Offer options. Sometimes a journalist might be interested in your business story, but not enough to take it further, so try to give three different ideas to show how your story can be used, i.e., a press release about winter hats could become a fashion article covering the season’s millinery trends, a business article about how and where materials are sourced or a part of a bigger fashion item on the hot colours for winter.
7. Check your facts. If you are quoting someone or using statistics in your press release or pitch, make sure you have permission and the information is right. While a journalist will check facts, they won’t come back to you if you prove to be an unreliable source.

Yes, building a relationship with journalists still takes time, but think of the benefits of that relationship down the track when you call your media contact and offer them an exclusive for your latest news. If you’ve done your homework and it’s right for them, it saves you starting the process from scratch each time you work on your business PR.

MORE GREAT POSTS BY JOHANNA BAKER-DOWDELL

• 10 Steps to the Perfect Proposal
• Diary of a Sweet Startup: Stanley & Nelson Cupcakes
• Creating PR around Special Dates

The Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s new Social Media Crash Course will help you to get started in social media and know what is best used for. This two-part online workshop is an easy way to learn about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs and YouTube — and how you can use these social tools easily to drive great results for your business.

Social media is more than just a buzzword. It’s how we engage with friends, but can also be how we find new jobs, clients and suppliers, do research and market ourselves and our business.

This two-part online training course will take you through:

• Why social media matters and why you should be using it
• Which social networks to join, tools to use and best practise tips
• How to build your personal profile and which tools are best to use
• Which social networks are best for networking and getting ahead
• How to incorporate social media into business operations without being a spammer
• How social media can be used to find work, to get new clients, to market an individual or a business
• Where to start — the shortcuts that make social media easy
• Examples of how people and businesses are using social media successfully
• Social mistakes that could cost you and how to avoid them

Register for the Social Media Crash Course now.

Event Details:

Register for the Social Media Crash Course now.

Format:

• 2 x 60 minutes online workshops
• Available LIVE or on-demand (watch at your leisure on your computer or join the live session)
• Resources materials and links to useful sites and tools
• Access to the recording to review the session time and time again

Australian Businesswomen’s Network Members Making it!

Member of the Week -

Megan Barrow, JoElla Marketing

By Suzi Dafnis, Australian Businesswomen’s Network

While it seems the benefit in a mentoring relationship should belong to the mentoree, often (and rightly so), the rewards occur on both sides of the relationship. The mentoring relationship can be a rewarding role for BOTH the Mentor and the Mentoree.

As a business mentor, you can help a mentoree reach her goals and you can be a sounding board as she develops and grows her business skills. A mentor can also support and empower the mentoree to identify issues and discover the solutions for themselves.

Since 1997, the Australian Businesswomen’s Network has provided opportunities for experienced men and women to be business mentors on its MentorNet Mentoring and Training Program.

Here are three of the main benefits of a mentoring relationship:

1. Make a difference to someone new in business and you make a difference to yourself

During my years in business, I have been lucky enough to have people lend me a helping hand when I was stuck or didn’t have access to information or contacts I needed. Sure, I needed to speak up and ask for the help, but when I did, the help was forthcoming and generous.

As we gain more experience and mature as business owners, I believe that it’s time to pay it forward. When posed with a business issue, being able to call on your experience allows you to demonstrate what you have learned and to pass on those insights.  We can learn from helping others and from sharing our experience we gain more clarity about how we’ve achieved what we have.

2. Hone your leadership and communication skills

The role of mentor is one of a leader. As a business mentor, you can guide and support your mentoree to make business decisions, empower them to find their own solutions and to produce results. Your ability to communicate, to ask questions, to educe knowledge, to impart information – all these communication skills are life skills that any business owner can continue to improve.

3. Enhance your own learning and education

We never stop learning. Every time the MentorNet Program (the Australian Businesswomen’s Network mentoring program) comes around, I sit in on the business planning module and have an ‘AHA’ moment, whether that moment is one of revelation (that we’re on track with our goals) or alarm (that we’ve lost direction and need to correct our course). Being a part of the mentoring process allows you to revisit your own business and to make changes and improvements.

And, often the mentoree will present an issue that you have not yet had to tackle and the learning about that aspect of business will be one that you can share. For example, as technology changes and the way we do business changes, be prepared to have to learn new skills and do business differently – possibly guided by a mentoree that is more tech savvy than you!

We asked three mentors their perspective on the mentoring relationship and why they took on the role of MENTOR:

“I have a passion to help others and watch them succeed, through providing education and guidance as well as suggesting new ideas and concepts. MentorNet has been a fantastic platform to help with that passion. I was also hoping to consider the true role of a mentor and hone my personal mentoring skills.

 

There is nothing quite so alarming as when you are working with the mentorees on their own business strategies, goals and plans and realising that your own strategies, goals and plans are not as well developed. Hence during the MentorNet program, I have worked solidly to ensure that I listen to every module presented by the experts and work through each activity. There is always at least one new idea or concept (and usually more than one) that emanates from each module and I make sure I add this to my plan.”

– Bruce Whiting, Business Artisans

“ [As a mentor I was hoping to get...] mostly the internal satisfaction of having made a difference for someone wading through new waters and, probably more confidence and trust in myself. I also looked forward to increasing my knowledge base by learning from other mentors, the mentorees and the various business experts who were guest speakers on the program.

 

I think the most powerful thing I’ve learned from participating in MentorNet is how powerful and resilient ‘women with a mission/passion’ are. In addition, I achieved a powerful personal insight in realising how similar all forms of business are. My business is in direct sales and I had a perception that the skill development needed and challenges faced were very different – I learned that was not true at all.”

– Sharon Whiteman, Richer Lives

“Each of the women in the ‘pod’ that I mentor are inspiring and powerful in their work, business and life. They each bring a unique vision and creative expression. The energy in the group is very supportive, with a lot of useful cross-pollination of ideas, plus sharing of practical solutions for business challenges that we all deal with.”

– James Burgin, Brand Within

“It doesn’t matter what you offer to your mentorees – advice, information or tools to facilitate their learning, they will only listen and assimilate information into their own world when they recognise its value. The trick is being able to help them see the value of what you are offering, while not taking it personally if they choose not to use it.”

– Ruth Moncrief, Insight Action

Invitation: Mentor on the MentorNet Mentoring Program

If you have been in business for five or more years, you may qualify to be a mentor for the Australian Businesswomen’s Network’s mentoring program for women in business – MentorNet.

The MentorNet program is an award-winning national mentoring program. It uses web and digital technology to deliver education and mentoring to women business owners. The program uses a combination of online classrooms, blogs, podcasts, a web-community and virtual meetings to provide structured skills training and mentoring to women.

There is no need to travel outside of your office or home. This mentoring program is delivered from where ever you are located via the internet. All that is required from the Mentor is an Internet connection and a separate phone line.

Email us at mentoring@abn.org.au if you’d like to learn more about being a MentorNet mentor.

By Kerry McDuling, McDuling PR

When distributing a media release or contacting the media with a newsworthy story, it is important to remember that the media work to very tight deadlines and may require your input at short notice. Your ability to provide the information they require on time will ensure you remain a preferred contact on your topic of expertise in the future.

Being Immediately Contactable

Provide your contact details on the media release and on the email in a prominent position (e.g., at the top of the media release and on your email signature). A landline, a mobile phone number and an email address is sufficient. Once you have distributed the media release, ensure you are contactable on all of the numbers you have provided and also ensure you have access to your email account.

If you are not confident that you will be immediately available and contactable on the numbers you provided, then consider distributing your media release at another time when you are more readily available to respond to media requests.

If you miss that important call

It might happen that you miss a phone call from a journalist. Don’t panic – not all is lost. Journalists will almost always leave a message and upon receiving it, you need to return the call immediately, even if you suspect you have missed the deadline. This will show courtesy and ensure you will be considered next time a story opportunity arises.

Journalists will only call and leave a message once – after that, they will go elsewhere and you have missed out. You need to be available and provide the information they require in a timely fashion if you stand a hope of being a regular contact of theirs in the future.

Responding to emails

If the matter is less urgent, journalists may contact you by email – in other words, replying to your initial email to them requesting further information. However, treat this with no less priority than you would a phone call and respond appropriately at your earliest opportunity.

Remember that journalists often work out of normal working hours and may require your input early in the day (for example, for breakfast radio) or in the evening (for a print edition of a metropolitan newspaper.) Don’t be surprised or put out – that’s the nature of the beast!

MORE GREAT POSTS BY KERRY MCDULING

• Be Controversial to Win Attention
• How to Build Your Journalist Database
• The Biggest Problem all Businesses Face

By Bianca Board, Web123

Tired of plain text? Wondering how to add some pizzazz to your updates? Web content does not need to be boring! As seen from Pinterest and Instagram’s skyrocketing numbers, the online world is madly in love with visual content.

Here are six creative ways to spice up your web content using visuals.

1) Infographics

Any uni student can tell you, understanding large sets of data can be a challenge at best. Make your information easy to follow by breaking complicated pieces down into chunks. Charts, graphs and fun visuals make your data informative and engaging. Better yet? Infographics are highly shareable, and when done well can be a powerful tool for brand exposure.

2) Quality Photos

Nothing beats authenticity and originality in web content. If you’re worried a professional photographer might break the bank, consider stock photos to spruce up your content. If the plain-as-text content in question is your product line, then getting some creative visuals in there is an absolute must.

According to Hubspot, 21% of Pinterest users have gone on to make a purchase after viewing a product. Strong images will help put those products right into your customers’ shopping carts.

3) Not-so-Quality Photos

Everyone with a smartphone is an amateur photographer these days. Snap and share shots from candid moments and behind-the-scenes peeks. No, your website homepage is probably not the ideal spot for an Instagram photo of the staff lunch meeting, but for Facebook and Twitter, it could be!

Using mobile photos adds a layer of personalisation to your company, making you and your staff seem more real. People like to buy from those they know, like, and trust, so consider web content that includes casual snapshots as a way of personally introducing your brand to the world.

4) Creative Headers

For little extras around your website, a little custom design work can go a long way. Consider creating custom banners and buttons so they’re branded to match your colours and style. Instead of text headers, break up large pieces of text with fun, branded images. That added touch helps establish credibility and brand recognition. Being consistent with these little design elements will ensure that the moment a customer sees your content online, they will recognise it as part of your brand.

5) Doodles & Illustrations

Embrace your inner child and sketch your ideas! Sometimes stock photos just can’t get your message across. More and more, I’ve been seeing doodles, sketches, and illustrations online as people are trying to create light-hearted visual content. These can be used for really complicated flow charts without the help of a professional design team, or just as simple, personalised additions to a blog post.

6) User Content

Don’t think for every piece of content you upload that you have to completely reinvent the wheel. Showcase previous visual work you’ve done as examples, letting some of the glory fall back to your clients. Many brands are turning to user-generated visual content, encouraging Facebook fans and the like to create branded images using company templates or submitting photos for contests.

Research shows that images are much more memorable than plain text. On Facebook, Edgerank studies have repeatedly shown that posts with photos are much more likely to rank well in Newsfeed. So what are you waiting for! Be silly, be fun. Give your brand a face online by getting creative with your visual content.

What are your favourite forms of visual content? Share in the comments below.

MORE GREAT POSTS BY BIANCA BOARD

• Busted! Myths of Web Development Exposed
• 7 Proven Tactics to Boost Your Website in 3 Months
• Features of Facebook’s Timeline that Suck for Small Business

By Kristy-Lee Johnston, Footprint Recruitment

I wrote this blog post on 6th October 2011, after the passing of Steve Jobs, but never posted it.

After watching the documentary “Steve Jobs: Billion Dollar Hippy” recently on ABC, I thought it was time to share my thoughts on the lessons Steve Jobs taught small business owners everywhere.

Thank You Steve Jobs, Written 6th October 2011

Today the business world lost a leader, an innovator, an inspiring human being and a remarkable talent.

Like many others, I feel compelled to write this reflection on the impact Steve Jobs has had on business leaders, existing or aspiring in small business everywhere and the lessons that can take away from his life’s work. I am not a long time Apple devotee, in fact I am a late comer to the I-Volution. This is not about the outstanding products and technology, it’s about the individual behind the ideas and vision which made them possible.

Most of us will never have the opportunity to lead an organisation that is as revolutionary, as successful or as purely awesome as Apple. So for those of us who continue to run small businesses, whether they may seem important, impactful, interesting or not, what lessons can we take from this reluctant corporate super star?

Conviction.

Whilst I didn’t know Steve Jobs personally, and never had the opportunity to see him present, what was painfully clear to me in what I read and the presentations I have watched is the courage of his conviction. He had ideas that people probably once thought were ludicrous, inconceivable and destined for failure, but he persevered and followed his passion. I think if most small business owners had nearly half of his conviction, they would be immeasurably better for it.

Talk to your customers, intelligently, excitedly, but in lingo they get! I am no IT geek, but I get I-Lingo. When Steve Jobs spoke, he engaged his customers, and I don’t mean the long term followers, the cutting edge IT lovers or those that ‘must have’ all the current tech gadgets – I mean the masses. The guy didn’t revolutionise the way we listen to and buy music, work, communicate and function without having ‘the masses’ on board, energised and convinced.

Embody your brand.

Many may disagree, but Steve Jobs was Apple. He embodied, projected and communicated everything that brand has to offer. Let’s hope he taught those who learned from him how to do the same, so we can continue to see the brand and organisation develop.

Enthusiasm is contagious.

There is something I find mesmerising about watching and listening to clips of Steve Jobs discussing the latest Apple technology, and the wider technology and communications world. Not only did he ‘get it’ in a way many will never, but he clearly loved it, was excited by it and was enthusiastic about whatever he was discussing. His enthusiasm, whilst sometimes contained and understated was infectious – you just couldn’t help but want to know more!

So to those small business owners everywhere, I encourage you, take just one of these lessons from this inspirational individual and implement it into your business, or life, today.

MORE GREAT POSTS BY KRISTY-LEE JOHNSTON:

• To Counter Offer or Not? How to Manage a Resignation
• Avoid These Common Recruitment Traps
• Recruitment 101: The Basics to Making Your First Hire

By Susan Wareham McGrath

Just as you might drive aimlessly around an unfamiliar area if you don’t have a map, you run the risk of drifting aimlessly throughout your working life if you don’t have a career plan. But the stakes are much higher in that case.

A career plan is basically a strategic plan for your career. And they’re as important for business owners as they are for employees. Your career plan can be as simple or as complex as you like, but if you’ve never written one before, you might find it useful to start in the simplest way – with a “Career Plan on a Page” that you can write in an afternoon. To help you stay on track, at the end of this post I’ve included a one page career plan template, for you to download and complete to keep you motivated and focused.

Like most plans, career plans are formulated from the three basic strategic planning questions:

• Where am I now?
• Where do I want to be in the future?
• How am I going to get there?

So the first thing you need to do to write your Career Plan is to answer those questions.

Where am I now?

To answer this question, think about:

• The stage you’re currently at in your career
• Your life stage, and future life plans – planning to start a family in the near future is likely to have a major impact on your short-term career plans
• The things you do well – the talents you have that come naturally to you – if you’re not sure, ask your family, friends and work colleagues
• Your values
• Your transferable skills – good communication skills are an example – you can take them with you from job to job. Also think about your industry-specific transferable skills, or skills that can take you from one industry to another. For example, media management skills can be used to open doors across almost any industry, as well as across media agencies; and as the basis of a freelance business.
• The things you enjoy doing, outside work as well as those related to your job
• Your dislikes
• Your work experience and qualifications

Where do I want to be in the future?

Think about:

• Your personality in terms of job fit – if you’re a free spirit, a job that requires you to clock on and off or be micro-managed would not be a good fit. If you like a 9-5 job with a regular pay packet, it’s probably not the best idea to pursue a telemarketing career.
• Your long term lifestyle preferences, and the type of salary you need to fund them
• The industries or professions you’re interested in
• The jobs you’d like to have in the future – even if they seem a long way from where you are now

How am I going to get there?

• Think about the match between your current skills and experience and those that you’ll need for your goal job.
• Then think about the gaps in skills and experience you’ll need to fill.
• And the best part of the process (it sounds like a lot of work, but will really get you motivated) – think about how you can get the skills, experience and qualifications you need for your chosen job, then fill in the action plan on the template with goals, actions required to achieve your goals, the resources you’ll need and the milestones along the way to success!

Before you start work on your career plan, there are two important things you need to know – one is that just like strategic plans and business plans, career plans are meant to be “living documents”, and need to be updated as your circumstances and ideas change.

The other is that there’s a whole profession built around career planning.  My “Career Plan on a Page” is a basic plan that works well for most people, but if you feel you’d benefit from a more detailed plan, or from professional career planning support; for example if you know what you’d like to do but don’t know how to get there, it’s well worth investing in a consultation with a professional career planner.

Download your “Career Plan on a Page” template here . If you would prefer a Word version of the template, which can be saved electronically,  please email me and I’ll send you one by return.

MORE GREAT POSTS BY SUSAN WAREHAM MCGRATH:

• Your 7 Step Blueprint for Interview Success
• 5 Career Resolutions to Banish Your Workplace Woes in 2012
• Is it time to ditch the pitch? ‘Elevator speeches’ in a world of social media.

According to bestselling author, Erik Qualman, Digital leaders are made, not born.

In an exclusive webinar interview with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network on 17 May, Qualman will show how, with advanced technologies, everyone can exert more direct and indirect influence than ever before and become an effective digital leader — anywhere at any time.

Qualman, (author of bestseller Socialnomics) is a guest on BOOKED for Lunch – webinars with the world’s leading business book authors and thinkers presented by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

During this FREE one-hour event, Qualman will explain what modern leadership means and describes how to be an effective leader in the digital world.

Basing his conclusions on a wide range of research and resources, Qualman will provide an abundance of real-world examples and tips and explain how to take full advantage of everything the digital age has to offer, while avoiding common pitfalls that can damage one’s “digital legacy.”

According to Erik Qualman, in order to succeed, everyone needs to adjust his/her leadership skills to adapt to today’s digitally open world.

Qualman breaks the process down into five powerful truths to establish the leadership “stamp”:

• Simple: success is the result of simplification and focus
• True: be true to your passion
• Act: nothing happens without action – take the first step
• Map: goals and visions are needed to get where you want to be
• People: success doesn’t happen alone

Webinar Details:

Date: Thursday 17 May 2012
Time: 12.00pm – 1.00pm AEST
Cost: FREE
Venue: From your home or office

Register for the complimentary Digital Leader webinar now.

About Erik Qualman:

Erik Qualman is the author of Digital Leader: 5 Simple Keys to Success and Influence. He is an International speaker of the Fortune 500 and has been interviewed in numerous media outlets including: BusinessWeek, The New York Times, CBS Nightly News and The Huffington Post. For the past 16 years, Qualman has helped worked in the online marketing and eBusiness organizations of Education First, Cadillac, EarthLink, Yahoo, Travelzoo and AT&T. He is a columnist for ClickZ, while also owning the social media blog socialnomics.com.

About the BOOKED for Lunch webinar series:

The BOOKED for Lunch webinar series are free lunch-time webinars that feature bestselling business authors and thinkers.

Presented by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network and GoToWebinar, these events are open to men and women who seek to expand their business education and to be inspired by thought leaders who will present new trends, big ideas and pose thoughtful questions.

Learn more about BOOKED for Lunch.

Mandi Gunsberger is the CEO and Managing Editor of Babyology, a lifestyle website that keeps hip parents and their bubs up to date with the world of baby-related design.

This article explores Mandi’s experience with a business mentor and outlines how a mentor helped her acquire the skills and confidence to manage a bigger team.

Becoming a mum seemed a great time to start a business

I was in a corporate role in the events industry with a lot of travel and long hours. When I had my first child, I decided I still wanted to work, enjoy what I do and be passionate about working while raising my children. Starting my own business seemed like the ideal option to be around the kids and still working on something I enjoy. The business takes up many hours each week and I find myself working more each year as the kids get older, but I enjoy the work and am building a business, so it makes it all worthwhile.

I saw a gap in the Australian market

I launched Babyology in 2007 because I saw a gap in the Australian parenting market. I had spend four years living in San Francisco where blogging was a lot bigger over there and arriving back here I thought Australian parents would benefit from a resource based on products in the baby and children’s market.

I was challenged by never having time to do a business plan and a direction for the business

I had always only had time to work on short-term tasks that needed doing immediately. I never had time to do a business plan, set goals and a direction for the business. I approached a mentor when I was trying to decide which path to take and how to come up with a future plan for the business on where I wanted to be one, three and five years into the future. We also had almost ten staff when I sought out a mentor as I needed to learn how to manage a bigger team and what my role as the CEO should be to help the staff, while also helping the business growth.

My business goals and plans changed as a result of working with a mentor

My mentor was very skilled in this area on the business and had built a very successful business a few years earlier, so knew the struggles and challenges I was facing in this industry. My business goals did change when working with a mentor as she had me read certain books (such at eMyth), which helped solidify what I needed to do and where we should aim to be in the marketplace. I changed the way I worked each week and spent more time on big picture challenges rather than only on daily tasks.

I loved the concept of being accountable to someone else

As well as business guidance, I loved the concept of being accountable to someone else. Working from home with a team of people who are all remote can be a very lonely place to be. Knowing I am meeting with someone bi-weekly or monthly where I have to show progress, do homework or come back with my achievements since the last meeting has been a huge benefit for me as it makes me work towards my short-term business goals.

I think a mentor is a very valuable resource for a small business

I think a mentor is a very valuable resource for a small business as it’s someone to talk to and help work through future plans and business goals. If you find a mentor who has similar business experience to you or who has been successful in your industry, this can be a huge help as they often ask questions or suggest strategies that helped them with their own business, which might be concepts or ideas that you haven’t thought through.

My favourite part of being a businesswoman is…

I enjoy the feeling of achievement. I started a business from scratch and have built it up into a successful business. I love having staff who enjoy their work and giving people an opportunity to be passionate about their roles in a part-time flexible working environment. I love that the hours can be flexible. While I work more hours than I ever expected, they can be structured around my children’s schedules so I can enjoy my family and my working career.

About Babyology

Babyology is the online market leader in high-quality product-focused editorial content for Australian parents. Babyology is the premium online resource for parents, providing information and reviews on products and services for them and their children. It facilitates a community where parents can discuss products and services and ask questions of experts in the field.

Babyology publishes at least three articles each day, in addition to other links and snippets sent out through social media channels. There are a total of over 5,000 articles currently on the site. Babyology is committed to communicating with readers through the mediums they frequent the most, as evidenced by Babyology’s very strong social presence on Facebook and very active Pinterest community.

Discover the difference a mentor can make to YOUR business

Learn more about the award-winning MentorNet Mentoring and Training Program.

Not sure how the program can help you?

1. Call 1300 720 120 now for more details,
2. Attend the free Me & My Mentor webinar information session on Tuesday, 8 May,
3. Register online for your free ‘Are You Mentor-Ready?’ business consultation with an experienced mentor and
4. Read more about the 2012 MentorNet program.