Well, the 4th of July is upon us tomorrow, and it’s obvious that people have already left town.  This goes for newsrooms too - which are often on a skeleton crew for holidays.  But, holiday or not - newspapers, television and radio still need news.  So, if you have your own news - it might be a good time to broadcast it.  Send a tape or photos to outlets, and since they don’t necessarily have their own crews or photographers available - they just might run it. 

If you can’t afford to price of a media campaign, consider outreaching to the press yourself, with professional materials (press releases, pitch letters) and a media list.  A lot of small agencies will help you with this for a significantly reduced fee.  Plus, you’ll get experience first hand in publicizing your product!

One of the less pleasant things about being an agency is billing.  Somehow, money is a taboo subject to discuss.  But, it’s important to get a signed contract or letter of agreement before you start working for a client.  This can save you heartache later on.  This is your livelihood, so don’t sweep payment under the rug.  Get what was agreed upon and what is fair!

It’s been over 4 years now since I left the corporate world and ventured out on my own.  Sure, there have been plenty of ups and downs - and there have been periods that have been slower than I liked.  But last week, a recruiter got in touch with me and asked “what would it take to get you back into full-time employment,” my answer was “A lot of money.”  The flexibility of working for myself cannot be beat.  Plus, you no longer have to work for people who may not know what they are doing.  Going out on my own was the best thing I ever did - I highly recommend it.

With shrinking staffs at newspapers and television news, it’s not always so easy to get your client in the news.  You always to be thinking of new and different ways to get the word out - whether it be by social networking (My Space, You Tube, etc.) or making your client part of another story (think holidays - Christmas, Mother’s Day, Back to School, etc.).  Don’t give up!

Instead of giving PR advice today, I’m sharing a fabulous, easy recipe for Flourless Chocolate Cake that I originally found in Bon Appetit magazine.  Enjoy!

Flourless Chocolate Cake 1 cup (2 sticks) butter8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips1 ¼ cups sugar1 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa powder6 large eggs. Preheat oven to 350.  Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan (I don’t have a springform pan, a cake tin works too). Line bottom with waxed paper.Stir butter and chocolate in heavy large saucepan over low heat until melted.  Mix sugar and cocoa in large bowl.  Add eggs; whisk until blended.  Whisk in chocolate-butter mixture.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.  Cool cake completely in pan or on rack.  Run knife along sides to loosen cake.  Release pan sides.  

I can’t stress enough how important it is to follow up emails and mailings with phone calls.  Unless you are working on extremely important breaking news, your emails and snail mail may get lost in a journalist’s “to do list.”  It is much easier for them to ignore emails, and put them in the back of their minds.  A phone call not only reminds the reporter of the news that you sent, you get a chance to develop a personal relationship and the chances of your news making it to print (or tv or radio) grow exponentially.

Here in Los Angeles, the press seems to have become jaded about celebrities.  If you host a media event, the press is interested in who the biggest star is at the event.  But you don’t have to have Tom Cruise or Paris Hilton at your event to garner celebrity attention.  Keep in mind what the photo opportunity will be at the event.  Will it be that celebrity on the red carpet?  If not, perhaps some exotic animals, or costumed performers, or dancers will do the trick.  Just remember, there is a lot of competition out there for the media’s attention!

Traditionally, publicity invoice print and broadcast media.  We all know that’s been expanded to include the internet.  Keep thinking of ways to utilize the internet to get the word out there - whether it be MySpace, Facebook, You Tube, or the millions of other social networking sites out there, these are tools that should not be dismissed!

Many people out there have no idea what the profession of public relations actually entails.  They confuse it with advertising, promotions, or think that public relations is merely media relations. While media relations is a significant part of the field of public relations - the title of public relations says it all - in our profession, we get the message out to the public - very often through the media.  But other than traditional press releases, video news releases, there are other ways to get the word out.  There is, of course, posting things on the internet, satellite media tours…and writing  your own article and sending it out through a service like NAPS (North American Presis Syndicate) - these all open other avenues to get your message out there.