The economy understandably makes you interested in talking with any and all potential clients. Just watch out for ghosts.
“Ghosts ” go beyond kicking the tires, feeling you out on strategy and discussing fees. They’re the potential clients who could also be called “time vampires,” as they want to meet often and then have you draw up a full-blown proposal and/or contract. Then they disappear. You literally get no response.
Maybe they got cold feet or realized that talking about hiring a public relations consultant was more interesting than working with one. Some feed on your ideas and then decide they don’t need you to implement them. Whatever the case, they’re gone.
Hey, life happens. Cash flow tanks, people change their minds. But when you’ve put hours into meeting with a potential client, researching their needs and drawing up a contract, I say it behooves the ghost to get out his Ouija board and send an email to let you know the deal is off.
So how did I become a ghost buster? A lot of it is instinct and experience. Sometimes you get the feeling that it’s just not a good fit and end it there. I also don’t put too much up-front work into a pitch. I generate a summary proposal and will meet a couple of times, but won’t move beyond that until I get a contract.
Once you trust your instincts, ghosts become less of a problem, leaving you more time to land that “monster” client.
Prior to his show at RecordBar in Kansas City in November 2010, singer/songwriter Dan Coyle talks about marketing his music. Dan’s not a household name-0-and he makes that work for him. Dan is an interesting guy with good thoughts on getting your product to market without a big budget. Learn more about Dan at www.DanCoyle.com.
The economy understandably makes you interested in talking with any and all potential clients. Just watch out for ghosts.
“Ghosts ” go beyond kicking the tires, feeling you out on strategy and discussing fees. They’re the potential clients who could also be called “time vampires,” as they want to meet often and then have you draw up a full-blown proposal and/or contract. Then they disappear. You literally get no response.
KC A Pivotal Point in Musician’s Career…Performs Nov. 16 at RecordBar–Free CD with Every Ticket
Kansas City has been very good to Dan Coyle, and now the acclaimed singer songwriter Dan Coyle aims to give something back by launching his new CD at RecordBar Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.
Coyle has twice played the KCRiverFest Independence Day Festival in Kansas City as well as other local venues. He had such an enthusiastic welcome from Kansas City audiences that he chose to offer his new CD “You Linger Your Little Hour And Are Gone” free to every ticket holder at his RecordBar appearance Tuesday.
“In 2007, I got my first big break when I played at the Folklore Alliance Conference in Memphis. From there I started to make some fans, got some exposure on some NPR stations. Things went pretty well until early 2009, when my Dad died,” Coyle said.
“I lost some momentum. I wasn’t working until KCRiverFest 2009 got me back on the road.”
“I stayed in close contact with the people from Kansas City and it gave me this sense of hope that there was a need or a want or a market for my kind of music and I needed to get out and do things again. Kansas City gained this little place in my heart from what it did in breaking me loose from the stagnation. It wasn’t a big break in the traditional sense but it got me back where I needed to be. I’m thrilled to be back in KC.”
Tickets are $10 at the door or may be pre-ordered online. Every ticketholder gets a free copy of his new CD. RecordBar is located at 1020 Westport Road in Midtown Kansas City. Call 816-753-5207 for directions or more information. Singer Kevin Hiatt will open the performance.
Coyle recently completed a tour of the Seattle area and is preparing for a European Tour in February.
Coyle’s music has been described by Alexandra McKay of the Prince Street Press as “Bright musicality and sunny inflections almost hide the thoughtful and thought-provoking lyrics that are woven throughout this album. A lo-fi live recording that’s simple without being simplistic, and utterly charming.”
“It’s an acoustic mix of Paul Simon and Bob Dylan, with some soft and hard edges to it.” Coyle said.
Coyle has released five albums to date, including “Random Thoughts and Incomplete Sentences” and “Briar Street: The Acoustic Sessions.” His latest album is scheduled for wide release December 1. He has toured nationally, playing everything from small venues to concert halls to massive festivals.
For more information about Dan Coyle’s music, including his complete tour schedule, song samples, video, interviews, reviews and special offers, visit www.dancoyle.com. Follow him on Twitter @Dan_Coyle and on Facebook.
“They gave us our money back. They gave us free beer. The crew was in good spirits and helped us with whatever we needed,” he said. “They’re giving us a free cruise at a later date. I’m grateful for that. I’m not the kind of person who’s going to go sue, sue, sue. Not me or my wife.”
By now if you watch TV or read online or the newspaper, you know that the Carnival Cruise Ship Splendor’s latest voyage was anything but splendid.
Everyone got back alive, and reasonably well. Carnival’s President issued an apology along with a full refund, and a free next cruise. More than they legally had to:
In almost all cruise line brochures, including Carnival’s, there is a disclaimer that also informs customers that “itinerary changes sometimes become necessary for safety, weather or other reasons.”
Yet Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill offered an unvarnished apology along with the reparations:
If a public relations firm promises to get you media coverage, they’re probably doing one of two things:
1. Lying (to you and/or themselves).
2. Actually selling you an ad.
Look for another firm that tells you the truth: they will put their skills, contacts and creativity to work to give you a great shot at publicity–but they cannot guarantee anything.
I needed a new computer–my MacBook was fading after three years of constant service.
So, I bought an iMac. You may know that Apple offers a great service: they’ll clone your hard drive from the old puter and transplant it to the new machine, thus saving you hours of torture when you get home.
Okay, that alone is great service. But what’s better is they told me it would take about one business day to do this. I could come back the next day at 5 p.m. to pick up my old machine and the new one– fully-loaded with all my files, programs, music and stuff.
Well, why not? One business day is a small price to pay for the time and effort it would’ve taken for me to do it myself.
That’s not the lesson, though. Here’s the lesson: they called me less than three hours later to tell me my computers were ready for pickup. Not a day later, but a mere three hours later. Do I have to tell you how thrilled I was when they called? When I first picked up the phone I was sure they were going to tell me something was wrong. Nope. They were just finished being highly efficient. I’ve had other good experiences with Apple–and this just reinforced my brand loyalty big time.
Under-promise, over-deliver. Simple concept. Works every time.
We’ve worked with several non-profit events–usually in the role of encouraging businesses to be sponsors. Depending on the event, it can be a really great opportunity to not only do a great thing for your community, but also enhance your company’s image.
Sponsorship—whether by a donation of time or money—promotes a company to a specific target market, while also contributing to the community. It’s important to make sure a sponsorship opportunity is compatible with the company’s overall marketing strategy and core values.
“We’re a local business, and this community has been fantastic to us, so [sponsoring the Jacksonville Open is] an opportunity to give back, particularly given the economic times we are in and that not everyone can do this,” McLauchlan said.
The key is “make sure a sponsorship opportunity is compatible with the company’s overall marketing strategy and core values.” In other words:
If you own a liquor store, sponsoring a marathon might not be to your advantage.
An “Air Sex” competition (Google it) at a local bar might not be a great fit if your business caters to families.
It’s usually a good idea to chip in as a sponsor of your city’s biggest July 4th event if you want to establish or maintain your hometown bona fides.
Pick one or two reputable community organizations or causes to sponsor. Quality, not quantity, will be better for your budget and overall image.
You get the idea.
Just be sure when you sponsor an event you get a little bang for your buck. Of course, you’re not going to get exact, dollar for dollar equivalencies like you would buying ads, but make sure you do get links on websites, logo placement on collateral and of course, free tickets for your key staff if possible.
If you do sponsor–show up. If your company buys a table at a dinner or auction party, be there. While your sponsorship is appreciated, an empty table with a sign reading “Sponsored by ACME” can make the sponsorship seem a little hollow–and you’re cutting your sponsorship’s PR value in half. Seal the deal by being present at the event. If you can’t go, send staff who will represent your company well. If you sponsor a festival, ask employees to wear company shirts to the event.
We think it’s important as a “corporate citizen” to sponsor or volunteer at community events. Besides the PR bonus, it just feels good to do good. Give it a shot.
The American Jazz Museum is a must-see for music lovers.
A friend of mine asked me about taking a weekend getaway. I’ll spare you the whole Chamber of Commerce brochure and just tell you what I told him: if you want a memorable, affordable trip, Kansas City is ideal.
If a public relations firm promises to get you media coverage, they’re probably doing one of two things:
