Every now and then people tell me they don’t like blogging because they tried it–that is they wrote entries “at least twice a week for a month” and got only a few hits and even fewer comments.

I respond that blogging is about building up a lot of high quality entries, promoting them and bringing the buzz to a “boil.” If you’re into immediate gratification, then starting a blog (unless you’re a famous person or company) is probably going to frustrate you. It takes time, persistence and good content to build readership. Click here for some good advice on that.

And lest you think that just because nobody comments that nobody is reading, well, check your analytics. You may find that people read (“watch” your blog) but don’t feel engaged enough to comment. Change that–ask questions, make provocative assertions. You may find that your blog will start to boil.

They say a watched pot never boils, but I prove that old saying wrong in the video I made below. Same with a “watched” blog–if you have the right mix of content, persistence and longevity–most certainly will start to “boil.”

I’m enjoying some quality time with family and friends, but the blog will be back up and running in a couple of days. If you can take a little time to enjoy the relatively relaxed pace of the final week of the year I recommend it. Peace on Earth!

Just ask this guy. Through an interesting twist of fate, the talented team of T2+Back Alley Films helped a Kansas City homeless man have a very happy holiday. Click here to watch the video.

Rest in peace, John Lennon.

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.

(Originally published as a guest post on PR at Sunrise)

You Linger Your Little Hour and Are Gone

Prior to his show at RecordBar in Kansas City in November 2010, singer/songwriter Dan Coyle chats about his new album You Linger Your Little Hour and Are Gone, which is available in wide release today.

Learn more about Dan, read his blog and buy his albums at www.DanCoyle.com.

Star Wars is a convenient (and yes, overused) pop culture touchstone. Let me state for the record that I enjoy the movies, but aside from a fascination with Darth Vader in my pre-teen years I’m not one to quote lines from the movies.

Well, okay, except for “these aren’t the droids you’re looking for,” which I say accompanied by a bizarre hand gesture.  Actually I replace the word “droids” with whatever topic the conversation is orbiting, which could be anything from  “delicious martinis” to “diapers” to “male pattern baldness solutions.”

Anyway, one thing public relations professionals have to be keenly aware of is (as the man said in Star Wars) using their powers for good, not evil.

Case in point, Institute of Public Relations Malaysia president Datuk Mohd Hamdan Adnan, who made no bones about it: “Among the negative activities of certain media practitioners are spin doctoring, flacking, astroturfing, opponent defining and fronting. All these can threaten peace and order in the country.”

He continued (source here):

“Presently, almost all organisations require various PR expertise and as such, PR practitioners must have the skills to fulfill that need.”

He said among the benefits from the creation of a Public Relations Profession Act would be recognition and prestige for the profession in Malaysia, monitoring of the practices and developments of the PR profession and industry, and ensuring PR practitioners had acquired the education, and suitable training and experience before being recognised as qualified PR practitioners, in line with other professions that were protected by statutes.

Sounds like the way lawyers and doctors administer their profession in the U.S., eh?

Not a bad idea, especially if you agree that the abuse of information, facts and the warping of motive and intent can be disastrous. In the United States, there is no such governing body for the profession, aside from the purely voluntary standards and codes of ethics as set by the Public Relations Society of America or the International Association of Business Communicators.

Both codes are admirable, forthright and necessary–though completely unenforceable. Just as it was in the Wild West, any modern-day snake oil salesman can sell elixirs with malignant properties across the electronic frontier.  Corporate mistakes can be hidden under layers of spin; governmental lies can be excused by propaganda, customer complaints may be expunged from the “public” website.

This is the way any skilled–and unscrupulous–public relations professional can use their powers for evil. Instead of owning up to mistakes or misjudgments, clients can activate the PR machine and through “spin doctoring, flacking, astroturfing or opponent defining and fronting,” come out smelling like a rose.

It’s easier in a way. Clients who want that sort of thing will love their “PR man” for it. But in the long run, is it the best thing? I mean, is there any doubt among serious minded people that BP’s PR mission was not one of transparency, but obfuscation and deflection? Okay, and just how do you feel about BP?

BP is only one example of the misuse of PR in a culture rife with the warping of facts to turn public opinion. What is the culture of spin doing to our country? Indeed, to our selves?

I am not saying you throw your client to the wolves when the going gets tough–but you don’t take the easy way out and commit lies of omission or commission, either.

What’s hard is to have the courage to tell that high-paying client when they are indeed wrong–when these are indeed not the droids they’re looking for.

If they made a mistake or did harm, clients should be advised by PR professionals that a policy of honesty, contrition and a desire to do better is in their best interests and indeed the interests of society as a whole.

Ultimately it’s the client’s decision, but public relations professionals shouldn’t enable shifts to the Dark Side.

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.


P.S. to Dan: I took your advice once, pal!

An excerpt from Linda Pophal’s Strategic Communications blog. Worth a read!

And, what I know is that you can’t really compartmentalize marketing communication results. What is a “retweet” worth? What is a PR placement in USA Today worth? Or in the Engraver’s Journal?
It depends, of course. If you’re an engraver, a placement in Engraver’s Journal might be worth more than a placement in USA Today–it depends on your audience and goals as always. But it also depends on the RESULTS you’re able to achieve. And the results of a placement in either could be negligible, or could be life-changing. Ultimately, what clients really care about are their bottom-line results–not whether they got on the Oprah Show remember it’s not getting on the Oprah Show that matters–it’s what getting on the Oprah show DOES for them in terms of generating awareness, preference – and SALES! – that matters.

Read the rest at You can’t compartmentalize results! « Strategic Communications.