February 24, 2007.
Gosh, I hope that is what day it is.....I have been in a fever induced stupor for the last three days or four, but who is counting....now both my kids have it. What a fun-filled weekend we will be having!
There is a small blurb about me (with a photo yuck) in the March issue of Pregnancy Magazine. It's a very small blurb....however it says I started a 'home based business' and now run one. To me it sounds like I sell Tupperware or something off my kitchen table - whatever. I KNOW that is not the impression I gave to the reporter who interviewed me, but again - whatever. No press is bad press...
So....where am I going with this? I consider myself a bit savvy on getting press, and able to tell the difference between press and advertisement....apparently I don't know everything.
A couple of weeks ago I sent out some of our new products to Trade Magazines, Newsletters, E-zines, to show them what we were releasing in 2007. This is something I recommend you do during the slow months and it's a great way to get press - it may take months to come to fruition, but it can create quite a buzz about your products. I sent out about ten emails and got one back, inviting me to participate in there, let's call it "Desingers on the Up". This was a reputable website, newsletter that recommends products, been on TV, etc. Large following of subscribers, and over 100,000 clicks per page (as the media guide states) when the "Designer Guide Thingie" drops.
So, after my fever subsided and I was able to read my email, I opened up the email and went over the requirements. Uh, ya...it costs upwards of a $1000 for them to "recommend" me as a great new upcoming designer. And, get this, if I am willing to pay extra they will write about me in there blog!!! Ooooh, I can hardly contain myself.
Needless to say I passed on the opportunity, I don't advertise, nor do I pay for press. Since I sell wholesale and direct, I do not want to advertise and compete with my sales channels. Also, I find this kind of press mis-leading.
So when reading press here are a few items to remember:
Just because you see a product or a company featured in a magazine or newsletter it does not mean that consumers are even buying the product. I know of a company that has been featured in numerous magazines, toots her own horn about all the great press she is getting to anyone and everyone. All of the websites that sell her stuff claim they have never, and I mean never sold any of her products.
Celebrity endorsing a product could mean a number of things. Companies often send products to celebrities, for free. Companies sometime send products out to celebrities, and just start telling reporters that celebrity loved it. Now, sometimes celebrities are clients, but don't believe everything you read. For the record, Charlize Theron, Adam Sandler, Roy Disney, Oprah Winfrey and Gary Shandling have purchased our products and/or have been given them as gifts - true story.
Lastly (this is what I just learned), companies pay for press. Sometimes an article looks like it is editorial, where it is actually an advertorial (very hard to decipher, this is an advertisement written like an article, it usually says in small letters: this is an advertisement). Other times a company has paid for the spot to get themselves featured as a great new designer, with no fine print saying they paid for it.
Don't get me wrong, press is great, I am a huge fan of it, it can help a small struggling business and it can put you on the map, so to speak. But please people, don't believe the hype....
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