Publicity for the Small Business Owner

February 25, 2008.

It is official, I get to be a contributing writer to this great group of local ladies, my peeps if you will out in the west - Silicon Valley Moms Blog that is.  I get to contribute posts to this great blog about Mom's (check out the site, there are other great sites in New York, Chicago and Washington DC).  So to thank everyone who helped me get where I am today, I have written a little acceptance speech:

"Um (fighting back tears) I would just like to thank the little people that helped me get where I am today- without you I would be nothing.  Thank you for the people I stepped on, the people I crushed and those that I totally beat to win this opportunity.  You like me!  You really, really like....excuse me while I barf in my mouth a tad, you know I am joshing you, right?"

Okay so I have Awards Show on the brain....I did watch the Oscars, and the (yawn) acceptance speeches were boring, the show was okay (though I am totally in love with John Stewart).  I really have been toying with this subject for a long time - Celebrity endorsements. 

The Oscars & The Celebrities

How much power or influence do celebrities really have.  How much money does it put it your pocket if one is seen and photographed wearing your shirt or getting one of your products?  Can a price tag be put on the celebrity that trots around town with your product on her adorable off-spring? Or her babies toushie?

The celebrity endorsement - is it all it is cracked up to be?  I wonder how you can equate a price tag to that.  I mean, I wonder why no one walked down the red carpet with one of my Name Plaques on their arm, or a Birth Certificate around there neck.  Ya, bit um unlikely right?

I am happy to say I have a few celebs with my products either given as gifts or they have them (or  so they say, they may have just chucked it in the garbage after, but I hope they have it).  I am happy to work with a wonderful boutique in Beverly Hills and I am always ready to do a favor or RUSH out an order - I mean it is Beverly Hills for pete's sake. 

I jump through hoops for the Beverly Hills Boutique.  Well, truth be told is I tend to set a fire drill off when any store calls in with a favor, I really think customer service is the most important part of my business.  The owner of this exclusive shop is very easy to work with, very kind, and I met her in person.  There is nothing like shaking hands with a business partner - I highly recommend it.  She has always been very good to me, and I will continue to jump through hoops for her - no matter who the customer is. 

Anyhoo - I digress, I do get a bit geeked up when I hear that I get to contribute to a gift basket for Adam Sandler, um I about pee my pants.  When I hear that Gary Shandling purchased a gift basket with MY birth certificate it in - woo hoo, I love me some of his shows!  When I get a thank you card from Charlize Theron, saying she loves the plates I made for her dog's - I scream and skip around the office showing everyone the note.  And, when the almighty Ms. Oprah Winfey sends a thank you card for some special ornaments I made for her dogs - I literally make everyone touch the card, in hopes that some of her "magic" would rub off on someone.

The Price of Publicity

I have been very blessed, very lucky and I have worked very hard for the publicity I have gotten  for Jamie's Painting  & Design.  For every pitch that landed me a product placement or a feature story, I guarantee you there are 34 in the garbage can.  For every letter or email, or no response that pretty much says, "Thanks but no thanks", there is ONE reporter that loves my products.  Persistence is the name of the game and follow up.  These days, I am not as dedicated to the press as I once was, nor do I have the band-with to follow up.  I should, I know but there are not enough hours in the day.  If you want press, go out and get it - it just takes a dedication and commitment.

We did use a publicist once, and she is an amazing woman and had wonderful insight.  We invested some money into our Pet line and then did a full publicity campaign.  The publicity we got was good, the Ellen Show was amazing and the price was (gulp) pricey.  We did well though - it was a good experience, but again my follow up was not what it should have been.  The fault is not on my publicist, it is on me.  It costs a lot of money to have the publicist do all of the work, and by work I mean:

• Send out product samples to possible publications, journalists, editors, TV shows, newspapers, e-zines and bloggers.
• Write a great pitch to tell journalists about your "pet project".
• Follow up on all these leads.
• Wait awhile then follow up again on the leads that look like they could be good.
• Send out professional photographs to magazines and newspapers that are interested.
• Follow up again on the leads.

The cost of a good publicist is anywhere from five to ten thousand dollars for any project.  I had one publicst from New York call me back in 2003 and offer to represent me for $5,000 to $8,000 a month retainer - I laughed at her, or snorted sort of.  Now, I know she must work hard, but I did not have that kind of disposable income. 

Do Celebrities or PR Equal Money?

This is a tough one to define, or determine.  The Ellen DeGenneres Show increased our sales I am not denying  that.  A now defunct Celebrity Magazine featured our plaque and it became a best-seller.  The other press we got never made much of an impact.  Though looking back I can equate a few things to press:

• Press makes people think your business is "the next big thing"
• Press opens doors for you, new accounts, new customers and new employees
• You never know when someone will pick up an old magazine you were once in

I think that to figure out whether a publicity campaign was a success or not you MUST look at the cost of the campaign, and then figure the sales.  As painful as this is - you have to figure out if the "Celebrity photo" equals sales, or if the feature in a local newspaper creates new accounts.  This is hard, I know - I love the publicity, but I sometimes question it. 

Easy for Me to Say

I am not the most famous person in my industry, not by a long shot.  I have used the press to my advantage in every way possible (trust me you have to) to grow my business.  I have had a lot of press, and I have worked for most of it - it was my core focus for quite awhile.  After having my share of some amazing publicity I am wondering what the price of fame is.  Does it put food on the table?  Does it open up doors?  Does it actually create more press?

The Best Press

Sometimes press comes much later, after you approached a reporter.  I commented on a Wall Street Journal article in January of 2004, it resonated with me.  Eleven months later the journalist was doing an article on families goals, entrepreneurs - she called me.  She quoted me.  I was in the frickin' Wall Street Journal due to a kind, well thought out email.  No agent, no publicist, just me sending a nice email.

The largest increase in direct sales was due to a product placement in Better Homes & Garden Kids' Room Edition (Fall '04).  Our direct sales increased 100% for over a year - everyone kept the magazine and continued to order product.  This was all from one simple email I sent the editor, alone.  I still talk with her, and I love to remind her how much of an impact her magazine had on my business.

So do you think publicity always equals sales?  Has anyone found it to change their business over night? Inquiring minds want to know!

Comments

[Carrie S.]

You knew I was going to comment, right? ;)

Like you, I've worked my tail off for the press my company has received. I am constantly looking for new avenues of publicity, and while it's all good and nice, I'm not sure what kind of an impact it's made for me.

I received the best, most important, national publicity of my career this past fall from a major home dec magazine. It was from a product pitch at an open pitch event last March, and I was one of the winners (out of about 130, they picked 9, so that was amazing in itself).

The feature ran in November, which you would have thought would be fantastic since it was right before the holidays, but in reality, it was nothing like I imagined it would be. I did not sell out of anything. My website did not go crazy and I did not get knocked offline by the flurry of visitors and orders.

But, I did get more traffic, I did get orders, and I think what national publicity really does for you (besides exposure) is create and establish credibility. It's all wonderful in the long run.

As far as celebrity endorsements, I have no idea. I know a certain Grey's Anatomy star has one of my aprons, but she hasn't worn it to any Oscar event. That, I know.

[Amber at RuffleButts]

I love this post. You are so right here and as a new business owner, I struggle with how to spend my time and efforts. Most recently when we received all of our celebrity press at the Boom Boom Room, I was joking with my husband...all of the sudden my business had credibility with all of those people in my life who knew that I had been trying to start a children's clothing company. They all thought that I worked 3 hour days and was home having sewing parties or something. Once they saw Denise Richards and Jason Priestly holding my products, then I was something, I was "successful". But I come back to your arguement, how beneficial is it really to have a celebrity smile with your product?? This last event was worth it for us, mainly because of the other PR that came as a result.

I try to spend a little time every week sending out emails, trying to get our name out there. And you are exactly right, I send at least 30 or so emails with no response for every one that receives some type of result. I have quickly learned that you can have a great product, but if no one knows about it, you will never make it to that profitable point that can sustain a business. And I must admit, seeing my product in the media does give me that little excitement deep inside that makes me feel like my efforts are worth it, that hope that I really will make it there one day!

[Kristen]

I read this the day you wrote it and I have been thinking about it ever since. I wasn't quite sure what my answer would be to the age old question, if Britney wears your shirt (and she hasn't) what would that mean? What I have seen since doing the Boom Boom Baby Room? Women at a trunk show or an expo or a craft fair would trample one another to get that last tank top "just like the one Tori Spelling got." I have made contacts with other small business owners that I met in LA that are now helping launch my business on the west coast.

I have trunk shows, for heaven's sake. The first trunk show I ever attended was my very own. I don't have that buying gene and it amazed me to watch it all go down. Grant it, I'm making significantly more money than I was two months ago, but is that because my blog readership has gone up, because I successfully use social platforms like twitter to launch new products or because I have a good thing going? Who knows?

Loved, loved, LOVED your article. Still holding out to see my stuff in US Weekly. Or just sit on Oprah's couch. LOL.