Now’s the time to create your editorial calendar for 2012.

What articles should you write to tie into themes that your customers want to know about? What articles will reporters write that you can contribute to?

I can help you create your editorial calendar as part of a one-time coaching session so you get all the attention you deserve and the media doesn’t bypass you. Email dan@prleads.com for details.

Don’t let another year go by wondering “Why did all my competitors get quoted and why not me?”

Many small businesses aren’t getting publicity for the oddest reason: They talk themselves out of it!

Here are 10 common problems I’ve seen with entrepreneurs who want publicity.

1.     You think you don’t have anything newsworthy to say. That’s false because it is up to the reporter to decide what is newsworthy. If you tell yourself there’s nothing newsworthy going on, you could be wrong. It takes a reporter or a PR person to look at your business objectively and find out what is news. Some of my clients think they don’t have anything interesting to talk about. But when I ask them about their business, I can see that they are doing things that no one else is doing. That’s news! And they get coverage by reporters in their business journals who are interested in this information.
2.     You don’t think of yourself as an expert. That’s not true because you have developed a level of expertise by running your business and dealing with customers, suppliers, vendors, bankers and government agencies. You know a lot more than you give yourself credit for. I’ve had many clients who suffer from this. They don’t give themselves credit for all their experiences and obstacles they have overcome. Once I point out how much they know, they can’t wait to tell their stories to the media.

3.     You think that someone else is better qualified to talk to reporters. That may be true, but that doesn’t matter. Reporters will talk to the person who is available right now. If the hotshot expert you are deferring to is on vacation, too busy to talk to reporters or not interested in talking to reporters, then the reporter won’t ever get a chance to speak to you.

4.     You don’t think their news is important. This is also not true. Many publications have columns for small pieces of news from local companies. They want to know what is going on. It might not wind up on the front page, but it very well might wind up in print or on the web.

5.     You don’t know what to say or how to say it. That could be true. That’s why they can hire a media coach to teach them how to say things, or they could hire a PR person who can speak or write on their behalf and make them sound great.

6.     You don’t know how to contact the media. While that might have been a problem years ago, it has never been easier to contact the media. Nearly every reporter can be found on Google and contacted via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Google+.

7.     You don’t think PR can help them. Very false. Publicity can help build their brands, create instant credibility and provide widespread visibility. For example, we wrote a press release announcing new training programs for the Reiki Institute. The press release was printed in many online media websites and her site was flooded with new visitors who inquired about her programs.

8.     You are afraid of being rejected. Okay. That’s true. But if you don’t try, then you’ve already been rejected.

9.     You don’t have a big budget to hire a PR firm. That could be true since PR firms can charge $30,000 and up for a 6-month contract. However, there are many low cost tools and free tools on the Internet that can help small businesses that want to do their own publicity. Plus, there are many small PR agencies that can take on small projects to help small businesses – and charge affordable rates. We offer the key tools at http://www.PRLEADSPLUS.com

10.  You are afraid of success. You wonder how they can deal with all the traffic to their business or website. Well, that’s a good problem to have!

Why you are talking yourself out of getting publicity? You might be passing up a golden opportunity.

Dan Janal works with small businesses in all industries that want to increase their effectiveness and improve profits. He offers a complimentary “Thought Leadership  Strategy Session” that helps you get clear on the tactics and strategies to help your overall marketing program so you can become the thought leader in your market. Contact Dan at dan@prleads.com or 952-380-9844 or visit http://www.PRLEADSPlus.com

PR LEADS has always offered an unlimited number of keywords to find queries from authors.

Unlike other services that charge for each keyword, PR LEADS offers an unlimited number of keywords so our clients can find all the leads that pertain to their interests for one, affordable price of only $99 per month.

Because our keyword list is expansive and inclusive, our clients find all the leads that are relevant to them. We don’t nickel and dime our clients for each keyword.

For example, if you are an internet marketer you’d get everything related to that topic, including such terms as “web marketing,” “email marketing,” “social media marketing,” “mobile marketing,” “search engine marketing,” “video marketing,” “pay per click,” “web advertising” and so on. If someone has a lot of keywords (and who doesn’t?) the cost of paying for each keyword would be very expensive and much more than PR LEADS charges, which is only $99 per month.

Also, because our keywords are inclusive, we have few “false positives” or inappropriate leads.

To order PR LEADS, go to http://www.PRLEADS.com

Tim Ferriss of “4-Hour” brand fame was called “the wildly popular self-help guru for young men” by the New York Times today (August 17, 2011) in an article which reported that Amazon will publish his next book, “The 4-Hour Chef.”

The New York Times does not bestow honors like this lightly.

Tim Ferriss

Congratulations to Tim!

We’re glad to have helped him get his start when he used PR LEADS to promote his first book, “Four-Hour Work Week.” He even encourages readers of that book to use PR LEADS to get publicity.

He is one of the true breakout stars in the publishing field with an honest-to-goodness bestseller that has been on the NY Times Advice Bestseller list for 84 weeks, according to the report. I’ve been following Tim since he beginning and I’m sure he’s been on one version of the bestseller list or another for close to 5 years. As readers of this blog know, that level of success does not happen easily.

Tim is clearly a person to be modeled.

PR LEADS, the only publicity leads service to provide hands-on training and support, helped business author and speaker TC North land a monthly guest column in a prestigious publication, CORP! Magazine.

TC North

“One of the leads I responded to was for a guest column in CORP! Magazine. They were interested in my article and a year later I continue to write for them and enjoy a strong relationship with the editor,” said North, a high-performance executive coach, speaker and radio host (http://www.tcnorth.com/). “What’s that worth? A lot.”

The articles are indexed on the magazine’s website and can be found via Google, which increase’s North’s publicity exposure.

“One of my articles is currently number one on their top five most opened list. The benefits of these articles is not only the PR, I also learn what readers best respond to through the most-opened list. This feedback is helping me design the book I’m writing. “I use the most popular articles as the basis for my chapters,” he said.

“We help our clients do more than just get publicity. We teach them how to turn publicity into profits,” said Dan Janal, founder of PR LEADS and an acknowledged publicity expert who also offers publicity coaching and speaking at conferences.

PR LEADS has helped thousands of small businesses, authors, speakers, consultants and professionals get publicity in top media outlets for more than a decade. Clients also have received speaking engagements, consulting contracts and book deals from major publishers thanks to the publicity they received from PR LEADS and training directly from Dan Janal. PR LEADS also writes seo optimized press releases and distributes press releases.

PR LEADS receives many requests for sources from reporters at the biggest and best newspapers, magazines and blogs each month. Subscribers get access to leads that are targeted to their special interests. Sources respond directly to reporters. If reporters like the information, they use it and quote the source. For information, please go to http://www.PRLEADS.com

“I love that PR leads is targeted and I don’t need to spend time sorting out relevant topics,” North said. “PR LEADS rocks.”

Last week’s article on how to ace your TV interviews led a few readers to offer their suggestions:

Jean Feingold:
Great tips! Years ago I took a seminar on relations with the media. As part of the course, we were taped in a mock interview and then got to see how we looked and sounded. Doing something like that would probably help most people. I learned I blinked way too often which looked odd on camera. Like you, they also taught us to have three things in mind we wanted to get out and to find a way to work them into the conversation no matter what we were asked.

One other important thing to remember is if something controversial is going on, reporters will ask about it. Never say, “No comment.” Be prepared to deal with the sensitive issue by responding with an answer that puts the best possible face on it.

Shel Horowitz

From Shel Horowitz:
To your excellent list, I’d add: supply a list of ten questions you’d like to be asked (and the 10th is where people can learn more about you/get in touch with you/get your book–choose one). Many interviewers will go right down the list.

In addition to providing the best leads from the best media, PR LEADS also gets requests that can help you in several ways:

1. Companies look for webinar leaders. Presenting a webinar to highly targeted audiences could be a great way to build your brand, your reputation and your credibility. One client told me she got a consulting job worth $93,000 from a person listening to her webinar!

2. Reviewing books. One company regularly posts leads looking for experts to provide peer review for their books. They provide a modest stipend for your work.

3. Speaking leads. Meeting planners post speaking opportunities for experts.

4. Ongoing support. If you have questions about how to respond or want me to look at your responses, please do so! We’re the only service of this kind that offers training and support. Maybe that’s why our clients get quoted so often! PR LEADS is the only publicity leads service that provides this variety – and quality – of services for experts and small businesses.

Maria Perez

Dan Janal’s Publicity and PR LEADS Blog was named a “must read” blog about publicity tactics by the editorial team of ProfNet Connect.

“If you’re in PR, you’ve likely heard of Dan Janal, founder of PR Leads, (http://www.PRLEADS.com) a service that helps authors, experts and speakers get publicity. Dan’s a smart guy – his book, ‘Dan Janal’s Guide to Marketing on the Internet’ was my textbook in grad school — and his insight into PR issues is often spot-on,” said Maria Perez, editor-in-chief of ProfNet Connect.

In the blog, publicity consultant Dan Janal regularly shares publicity strategy tips, successful publicity tactics and publicity thought leadership ideas.

Other blogs cited include: Ragan’s PR Daily, PR Newser, PR Breakfast Club, PR News Blog, Beyond PR and PRSA’s ComPRhension.

Lingerie Website JadaMichaels.com achieved a 65% increase in sales after MSNMoney.com wrote about the company. The reporter learned about the boutique lingerie company by posting a query on PR LEADS.com the most effective reporter-to-source publicity leads referral company.

“We had more than 11,000 hits in one day,” said Jada Michaels, president of JadaMichaels.com, whose motto is “Make Life Sexy” ® The company sells lingerie for every shape, size and curve. “I can’t believe how much one good write up does. It has opened the door to other great articles. The original journalist referred me onto a successful colleague and I received numerous inquiries from journalists who read the featured article.”
“PR LEADS has helped many small businesses sell products and services,” said Dan Janal, president of PR LEADS.com “We get hundreds of requests from reporters who need to find sources for their articles and they trust us to share their messages with only the best and brightest authors, thought leaders, industry experts and innovative small businesses.”

Based in Chicago, Jada Michaels.com offers a contemporary lingerie collection for women of all sizes including the Beautiful Curves collection for plus-size women.. Jada Michaels has a passion for trendy designs, impeccable craftsmanship, bold colors, and eye-catching prints with luscious fabrics and flirty details. The specialized and highly customized JadaMichaels.com on-line website provides a personalized system that guarantees perfect fit lingerie that will highlight your figure and curves. JadaMichaels.com guides men on how to successfully buy lingerie for women.The collection has been featured in national magazines, such as People, Maxim, InStyle, and Cosmo, some celebrity fans include Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian andKendra Wilkinson, amongst others..

Imagine you just returned from vacation and endured a grueling 14-hour flight through seven time zones.

Naturally, you are jetlagged and want nothing more than to go to bed.

Then the phone rings. The local news station wants you to be on the news that night for a 5-minute interview. Can you be at the station in two hours to tape the interview?

That’s what happened to Susan Zimmerman, co-owner of Mindful Planning, a personal finance firm based in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

She called me after the interview and asked for my advice on what she should have done – if she had time to prepare.

This situation could happen to you. If you pitch your services to the media, or if the media finds your website, they could call you for an interview that has to be done right now.

What should you do?

Here’s what I told my new coaching client:

1. Create a travel kit. Just like you have a suitcase containing your essentials for travel, have an interview travel kit prepared for the interview. It contains your product, your book, your visuals, your props and a sheet containing your talking points. You’ll be ready to go at a moment’s notice.

2. Think visually. TV is a visual medium. The TV station wants to show anything that looks interesting. The TV camera gets bored if it shows two talking heads. The TV camera wants to show your book cover or your product. Bring it. You’ll make the TV producer very happy.

3. Identify yourself. Let the producer know how you want to be identified. You can be Susan Smith, president of XYZ Company, or Kim Smith, author of Kim Smith’s Guide to Everything. They don’t care. They just have to have something. They will flash whatever you give them as the title that displays when they introduce you.

4. Promote your website. Let the producer know your website address. They may or may not show it on the TV screen. But if you don’t give them the info, they never will be able to promote it.

5. Don’t promote your stuff. Don’t say, “In my book.” You’ll look like you are trying to sell something and you will lose your credibility. The TV people will be very happy to promote you if you lay low. They will say, “We’re here with Kim Smith, author of Kim Smith’s Guide to Everything” and they will show the book cover. If you promote yourself, they might cut short a live interview, or if the interview is taped, they will cut your self-promotion. Promotion is more sincere when they do it.

6. Get a list of questions the reporter will ask. If they can’t show you the questions, find out what the general topic is and imagine the 3 questions they will ask – or the 3 questions you wish they would ask and then create short answers.

7. Use those 3 answers whenever you can. Weave them into whatever question the reporter asks so you will have a greater chance of sharing your talking points.

8. Ask for permission to use the video on your website. Or ask them for the link to the video so you can link to it.

9. Let your clients, prospects, fans and social media followers know you were on TV. Send them the link to your website if you can post the video there, or to the TV station website if they don’t give you permission.

10. Get a screen shot of the TV screen showing you with the reporter. Post it to your website and blog so new prospects will see you have high trust because you were interviewed on TV.

11. Dress for TV success. Get your colors done and your wardrobe picked out. If you wear the wrong clothes or the wrong colors, no one will hear your message.

Susan said, “I know I’ll ace my next TV interview. Thanks, Dan.”

If you follow these tips, you’ll be prepared for that last-minute phone call from the media!

What tips can you share?