Comparison is a tricky pickle. I’ve witnessed business owners refuse to take action because they spend too much time toiling away on their competitor’s websites, wondering why they haven’t reached the same level of success. I’ve watched actors look around the room in horror, mentally comparing themselves to every other person and then completely tanking their audition.

There is plenty of advice out there about comparisons – how to stop comparing, tricks to stop comparing, letting go of comparing. But I haven’t found a quote more profound and effective than the one above.

What’s your Behind-the-Scenes?

The question I’m asked most often is – “how do you do it?” On the outset, most people see me as a successful business owner, up-and-coming actress, and as the always-smiling married lady who is a mommy to two adorable pups.

What they don’t know is this. My puppy just threw up in my lap. I have 300+ emails to answer and can’t even think about where to start so I go and play on E! Online. My assistant’s aunt’s cousin just died and she won’t be in the office tomorrow, even though we have a crucial deadline. I just signed up to work with a high level coach that I’m not quite sure I really had the budget for. I’m starving because it’s 11:30am and I forgot to eat and am subsisting only on coffee. I missed my Pilates class because I was procrastinating on Facebook. My husband just fractured his ribs because he fell off a bike trying to do BMX-style tricks with our 10-year-old neighbor.

Simply put, my behind-the-scenes looks like a big, hot mess.

So, today I challenge you to stop the vicious cycle of comparison by sharing this blog and putting this quote somewhere prominent (on your desk, in your pocket, tape it to your forehead, whatever works for you)

Then, I’d love for you to share something about your behind-the-scenes in the comments below!

But, what happens when you deliver your awesome-sauce 30-second pitch and then the person responds with: “tell me more.”

I’ve witnessed many entrepreneurs totally tank when asked to deliver beyond their initial, well-rehearsed pitch. What they really needed in their arsenal was a….

BUSINESS MONOLOGUE

Ok, you may be wondering – what the heck is a business monologue?

Well, you may have heard of the word 'monologue' already in relation to actors. An actor’s monologue is a speech presented by a single character. Actors spend tons of time prepping their monologues for performance level to wow an agent or casting director.

As a business owner, you can also create a Business Monologue – a speech presented by you to “wow” your audience. Follow these steps to get started:

Tell a Story

“Facts tell, stories sell.” Instead of rambling off a long list of your accomplishments and/or reasons this person should work with you, make a list of five short stories that relate to your business that you could weave into your monologue. For example: “I made a wrong turn out of Harvard Law School and ended up covered in flour, baking hundreds of cupcakes per day for events and parties.”

Infuse Personality

Nothing is more boring than listening to a monotone description of “what you do.” Don’t be afraid to let a little personality shine through. Even if that means your quirky accent, hand gestures, or funny slang come dripping out. It makes you human, it makes you likeable, and it makes you engaging.

Reveal your Mistakes

People always want to know that they are “not alone.” If you reveal your foibles, they will connect more deeply with you. For example, I always reveal how I nearly tanked my business in its first year. Even though I’m a business consultant, this shows my audience that I was once in their shoes, and understand how to build something from nothing.

Connect with a Hobby

All work and no play leads to big snores. You can keep someone’s attention by connecting over a hobby or interest. I often connect with people over a shared interest of coffee or an obsession over Game of Thrones or True Blood.

TAKE ACTION: Follow the steps above to create your business monologue and start rehearsing! Then post a comment below on which personality trait you most want to showcase during your monologue delivery.

And….just for fun….here is one of my non-business, acting monologues to give you a little giggle today.

I’ve been there. I’m a recovering Tweet-aholic who used to spend hours and hours on Twitter, much to the chagrin of my husband who thought he had to get a Twitter account just to talk to me.

After nearly a year, I was left with zero strategy, sleepless nights toiling away on my Tweetdeck app, and a disgruntled husband.

Through all of this trial + error, I’ve determined the smartest ways to make the best use of your time on Twitter. Boost your appeal and make outstanding connections with these tips:

Re-Tweet with Pride

Make a list of 10 people that deliver amazing tweets that are relevant to your target market. Ideally, these are also people you want to build a long-term relationship with. Keep them in your regular rotation of “people to re-tweet.”

Connect with the Media

While researching your media targets, take a gander to see if they have a Twitter account. Follow them and engage accordingly. Several members of the media also post queries on Twitter when looking for sources – check out this Tweet from Lisa at First Magazine for proof.

Post Inspirational Quotes

Who doesn’t need a daily dose of inspiration? Check out sites like Quote Garden and share your favorite words of wisdom.

Ask Questions

Want to know more about your audience? Post regular thought-provoking questions to gain insight.

Add a Little Personalization

While you don’t want to post what you have for breakfast every morning (unless there is a good reason), creating some tweets that give a little insight into your personality can go a long way. You may also make some unexpected connections with people that share your interests.

Go Outside your Tweet-Circle

Don’t spend all of your “tweet” time talking to people you already know. Instead, engage someone new.

Create your Own Quotes

In the PR world, we call them sound bites. These are short, snappy quotes that people will love to re-tweet. If you’re stuck, look back through your content (blog posts, newsletters, articles, etc). You might be surprised at the gems you’ve already created.

CONTEST

I’m giving away a 1-Hour Private Strategy Call with “yours truly.” I don’t even offer these babies anymore but, when I did, they cost $597.

Thank you to everyone who entered. We'll be holding contests every month so stay tuned….

Congrats to @allisonbraun for winning the contest!!

When it comes to your business, the obvious “Spring Cleaning” methods are to clear the clutter from your desk or de-junk your inbox. This week, I’ve conjured up some fun and effective ways to spring clean your business that directly benefit your bottom line.

Shine Up your Social Media Profiles

Do all of your social media profiles accurately represent your current brand and title? Even the profiles that you “forget” to check for several months? You never know how or where a potential client will find you. Make sure your social media profiles are nice and sparkly.

Tidy your Website

Perform this clean sweep on your website:

• Are all of your links working? Do you have any dreaded “page cannot be found” messages? Fix ‘em.
• Do you have outdated content collecting dust on your site? Remove it.
• Check your website in a variety of different browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, etc) to make sure nothing looks wonky.
• Look at your website through the eyes of your customer. Is it easy to navigate? Easy to buy? Compelling? Press-worthy?

Freshen Up your Brand

Nothing says Spring like a zesty new photo of you, bright + colorful images to spice up your brand, or adding some exciting video to your website. Hop to it.

Spic + Span Your Copy

Your content should be on par with a national news outlet – trendy, juicy, and easy to digest. One place to start is by checking your tone. Does the tone of your copy accurately represent your brand and speak to your customer? Is it too academic? Too snarky? Too silly?

Brighten your Testimonials

When was the last time you asked a customer for a testimonial? Make it easy by sending feedback questions to gain some well-deserved kudos. Here are three examples:

• Why did you decide to choose {your product/service}?
• What surprised you about {your product/service}?
• If a friend asked you about {your product/service}, what would you tell them?

TAKE ACTION: Time to get your hands dirty! Choose one or more of the Spring Cleaning actions above and post a comment below when you’re done. We’ll all rejoice in mutual admiration!

Is your business hot? Or not?

If you’re looking for some quick ways to steam up your business success, I’ve got a sweet treat for you.

One of the best ways to attract customers and the media is to piggyback your business onto top trends. So, how do you do this?

We’ve rolled up our sleeves and performed all of the heavy lifting to bring you a rockin' trend cheat sheet – aptly named the Hot Trend Report.

What is the Hot Trend Report?

The Hot Trend Report is our free gift to you every month that’s jam-packed with juicy content and simple steps to inspire major publicity action. Simply put, we want to make you the most sizzling and on-trend business in your industry.

How do I use the Hot Trend Report?

The Hot Trend Report highlights the crave-worthy consumer and pop culture trends you should be talking about this month. You can use these ideas for your social media content, blogs, guest blog submissions, short lead media pitches (newspaper, radio, TV and online), online articles, company promotion themes, event ideas – anything you can think of! Your goal is to incorporate your brand into the latest trends and happenings.

So, without further ado, you can download the trend report by clicking HERE

You do need the latest version of Adobe Reader to read this file – but it's free

Remember, this is for you and we’re looking for feedback. Leave a comment below on what you’d like to see included in future issues and we’ll try our best to grant your wishes.

Happy Trending!

Dig this post? Share it with your Twitter posse by CLICKING HERE

Ok, now onto the good stuff.

If you just landed a radio interview, TV appearance, blog review, or a newspaper or magazine feature you’re probably bursting at the seams with excitement. You wait with bated breath for the flurry of customers that will come to your business.

In some cases, customers do come. In some cases, they don’t. When they don’t, you feel bummed out and ready to throw your celebratory cake right in the trash.

Not so fast.

Once you get a juicy piece of press coverage, your work is just beginning. Every piece of press you receive can be leveraged for life and show customers, clients, colleagues, affiliate partners, etc that you are a top “player” in your industry.

It’s also important to have a solid strategy so all of your marketing + publicity efforts seamlessly work together to attract customers.

Here’s my simple formula for leveraging your media coverage using your social networks.

Share it with your Fans

First, see if you can find the journalist responsible for your story on Twitter (sometimes the journalist has their own Twitter handle. If not, look up the outlet name). Also check Facebook to see if the outlet has a Facebook page.

Second, post links to your coverage on your social networks making sure to link in the journalist and/or the outlet. On Twitter, it would be @{twitterhandle} and on Facebook you would type @{name of page} – the page name will automatically show up and you can select to add it to your post.

This strategy lets your media contact know that you are actively promoting the story and provides an extra opportunity to send them a little note of thanks.

Extra tip: if the coverage is available online, you can link directly to the piece. If your coverage is not accessible online, make sure to obtain a copy and upload it to your website press page, then share that link with your fans.

Ask your Posse to Spread the Love

Create more hype for your media coverage by asking your community to thank the journalist for featuring you. To make this easy for your community to do, write up a sample tweet/FB update that they can share instantly. For example:

Thanks @openforum for featuring advice from my favorite PR Expert Melissa Cassera @casseracomm

This will also solidify to the journalist that you were the right choice of expert to feature or the right product/service/business to spotlight.

Write the Story of your Coverage

Writing a blog or a newsletter that says “hey – we were featured in _____” is ok. But is it really interesting to read?

Instead of just mentioning your press coverage, give your audience a little backstage scoop on how it happened. Share the juicy behind-the-scenes info on what it was like to land the feature, how you felt during the interview, and how you feel now that it’s out there in the world (nervous butterflies, want to do back flips, etc).

People love personal stories so writing a story about your media story is a total double whammy!

TAKE ACTION: I give you full reign to brag about your business in our comments section. Please share below your latest media coverage score and a little bit about how it happened. Don’t forget to link to the piece so we can check it out!

If your days are spent toiling away online (or offline), cold calling or cold emailing, or employing a slew of customer attraction techniques that turn out to be a total doozy – this blog’s for you.

Check out these 3 proven techniques to get customers to come to you.

Is your Hook Hot…or Not?

You have about 15 seconds to grab your customer, whether they are taking a gander at your website or if you meet them in person. This is known as your HOOK.

How do you know if your hook is hot enough to grab attention?

1. When meeting a prospective customer in person, do they immediately want to know more? Or do they just nod their head in agreement and quickly excuse themselves to go to the bathroom?
2. Do you get a lot of visitors to your website, but not a lot of sales?
3. Do you get a lot of inquiries for your services/products every week…or not?

Become a Business Celebrity

If you don’t already know – my “hot hook” is turning business owners into business celebrities.

The reason this service is so popular is because it doubles as a client attraction magnet. When you become the most celebrated person in your industry, people will give their left pinky to work with you.

Becoming a business celebrity is all about owning your expertise, delivering juicy content, scoring tons of media coverage, and leveraging all of that goodness to grow a community of raving fans that can’t wait to gobble up everything you have to offer.

Solve a Problem

Last weekend, our dishwasher broke. So I turned to my best friend Google for help.

This behavior is a popular one – we have a problem, we turn to Google to fix it.

What if you were to think of your customer’s problems that relate to your product and service and use those exact words on your website or in your advertisements?
For example, I didn’t Google “Dishwasher Mechanic” or “Dishwasher Repair” – I Googled “Whirlpool Dishwasher Not Draining.” If a mechanic had used that keyword on his/her website or in an ad, I likely would have contacted them to save the hassle of trying to fix it myself.

Take some time and think about the way your customers actually describe their problems. Then incorporate that language into your website copy, meta tags, advertisements, etc. Speaking your customer’s language always attracts them to your brand.

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If you want to learn more about working privately with me, contact me at melissa@casseracommunications.com

I’m willing to bet you use email a heckuva lot during the course of your day. You might use it to pitch the media a story. You might use it to prospect new business, or reach out to someone you admire, or ask someone to partner with you on a specific program or venture.

But, what happens if your email is deleted before it’s even opened?

To avoid this, you need to create a juicy subject line that compels the recipient to open your email. Follow these subject-line writing tips to stop your emails from landing in the black hole (aka – the trash bin).

Short + Sweet Does the Trick

Lengthy subject lines run right off the column and make it difficult to discern what your message is about. For example:

Free Recording of Tuesday’s Amazing Social Media Teleconference – Listen Now.

The only thing people will see is Free Recording of Tuesday’s Amazing…

Probably not enough for them to click and open (unless your name is Oprah…or something).

One of my emails with the highest open-rate had the following subject line: PR Etiquette Guide. Short, sweet and something my audience wanted. Bingo!

Numeric Subject Lines

I use numeric subject lines often with media pitches and also for email newsletters. Some examples of mine include:

5 Ways to Stand Out Online
3 Ways to Kick Start your PR Campaign

How-To

Using “how-to” in your subject line instantly tells the recipient they are about to learn valuable information. This is great for media pitches and email newsletters. Some examples of mine include:

How to Write a Killer Bio
How to Turn Stories into Sales

Ask a Question

Question subject lines work best for customer email newsletters and for direct one-to-one email prospecting with clients, joint venture partners, etc. Some examples of mine include:

Are you using this for business?
Who is your ideal customer?
Do you need more media coverage?

Timely Offer

Great for email newsletters and other customer correspondence that has a deadline attached. Examples:

Today only – free shipping
Last chance – save $100

**Quick note: no two businesses are the same, so it’s important that you try different subject lines and then test to see which formulas work for your audience. I get the best email open rates with subject lines with numbers (5 tips…) or How-To subject lines. This may be different for your own business. Make sure to test and track through your email newsletter program.

Baffling Media Behavior #1 – They don’t return any of your calls/emails

You worked really hard on an amazing pitch and hit send. Then you followed up, and maybe followed up again. Nothing. So what gives?

Simply put, the pitch just doesn’t work for them right now. They just don’t have time to respond to every pitch because they receive too many. Before you contact them again with a fresh idea, double check that your pitch is a perfect fit for that specific outlet, that you’re contacting the right person, that it’s timely (magazines work 4-6 months in advance of deadline, etc), and that it’s personalized.

Baffling Media Behavior #2 – They requested a sample, but now you haven’t heard anything

When you send a pitch and the media requests a sample, butterflies of excitement can instantly swirl in your belly. This is great news, as it means they liked your pitch enough to consider your product further.

If they plan to use your product for a story, they will let you know. If they didn’t choose to feature your product, there are a slew of reasons why it may not have worked for them (it didn’t photograph well with other items on the page, the intern lost it, they didn’t love it in person, etc). Don’t take it personally – just thank them for the opportunity to be considered. There will be other opportunities right around the corner (and, in some cases, they may decide to feature you several months later).

Baffling Media Behavior #3 – They interviewed you for a story, but decided not to use your quotes

When the media does a story, they are looking for compelling quotes to round out the piece. If they didn’t include anything from your interview, it likely means they didn’t feel your insight was a match for the story, or they didn’t capture any juicy quotes from you to use.

So how do you prevent this from happening again? Before you give an interview, come up with at least five ready-made quotes – or sound bites – on the topic that can easily be plugged into the story. If you don’t know how to create your own sound bites, pick up my magazine program (www.magazinepublicity.com) – we cover it in-depth.

Baffling Media Behavior #4 – They wrote a story that featured both you and your competitors and decided to highlight your competitor over you

Bummer (but it was an honor just to be mentioned, right?)

Here’s the scoop. Your competition might be a household name (and your company isn’t), so the big fish takes it this time. The good thing is that you were considered a player in that same space to be featured alongside them.

Or, their spokesperson was an amazing interview. This you can fix too (see #3)

Also, if you know you’re going to be interviewed along with your competition, make sure to mention how you are different. Just make sure to never bad mouth your competition – that will only damage your brand.

Baffling Media Behavior #5 – You sent a pitch/press release to whole bunch of media outlets but heard nothing back. How could they not want to cover your amazing news?

If you’re sending the same pitch or press release to a number of outlets, it’s likely not personalized and they consider it spam.

Always remember to send personalized pitches to each and every media outlet you contact. Also remember to give it time. Always give the media at least a week to get back to you, and understand that some outlets won’t respond at all if it’s not a fit for them.

What other baffling media behavior have you experienced? Post a comment and share!

If you want to learn more about working privately with me, contact me at melissa@casseracommunications.com
 

This addiction is known as Pinterest – a virtual bulletin board where you can literally “pin” all of the photos you love around the web into your own themed boards.

For example, I have boards for Brand Inspiration, Inspirational Sayings, and one that’s lovingly titled “I want to put you in my belly.” (I really love food, alright? ☺)

Should you really spend time there?

According to Tuesday’s article on TechCrunch, Pinterest “just hit 11.7 million unique monthly U.S. visitors, crossing the 10 million mark faster than any other standalone site in history.” Wowsa.

The article also cites that Pinterest is used mainly by “18-34 year old upper income women in the American heartland” (Midwest). Even better, “according to comScore, the average Pinterest user spend 98 minutes per month on the site, compared to 2.5 hours on Tumblr, and 7 hours on Facebook.”

If your ideal customer fits the demographic above, Pinterest may be a good match for you. While most content on Pinterest fits the lifestyle mold (food, beauty, fashion, entertaining, crafting, etc), it could also be a good match even if your business falls outside of these categories. How? Keep reading…

Who Does it Right?

Brands large and small are using Pinterest in fun + innovative ways.

Whole Foods shares delicious food ideas that make you want to run to the market and scoop up every ingredient. They also feature gardening tips, creative holiday craft projects, and images from their non-profit Whole Family Foundation.

Lands' End Canvas makes it easy for style-conscious consumers to discover great products and share them on Pinterest by featuring a "Pin It" button on product pages. They also coupled this with a “Pin It to Win It” contest and awarded the most creative pinboards.

One of our small business faves gift boutique Pink Olive pins whimsical finds from her own shop as well as other inspirations around the web that her customers would appreciate.

How Can I Promote my Own Business using Pinterest

1. Turn your Pinterest page into a mini-magazine for your customers. For example, if you own a product business, you would want to pin your product photos but also create boards that engage your customer’s other interests (such as food, wedding ideas, decorating tips, gift guides, etc.) If they are going to spend all that time on Pinterest anyway, why shouldn’t it be engaging with your brand?

If you’re a service-based business, you can create boards to go along with your service (fashion styling, beauty tips, organizing tips, inspirational quotes for coaches, healthy food ideas, etc).

2. Share company news in creative ways. Tarte Cosmetics does a great job showing off press coverage and introducing their staff on their Pinterest page.

3. Encourage people to share your images on Pinterest (especially effective for product-based businesses or creative pros like photographers, designers, etc). You can ask your web developer to add “Pin It” button to your site just like the Land’s End example above.

4. Connect with your “pin posse.” Just like other social networks, you can follow, like, comment, and re-pin other Pinterest users.

5. Get intelligence from pins. Pay attention to which of your pins are followed, liked, etc most frequently. This could mean a stronger interest in a particular area of your business and the need to create additional products/services to meet these interests.

I use Pinterest as a “secret weapon” to bring client’s brands to life. If you want to learn more about working privately with me, shoot me an email Melissa@casseracommunications.com