A great USP and PR go together While doing research on the USP; I found that it was created in the early 1940s and it originally referred to marketing .Today, a number of businesses, organizations, as well as individuals currently use USPs as a basis to identify who they are and to also separate them from the competition. Here are a few examples of USP’s used by individuals you may be familiar with:
ArethaFranklin “The Queen Of Soul”
· Michael Jackson ‘ The King Of Pop”
· James Brown “ The Godfather of Soul”
· And of course, me: Sheréa VéJauan “Publicity for the people expert”
It is vital for every business to develop a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). The USP should be used repetitively in your marketing campaign. The USP establishes a foundation for present and future clients which help to set you apart from your competitionTo Create Your USP..Ask yourself a few of these questions 1. What sets you apart from your competition?2. Who is your target market?3. What do you want your client to remember about your company, product or service?
My husband and I own several businesses, below are our USP’s along with some other favorites you may know
· Kids Book World “Education through Personalization”
· Positive Relations Entertainment “Always promoting a positive image”
· VéJauan’s PR Boutique “Crystallizing remarkable public opinion”
· Spoken word Café “Promoting the passion of poetry”
· Nike “just do it”
· McDonalds, “I’m loving it”
· M&M's: "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand"
What Does the USP have to do With Publicity?By creating a USP you are helping to create an angle for your PR campaigns and you may also be establishing yourself as an expert to the media
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Say My NAme, Say My Name-
Say My Name, Say My Name –
Sherea VeJauan
Say My Name, Say My Name – Christening Your Business for Publicity SuccessAfter you get that flash of brilliance to start a new business or to add a new product or service to an existing business, you immediately begin fleshing out the details. Who is this business for? How much should I charge for this service? How much will this cost to launch? And most importantly, just what am I going to call it???In many cultures naming is serious business. Growing up African American I have come across some very unique names (along with attitudes if you misspell or mispronounce those names). While it may be cute when naming children to be different and use a ‘z’ in place of an ‘s’, in business you may not always be around to correct the pronunciation or spelling of your name. Yes, your business name should reflect who you are; but there is a difference between being different and being difficult.So what does all this have to do with publicity? If your goal is to capture public and media attention, you want to make it as easy for them as possible to remember who you are and to be able to find you when they are ready to patronize your business. When we create media materials for our clients, the name of their businesses along with the name of the event plays a big part in the publicity campaign.Here is a 4-point test for choosing a name for your business or product:• Is it easy to spell?• Is it easy to remember?• Is it easy to pronounce?• Does it say who you are and what you do? Take a look at the following examples and see how they pass. What comes to mind when you see the name of each one?• Positive Relations?• Kids Book World?• Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf?Now that you have the perfect name for your new company or product, you must take the necessary steps in securing that name. In the case of a business, if you decide to not use your own name (example: Sheréa VéJauan’s Hair Salon), you're going to need a fictitious business name, or DBA (Doing Business As) in order to legally conduct business. With a DBA statement, you can now publish your business name everywhere: the phone book, your business cards, advertisements, directories, etc. You're putting yourself at risk without one.Here are a few extra tips to consider before finalizing your naming decision.• Are you going to have a website for this business? Be sure to check and see if the name you picked is available in the form of a web address, or domain name. Go to our sister website using the following linkhttps://www.securepaynet.net/gdshop/rhp/default.asp?prog_id=positiverelations&isc=wwbb367to do an easy search.• The ultimate protection for the name of your business or product is a trademark. You can do a free trademark search and find out the process for applying for one at http://www.uspto.gov. Even if you decide not to get a trademark, this will help to ensure that you aren’t infringing upon someone else’s mark (which is illegal and could result in a lawsuit).
Sherea VeJauan
Say My Name, Say My Name – Christening Your Business for Publicity SuccessAfter you get that flash of brilliance to start a new business or to add a new product or service to an existing business, you immediately begin fleshing out the details. Who is this business for? How much should I charge for this service? How much will this cost to launch? And most importantly, just what am I going to call it???In many cultures naming is serious business. Growing up African American I have come across some very unique names (along with attitudes if you misspell or mispronounce those names). While it may be cute when naming children to be different and use a ‘z’ in place of an ‘s’, in business you may not always be around to correct the pronunciation or spelling of your name. Yes, your business name should reflect who you are; but there is a difference between being different and being difficult.So what does all this have to do with publicity? If your goal is to capture public and media attention, you want to make it as easy for them as possible to remember who you are and to be able to find you when they are ready to patronize your business. When we create media materials for our clients, the name of their businesses along with the name of the event plays a big part in the publicity campaign.Here is a 4-point test for choosing a name for your business or product:• Is it easy to spell?• Is it easy to remember?• Is it easy to pronounce?• Does it say who you are and what you do? Take a look at the following examples and see how they pass. What comes to mind when you see the name of each one?• Positive Relations?• Kids Book World?• Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf?Now that you have the perfect name for your new company or product, you must take the necessary steps in securing that name. In the case of a business, if you decide to not use your own name (example: Sheréa VéJauan’s Hair Salon), you're going to need a fictitious business name, or DBA (Doing Business As) in order to legally conduct business. With a DBA statement, you can now publish your business name everywhere: the phone book, your business cards, advertisements, directories, etc. You're putting yourself at risk without one.Here are a few extra tips to consider before finalizing your naming decision.• Are you going to have a website for this business? Be sure to check and see if the name you picked is available in the form of a web address, or domain name. Go to our sister website using the following linkhttps://www.securepaynet.net/gdshop/rhp/default.asp?prog_id=positiverelations&isc=wwbb367to do an easy search.• The ultimate protection for the name of your business or product is a trademark. You can do a free trademark search and find out the process for applying for one at http://www.uspto.gov. Even if you decide not to get a trademark, this will help to ensure that you aren’t infringing upon someone else’s mark (which is illegal and could result in a lawsuit).
Friday, June 30, 2006
The Mission is Possible
The Mission is Possible
Sherea VeJauanHas someone ever asked you, "So what is it you do again?"For example: Let's say you're a caterer.Well, do you cater for children, seniors, adults, clubs, and weddings? Do you cater to 50 people? How about 5,000? Do you do weekends? Do you specialize in healthy food, Mexican food, soul food?Write down what you do-your mission. "This something you can't do later, it must be done now. Why? Because!" I heard a pastor say, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything! Your mission statement is vital to your company, if you don't know what you do, then your potential clients won't know either! My Husband and I are Founders of Positive Relations Entertainment Company:Our mission statement is: Positive Relations is dedicated to bringing positive people, products and events-suitable for the entire family.Your mission statement should be included on your website and newsletters. So this month, if you haven't done so, get a mission statement!Because It Is Possible A mission statement says who you are. A vision statement says what you hope to become.
Sherea VeJauanHas someone ever asked you, "So what is it you do again?"For example: Let's say you're a caterer.Well, do you cater for children, seniors, adults, clubs, and weddings? Do you cater to 50 people? How about 5,000? Do you do weekends? Do you specialize in healthy food, Mexican food, soul food?Write down what you do-your mission. "This something you can't do later, it must be done now. Why? Because!" I heard a pastor say, "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything! Your mission statement is vital to your company, if you don't know what you do, then your potential clients won't know either! My Husband and I are Founders of Positive Relations Entertainment Company:Our mission statement is: Positive Relations is dedicated to bringing positive people, products and events-suitable for the entire family.Your mission statement should be included on your website and newsletters. So this month, if you haven't done so, get a mission statement!Because It Is Possible A mission statement says who you are. A vision statement says what you hope to become.
Monday, April 24, 2006
“What About SPAM and Privacy Concerns?”
The hottest topic in email marketing today is SPAM. As corporations and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) work to control the amount of unsolicited email entering their systems, they may inadvertently filter out legitimate emails, including some ENewsletters. In industry lingo, this type of error is known as a “false positive,” and the result is that some emails sent to people who have requested them don’t ever reach their destination.
But, let’s put that into perspective. Even with SPAM’s impact, a good E-Newsletter sent to your house list will stil be opened by over 40% of the people it’s sent to. Given typical response rates to traditional marketing tactics, that’s as much as 40 times better than the percentage of people who read your newspaper ads; respond to your direct mail; or return your unsolicited phone calls.
The fact is, for the small business owner, an E-Newsletter represents the first time in history that we’ve ever been able to cost effectively communicate with our entire customer and prospect base over and over and over again. Not only that, but thanks to the inherently democratic nature of email (i.e. the big boys don’t get any more space in the email inbox than the rest of us), an E-Newsletter gives us the opportunity to not just compete with, but outperform our much larger competitors for the attention of readers.
And so, while SPAM has certainly reduced some of the effectiveness of E-Newsletters in recent months, this remarkable tool is by no means past its prime.
But, let’s put that into perspective. Even with SPAM’s impact, a good E-Newsletter sent to your house list will stil be opened by over 40% of the people it’s sent to. Given typical response rates to traditional marketing tactics, that’s as much as 40 times better than the percentage of people who read your newspaper ads; respond to your direct mail; or return your unsolicited phone calls.
The fact is, for the small business owner, an E-Newsletter represents the first time in history that we’ve ever been able to cost effectively communicate with our entire customer and prospect base over and over and over again. Not only that, but thanks to the inherently democratic nature of email (i.e. the big boys don’t get any more space in the email inbox than the rest of us), an E-Newsletter gives us the opportunity to not just compete with, but outperform our much larger competitors for the attention of readers.
And so, while SPAM has certainly reduced some of the effectiveness of E-Newsletters in recent months, this remarkable tool is by no means past its prime.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
“What is an E-Newsletter ”
“What is an E-Newsletter ”
Why We Believe You Need an E-Newsletter for Your Company
If you use email on a regular basis, you’re probably already receiving E-Newsletters
from some of the companies you do business with. And while there’s a tremendous
amount of variation out there regarding what constitutes an E-Newsletter (or
“electronic newsletter” or “E-zine” or “email newsletter;” they’re all the same thing),
they do have certain elements in common.
First and foremost, E-Newsletters arrive in your inbox as email messages. The
sending company writes the newsletter, drops it into a predetermined email format,
and sends it to a list of people who receive it on the other end. There’s a fair
amount of technology that runs in the background to do this efficiently and
effectively, but when you boil it al down, it’s just an email sent to many people at
once.
To dig a bit deeper, think of an E-Newsletter like an electronic magazine, with three
principal pieces:
1. Content. The words themselves - what you write and how you write it.
2. Formatting and Layout. Like a magazine, an E-Newsletter has a consistent
look from month to month for organizing and laying out the content. Fonts,
graphics, sections, headings, links, etc., al come together to create the
design and layout.
3. Delivery and List Management. Once the newsletter is assembled
(content + layout), there needs to be a “machine” for sending it out to a
predetermined list of people (your subscribers). The machine takes care of
the logistics behind delivery. In addition to sending the newsletter out, that
includes things like adding/removing names; managing bounced emails;
sending automated messages to readers as they come on the list or make
changes to their personal information; and collecting and reporting on data
regarding reader behavior and preferences.
Taken together, these three elements make up an E-Newsletter.
Join us next month as we get back to publicity tips, and talk about one of the best ways to connect with existing customers and encourage new ones – E-Newsletters.
Why We Believe You Need an E-Newsletter for Your Company
If you use email on a regular basis, you’re probably already receiving E-Newsletters
from some of the companies you do business with. And while there’s a tremendous
amount of variation out there regarding what constitutes an E-Newsletter (or
“electronic newsletter” or “E-zine” or “email newsletter;” they’re all the same thing),
they do have certain elements in common.
First and foremost, E-Newsletters arrive in your inbox as email messages. The
sending company writes the newsletter, drops it into a predetermined email format,
and sends it to a list of people who receive it on the other end. There’s a fair
amount of technology that runs in the background to do this efficiently and
effectively, but when you boil it al down, it’s just an email sent to many people at
once.
To dig a bit deeper, think of an E-Newsletter like an electronic magazine, with three
principal pieces:
1. Content. The words themselves - what you write and how you write it.
2. Formatting and Layout. Like a magazine, an E-Newsletter has a consistent
look from month to month for organizing and laying out the content. Fonts,
graphics, sections, headings, links, etc., al come together to create the
design and layout.
3. Delivery and List Management. Once the newsletter is assembled
(content + layout), there needs to be a “machine” for sending it out to a
predetermined list of people (your subscribers). The machine takes care of
the logistics behind delivery. In addition to sending the newsletter out, that
includes things like adding/removing names; managing bounced emails;
sending automated messages to readers as they come on the list or make
changes to their personal information; and collecting and reporting on data
regarding reader behavior and preferences.
Taken together, these three elements make up an E-Newsletter.
Join us next month as we get back to publicity tips, and talk about one of the best ways to connect with existing customers and encourage new ones – E-Newsletters.
Monday, March 20, 2006
“Advertising vs. Publicity”
“Advertising vs. Publicity”
In this lesson we round out our discussion on the ins and outs of publicity and what it’s not – and get into one of the most popular forms of getting the word out about your product or service – Advertising.
Advertising is the obvious way to promote a business or product. However, if you are searching for inexpensive ways to promote your company, it may not always be the best option. Plenty of people have questions about advertising versus publicity, and today we are going to tackle them both.
These two industries are very different, even though they’re often confused as being the same. While advertising has its place, for many cases publicity is the smarter way to promote a business or product. Good publicity allows you to achieve results that you may never be able to purchase. This chart compares the methods in a simple and short format:
Advertising
Publicity
CostPurchasing ad space is usually expensive, depending on the medium you choose. When you pay for ad space, you know when your ad will be run, for how long, and what paper or entity you have chosen.
Cost-EffectiveA great story can get printed in any paper and be included in local news. This is something you may never be able to afford. It is very possible that after sending a great media release you may get statewide, nationwide or even international exposure, absolutely free.
Control:
When you are paying and you are a customer you have the control over what people will read and how your customers will see you. What your ad will say, how long it will be ran, etc will be completely up to you (and your budget).
No Control:
Once you submit the facts to the press and/or allow them to cover your event, you have no control over what they may print, what photos they may use, and whether or not they are complimentary or offer a critique. And remember just because you send a press release, they don’t have to print it.
Long Shelf Life
When you pay for an ad, you can run the same ad as long as you want.
Shelved
Once you submit a press release it becomes dated. You may get much needed exposure, but editors are always looking for new news. Even after coming out of a great community event, in order to stay in the public eye, you must keep doing new events or keep bringing good news.
Lack of CredibilityDo you believe everything said in advertisements? When someone reads your ad with all of your clever dictionary words, they may be thinking this is too good to be true and that you must have left something out. In today’s overflow of information and consumer advertising, many people have learned to tune ads out.
Strong CredibilityWhen readers pick up an article and read about your company from a third party, they are more likely to trust what a journalist or broadcaster said about you than what you say about yourself. An article about your business or a mention on the evening news has far more credibility than an advertisement could ever have.
In this lesson we round out our discussion on the ins and outs of publicity and what it’s not – and get into one of the most popular forms of getting the word out about your product or service – Advertising.
Advertising is the obvious way to promote a business or product. However, if you are searching for inexpensive ways to promote your company, it may not always be the best option. Plenty of people have questions about advertising versus publicity, and today we are going to tackle them both.
These two industries are very different, even though they’re often confused as being the same. While advertising has its place, for many cases publicity is the smarter way to promote a business or product. Good publicity allows you to achieve results that you may never be able to purchase. This chart compares the methods in a simple and short format:
Advertising
Publicity
CostPurchasing ad space is usually expensive, depending on the medium you choose. When you pay for ad space, you know when your ad will be run, for how long, and what paper or entity you have chosen.
Cost-EffectiveA great story can get printed in any paper and be included in local news. This is something you may never be able to afford. It is very possible that after sending a great media release you may get statewide, nationwide or even international exposure, absolutely free.
Control:
When you are paying and you are a customer you have the control over what people will read and how your customers will see you. What your ad will say, how long it will be ran, etc will be completely up to you (and your budget).
No Control:
Once you submit the facts to the press and/or allow them to cover your event, you have no control over what they may print, what photos they may use, and whether or not they are complimentary or offer a critique. And remember just because you send a press release, they don’t have to print it.
Long Shelf Life
When you pay for an ad, you can run the same ad as long as you want.
Shelved
Once you submit a press release it becomes dated. You may get much needed exposure, but editors are always looking for new news. Even after coming out of a great community event, in order to stay in the public eye, you must keep doing new events or keep bringing good news.
Lack of CredibilityDo you believe everything said in advertisements? When someone reads your ad with all of your clever dictionary words, they may be thinking this is too good to be true and that you must have left something out. In today’s overflow of information and consumer advertising, many people have learned to tune ads out.
Strong CredibilityWhen readers pick up an article and read about your company from a third party, they are more likely to trust what a journalist or broadcaster said about you than what you say about yourself. An article about your business or a mention on the evening news has far more credibility than an advertisement could ever have.
“What is Marketing?”
In order to receive my PR certificate, Marketing was a required class. There is no way to sum up a full semester of marketing in a one page e-lesson, so I thought it would be most useful to you if I taught you the basic concepts in marketing by using a real-world example from one of my recent clients, Maurice Kitchen.
Maurice Kitchen is an NAACP award winning producer of the stage play “Dark Legends in Blood”. I was hired to help in securing a steady flow of people who were interested in seeing Maurice’s play.
While “Dark Legends in Blood” is not just a play but another level of entertainment to say the least, there were still certain aspects that needed to be defined before that first audience member would be ready to purchase a ticket. These aspects, or marketing variables as they’re called, are product, price, distribution, and promotion. The marketing variables define everything that needs to be done that will make the first ticket sale possible, and repeat ticket sales in the future likely.
Product
In Maurice’s case, the product is the play itself. From a marketing standpoint, we needed to define who this product was for. While Maurice had already done the hard work of writing, producing, and casting “Dark Legends in Blood”, was there a clear idea of who would want to pay money to go see it? We needed to determine the audience (or target market) – whether it be women, men, families, seniors, children, African-Americans, Hispanics, etc.
Price
Once the target market of the product is determined, the next thing to figure out is the price. Few people realize that the price is not so much about what the product is worth, but about how much your target market is willing to pay. In the case of “Dark Legends in Blood”, if we had decided that the target audience was senior citizens or high school students, they may have less to spend than middle-to-upper class families – and the play we feel is worth $60 per ticket may only be able to pull in $40 per ticket.
Distribution
The next aspect to determine was where the target group I selected will go to see this type of play for this type of price. Depending on the audience and what they were going to pay, it could be the Wilshire Ebell, Kodak Theatre, a local senior center, or high school auditorium. Whatever you choose, the distribution channel must fit where the audience would expect to go for the amount they paid. If it doesn’t – repeat ticket sales will be unlikely.
Promotion
The last thing to do is to get the message out to your target market. Having rehearsed, securing great singers, and having excellent production is not enough. The definition of promotion from my school textbook is to “inform, pursue, and influence a purchasing decision”. With Maurice, this was all about turning what his audience may want to do into what they needed to do; for example "They need to see this play and they need to see it now."
In a nutshell, marketing is getting a compelling message (promotion) to those who are most likely to buy your product (target market), and then doing everything to meet their expectations on how much they should pay for that product (price) and how they want that product delivered (distribution).
Maurice Kitchen is an NAACP award winning producer of the stage play “Dark Legends in Blood”. I was hired to help in securing a steady flow of people who were interested in seeing Maurice’s play.
While “Dark Legends in Blood” is not just a play but another level of entertainment to say the least, there were still certain aspects that needed to be defined before that first audience member would be ready to purchase a ticket. These aspects, or marketing variables as they’re called, are product, price, distribution, and promotion. The marketing variables define everything that needs to be done that will make the first ticket sale possible, and repeat ticket sales in the future likely.
Product
In Maurice’s case, the product is the play itself. From a marketing standpoint, we needed to define who this product was for. While Maurice had already done the hard work of writing, producing, and casting “Dark Legends in Blood”, was there a clear idea of who would want to pay money to go see it? We needed to determine the audience (or target market) – whether it be women, men, families, seniors, children, African-Americans, Hispanics, etc.
Price
Once the target market of the product is determined, the next thing to figure out is the price. Few people realize that the price is not so much about what the product is worth, but about how much your target market is willing to pay. In the case of “Dark Legends in Blood”, if we had decided that the target audience was senior citizens or high school students, they may have less to spend than middle-to-upper class families – and the play we feel is worth $60 per ticket may only be able to pull in $40 per ticket.
Distribution
The next aspect to determine was where the target group I selected will go to see this type of play for this type of price. Depending on the audience and what they were going to pay, it could be the Wilshire Ebell, Kodak Theatre, a local senior center, or high school auditorium. Whatever you choose, the distribution channel must fit where the audience would expect to go for the amount they paid. If it doesn’t – repeat ticket sales will be unlikely.
Promotion
The last thing to do is to get the message out to your target market. Having rehearsed, securing great singers, and having excellent production is not enough. The definition of promotion from my school textbook is to “inform, pursue, and influence a purchasing decision”. With Maurice, this was all about turning what his audience may want to do into what they needed to do; for example "They need to see this play and they need to see it now."
In a nutshell, marketing is getting a compelling message (promotion) to those who are most likely to buy your product (target market), and then doing everything to meet their expectations on how much they should pay for that product (price) and how they want that product delivered (distribution).
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
What Is Public Relations And What Do PR People Do?
When we decided to launch “VéJauan 101” free publicity lessons, we were pleasantly
Surprised with such a great response from non-profit organizations, small businesses and entertainment companies, who wanted to market their services, promote their book, pack the house with their upcoming events and get more people to join their associations.
Surely your publicity efforts could help you achieve all of the above, however public relations is a media support industry, we are more involved with how our clients deal with the public and the image the public perceives. Public relations should truly be a part of your promotional mix, but it should not replace marketing, advertising or your promotional efforts.
Surprised with such a great response from non-profit organizations, small businesses and entertainment companies, who wanted to market their services, promote their book, pack the house with their upcoming events and get more people to join their associations.
Surely your publicity efforts could help you achieve all of the above, however public relations is a media support industry, we are more involved with how our clients deal with the public and the image the public perceives. Public relations should truly be a part of your promotional mix, but it should not replace marketing, advertising or your promotional efforts.
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