eriksr on June 6th, 2007
File this one under personal productivity, folks. Do you have any idea how much slower
your computer is as a result of the anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-phishing, and anti-everything else software you have loaded? If you were to remove all that stuff right now, you would notice the difference — I guarantee it.
So it is with great pleasure that I announce I recently became an official Mac convert. No viruses, no spyware — nothing to worry about. I’m actually enjoying using a computer again. So what, pray tell, would happen if we put one in front of everyone at a PR firm? I think you would “move the needle” on productivity. Not just because of security, but because of how friendly and approachable the operating system is. It seems to encourage experimentation. Experimentation leads to experience and comfort, and when it comes to technology, this is something PR practitioners need desperately. Read the rest of this entry »
eriksr on May 18th, 2007
Odds are you’ve probably got some sort of toolbar built into your browser, be it from Google or Yahoo
or any of the thousands of spyware peddlers out there. Maybe you use it because it organizes your bookmarks more efficiently, or because it has games built into it, or flashes the latest headlines at you. Or maybe you don’t even know how to get rid of it. Bottom line: These things are just awesome from a PR perspective. Imagine having your own branded toolbar in front of a person’s eyeballs as they surf. Imagine them using the toolbar and scrolling past all your latest news.
There’s a company called Conduit that makes that dream a reality. 
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eriksr on May 3rd, 2007
I’ve had a few people ask me about this in the past couple of days, so it seems like now would be a good time to direct everyone to my older entry on the subject. Click here to find out how you can access a computer remotely using your web browser. It is free and absolutely painless. 
eriksr on April 16th, 2007
Note: Today’s entry comes from Cece Salomon-Lee of On24.com. For Cece’s entry on other things she learned going to work in-house, click here
While working at Blanc & Otus, I was proud of how my team responded to clients and the quality of our communications. My team may have hated me for it, but I was very nitpicky about grammar, spelling and formatting for any client facing documentation, such as weekly reports, emails, briefing sheets, etc. [You better believe it -Ed]
Since moving in-house, I’ve reviewed the work of two agencies and one PR contractor. This has opened my eyes to the vast number of PR agencies - large, boutique and everything in-between - and the level of service available within the industry.
I recognize that PR agencies desire to work with the CMO to ensure that PR is integrated within the marketing strategy. I agree. PR undertaken as an island from marketing doesn’t help a company provide a consistent face to the public. However, it’s more than a company or vendor not wanting to give PR agencies access to marketing related information per Mike Driehorst’s comment.
Rather, as a person who may be involved in selecting a PR agency or contractor, my trust is earned by the attention to detail and how results truly map back to my company’s goals. It’s not that I’m unwilling to give PR agencies access to information as Mike Driehorst commented. With all the priorities on my plate, I have to confirm that providing this information will truly benefit my company’s marketing goals and not waste time.
Here are my recommendations – based on a start-up company with less than $15,000 a month retainer:
1) Use spell check/grammar check – First impressions are key. Paying attention to spelling and basic grammar indicates that you can write well.
2) Correct names – This goes to attention to detail. Spelling my name and my company’s name correctly tells me that you care about me as a potential client.
3) Deliver what you promise - I have a tight budget and demanding deliverables. Be truthful about what you can or cannot do with the budget I have. If you promise me the moon or my budget, I’ll hold you to that. My expectations have been set.
4) Staff appropriately – I think the biggest concern I have about PR agencies is the number of accounts an account person manages/staffs. This goes back to being realistic. Smaller accounts require less people who can devote more hours on the account. If you can’t support this, don’t pitch the business.
5) Simple measurements – It’s key to provide recommendations on how to consistently and simply measure PR. This will provide a foundation on how to track this back to my organization’s marketing programs.
With these tips in mind, earn my trust!
eriksr on April 6th, 2007
I recently learned about a new service that ought to be of interest to you, dear readers. It’s called PitchWire, and at its heart is a system for PR pros to reach influencers without getting under their skin. It does this by reducing the amount of irrelevant crap that shows up in their inboxes — genius! And, heads up, basic membership is free, but you can get access to the premium features free until May 1, 2007.
Nuts and Bolts: About the Service 
I like PitchWire’s philosophy behind building and sending out pitches on this service a lot. When you create a new pitch, you start out with the basics – you specify your target, then you move on to filling in important details like contact information for your spokesperson, customers, analyst/experts, the pitch category (partnerships, new products, contributed articles, etc.). I like that PitchWire starts you off here because these details can sometimes be overlooked until the last minute, causing a frantic rush of activity resulting in major headaches. Not that I know what that’s like!
THEN you move on to your pitch headline and body copy. The body copy text box limits you to 10,000 words. This is very generous, but I hope you all know enough that your pitch really shouldn’t get anywhere remotely that high. In fact, the only justification for a pitch that long would be to get the word out about the Second Coming.
After that you can add a link to a Web site, and even upload attachments up to 5MB in size. Rather than an attachment feature, I’d love to see something akin to file sharing services such as Fabrik, where you can upload your files and share them via a link.
The Best Part — For Influencers
I love, love, love the message the recipient gets. At the start of it is a very well written message explaining what PitchWire is, what the recipient is looking at, and what they can do next. PitchWire has also taken the step to automatically create an account for the recipient so they can join PitchWire. This time and effort saving idea is brilliant for those reporters, bloggers, and analysts who want to hook up.
After the message comes your pitch. Influencers can of course create their own accounts and fill in details about what beats they cover and, ultimately, what pitches they’d like to see. That ought to make life easier for everyone.
Are you still reading? Click on over to PitchWire’s site to learn more, and tell all your friends and influencers. This is an easy to use, stable service that will only improve as more people join up!
eriksr on April 2nd, 2007
Users of Apple’s OSX are all well acquainted with programs called “widgets”. These small, single-purpose, sometimes web-enabled programs (also known as “docklets” or “gadgets”) have had a permanent place on my desktop for well over five years now. Well, if you monitor news or would like to know what the weather will be like in a week with just a quick glance, you should consider trying widgets, too.
Of course, by keeping an open mind you will also realize that you can make widgets a part of your PR programs. More on that later.
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