IN THIS ISSUE: April 3, 2002 To Archive Index An Interview With Annie Jennings About Pay Per Placement PR Sneak Preview: WHATSNEXTONLINE.COM'S NEWCOURSE ON NEW REALITY PR™

AN INTERVIEW WITH ANNIE JENNINGS ABOUT
PAY-PER-PLACEMENT PR

by B.L. Ochman

Annie Jennings PR is a pay-for-placement organization, a pioneer in the practice where clients only pays for results. The majority of clients the firm represents are authors with expertise ranging from fitness to nutrition to business to sexuality. Some are speakers, who are known experts in their field.

Her firm does NOT do general business or corporate PR but instead reaches for specific placements for each client and charges anywhere from $1,500 to $10,000 per placement. If she handled business PR, she says "I'd have to charge a huge retainer."

Jennings' company prepares press materials it uses to get placements for its clients without charge. She says national placements start at $2500 and up. Local placements are $1500 and up. She says she can do an abbreviated radio campaign - 7 or 8 interviews - for $2,000. She believes at least three or four national placements are necessary for recognition. "I like clients to have a combination of TV, Radio and print," she says. Most clients spend $10-$15K to promote their books.

Most clients get a hit within weeks or a month or so says Jennings. "If you were a depression expert at the time of the Andrea Yates case you'd be in demand." Some people can get major national placements within a year. "It all depends on your message and credentials," she notes.

"Clients come to us to create expert status for them," Jennings says. "They are generally looking for one, two or three hits. They want to be able to say they were an invited guest expert on national television. That puts them just a cut above their competition who wasn't on TV."

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A Jennings PR newspaper or magazine placement can be a quote included in a bigger piece, sometimes with other experts. The name of the client's book or company is usually included. TV placements range from one to 10 minutes or whatever is the normal segment on the show. Sometimes the client is the only one interviewed during the segment, sometimes he or she is part of a panel. Jennings asks clients for a wish list of placements or periodicals they want. Many times, she says, they know where they should be.

Every author wants to be on Oprah
Often a client with a new book will want to be on "Oprah" and soon learns that getting there is a process that can take a long time. "Not to say a first-time author has never gotten on Oprah," she says, "but it is really rare."

Jennings has been in the PR business for 10 years. Her background was Wall St. where she was a commodity trader on the trading floor. She switched careers to pursue her dream of acting. She landed a Folger's coffee commercial that ran for several years. "While I was pursuing acting I met a lot of people who wanted to sell a product," Jennings says. "I asked them to give me a chance to promote them. Then I taught myself the business and I've been going strong ever since."

We asked Jennings how she establishes her clients as experts and she shared
these tips with us:

• You need both credentials and experience to get media coverage. Get as much media under your belt as possible, she says. It helps to work with a PR person if you can afford one.
• The first step is getting your tools together.
• You need a press kit plus a video tape if you want to do television.
• Create your biography in a promotional fashion, listing everything you've done. Producers want broad-based bios.
• Learn to pitch on the phone: write out your pitch on how you will add value to their audience.
• Let them know your availability, give contact info beginning and end.
• If you have to leave a Voice Mail, speak quickly when leaving a pitch, but slow down with your phone number.
• Say you will fax over press materials and do so.
• Include a list of 8-10 topics you can discuss.
• Include segment ideas with talking points and commentary on those issues.

• Besides calling, Voice Mail and faxing, send an e-mail pitch. It takes three approaches to the media to get them to even begin to consider you. You'll not often hear back.

• Call back again if you can tie into breaking news with a second pitch. Then send email to say you are ready and available.
• Still no response? Call back again or leave a Voice Mail saying "Why don't I send you media kit and book and highlight a section so you'll have all the information on me?" Then send the book and kit.
• Watch for opportunities and stay in touch via e-mail.
• Keep calling and trying to reach the person. Call a morning show producer shortly after the show is over, but don't leave more than one voice mail a day. We generally leave one every other day.
• We call until we get a "no," but be sure you don't badger.

What's Next: Do you need to write a book to get media coverage?

Jennings: No not at all. The key is to get yourself out there at time when they are likely to need you.

What's Next: How does an author get on Oprah?

Jennings: You have to have your tools ready. We had an author who wanted to be on Oprah. We said you have to have strategy and you need to increase your experience so you can handle the pre-interview and handle the show if you get on. You need to do other shows first so you can develop a video tape of your appearances. Getting on Oprah is a process. The first thing Oprah's bookers say is 'Send me the tape.' "The View," "Today", etc will all want to see your tape."

You need your tools ready, you need to have the credentials and you need to know how to make the contact. You will need to find a producer who covers your area. Sometimes the receptionist may give you a name to call.

You need to be continually in front of them on a monthly basis with something new. Send your talking points, your comments, and bio: keep at it until they are ready to do the segment with you.

They may not do anything the first or second time you contact them, but third time they may.See if people like you are on the show. "Today" only has mega- authors. You can pitch "Today" and "Oprah," but don't have high expectations. You need to start with shows where experience level can bring you until eventually you can get on.

What's Next: How long does it take to become a media star?

Jennings: It depends on your experience level, your message and credentials. Some people can get major placements within a year.

If we don't get a response within three people we pitch we go back to the drawing board. Wetest our idea to be sure it's media-worthy. If we get three "no's" in a row we re-develop our pitch until we figure it out. We can't keep doing that. So we have to figure it out or we don't get paid. We use our judgment and media feedback. "NO" is important information, they are telling us how to be successful by saying no.

"Just about everybody who has a book has an angle that is newsworthy." We are realistic. If they want "Today" and we know they won't get it, we advise them to pursue other shows.

Pitching Dos and Don'ts for Authors

• Do NOT pitch media without having press materials. ready to fax over immediately.
• Get media training for radio and TV.
• Negotiate the price of your media training. Two hours is perfect: you don't need a full day.
• Use media database sources to find contacts.
• Don't send a folder with nothing on the front. Always put your name and topic in the upper left corner. Files are filed standing up next to each others.
• Put Make sure your book is stamped with your name and contact info in case it gets lost.
• The first page of your press release should be on bright pink or lime green or yellow paper.
• The release should be two pages max. The second page can be white,
• Fold with the color side out.
• Mark contact info on each page.
• Only have the release peeking out the side of the book a tad so it won't get crumpled in mailing.
• Don't send the book until you're asked. Or after a few e-mails send it to get attention (it's a judgment call.)
• Don't leave more than two Voice Mails a week.
• If you keep sending and calling and e-mailing and no response, it may be time to change your materials or to change producers you are pitching.
• Be sure you have a breaking news tie- We do Voice Mail, fax, e-mail three times.
• If there is still no response, we move on. Then we might try once a week until we get a response.
• Absolutely send something monthly.
• It is very important to talk to them at least once and ask if they would mind receiving e-mails from you.
• If you get a "no" you can go back with another editor or producer and another and another.
• Develop a list of media contacts who want to hear from you.
• Know your media. If you want the Wall St. Journal, read it, know the reporters and what they cover.
• Call and ask for permission to journalists on a list and send out information to them on a regular basis.
• Don't give up. Keep hoping to create the contrived coincidence of being there when they need an expert.

Contact annie@anniejenningspr.com to sign up for her weekly Crash Course in Publicity Newsletter containing insider PR secrets and do-it-yourself PR information and open media opportunities. http://www.anniejenningspr.com

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E-Mail Pitch Letters
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Yakitup.com

As the start of this year's Fall Internet World 2002 quickly approaches, the team at yakitup.com would like to take this opportunity to introduce our company to you:

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Headquartered in Munich, yakitup has recently finished its "Friendly User" phase in Germany and is expected to be available in the US early next year.

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In an ever-growing world of voice-driven information service providers, yakitup differentiates itself from its competition by offering features similar to those found on any PC-based Internet browser. Analog to a PC, yakitup is an open platform, meaning both static and dynamic HTML web pages, including audio files, can be transmitted through any telephone. The basic principle driving the system is the speech recognition capabilities of the voice browser. Reacting to specific keywords spoken by the user, the voice browser responds by linking the caller to the desired pages on the Web. Such a keyword (for example "weather") is comparable to a URL on the Internet. Pages written in HTML are then converted by yakitup into spoken words and read back to the caller.

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Visit us at www.yakitup.com or come by BOOTH # 3955 for a demonstration or to ask questions about yakitup's service.

If you have questions that you would like answered before the show, please feel free to email us at info@yakitup.net

yakitup has a complete press kit available upon request.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT FALL INTERNET WORLD!

-------------------------------------------------

If you do not wish to receive future mailings from yakitup, or you feel you have received this message in error, please let us know. Send an email to email@yakitup.net

Hi B.L.: Ring. Ring. Who's calling? The Internet.

Away from your computer but need information from the Internet? Yakitup www.yakitup.com will read the web to you over the phone any time, anywhere. Yakitup is a new interactive, Internet-based audio on demand system that lets you listen to web pages over the phone from anywhere. Text is read out loud by a natural-sounding speech software and audio files can be played back.

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***

Wired reporters and editors will read your information from a computer screen, not from a printed page. Therefore, your new message must fit the new medium.

What's needed is a made-for-the-Internet press release format. Think of the electronic news release as a teaser to get a reporter or editor to your web site for additional information.

The Reality PR communications format can be a press release, a Media Alert, a Top 10 List or a pitch letter.

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