Does Your Name Reflect What You Do?

You have an idea for a nonprofit or a business. It's inspired, it's divine.

So you name your organization, Sunshine for Life Corp.

That's beautiful. But what does it mean? And what does it say about what you do?

The reason why we're focusing on names today is because the name of your organization is the first thing a reporter -- or potential customer -- will see about you. Your name should either tell what you do or inspire some sort of curiosity where people will ask about what you do. It shouldn't flat out leave people confused.

If you do name your organization Sunshine for Life Corp., make sure you include a little tagline that says, "Health and Wellness Consulting/Personal Training." You need to include these details for a few reasons:

• It helps your search optimization. If a reporter is looking for someone to comment on health and training in your city, that's what they may Google to find contacts. If all you have on your site is "Sunshine for Life," who will find you without the specific name of your business?
• It helps people understand right off the bat what you do. With a name like Sunshine for Life Corp., you may get calls about generating solar energy. Make it clear what services you offer.
• It gives you a professional and expert touch.  If a reporter is looking for expert information, they are more likely to go with the organization that gives off an expert vibe, if you will. If they are looking for statistics on health and wellness in their area, Sunshine for Life Corp. may not necessarily convey that the organization has that information available. However, Sunshine for Life Health and Wellness is good. And Sunshine for Life Center for Health and Wellness is even better.

The moral of the story? Consider not just how the name you choose makes you feel and the meaning it has for you, but also how it presents your expertise to reporters -- and potential clients and customers -- looking for you.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.

The Winding Road to Publicity

When I entered the world of consulting, I had to learn differences in terms that people would use interchangeably.

However, I should let you know that public relations, publicity and media relations have differences (because I had to learn this, too)...some subtle, but differences nonetheless. But knowing the differences will also help you learn what you want -- and what you're asking for -- when it's time to consider hiring help.

So, here we go with some basic definitions.

• According to Publicity Insider, publicity is: "is the simple act of making a suggestion to a journalist that leads to the inclusion of a company or product in a story." Note here that we call that suggestion "a pitch."
  
Publicity Insider goes on to say that public relations is "a broader field that encompasses publicity, but also includes such things as investor relations, crisis communications, special events and sponsorships, and other activities designed to mold opinion." Pause. So here we see that PR doesn't just include news; it includes outreach to potential customers and partners.


• Just for kicks, let's talk about media relations, too. BusinessDictionary.comsays media relations includes "linkages with the media personalities and resources that facilitate an organization in getting a favorable, timely, and widespread editorial coverage."
  
  The moral of the story? All of these industries are intertwined but know whether you need a publicist, strictly for news, or a PR pro or help with forming relationships with journalists. To go anywhere with your media coverage, you first have to set the destination -- and enlist the help of the right tour guides.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.

Make It Short and Sweet

It's no secret that I'm not a former reporter who has moved into publicity/PR consulting...I am very much still an active journalist. I consider that a bonus for my clients because I still very much have my finger on the pulse of the industry -- which is important when we consider how we can get their news in the news.

Currently, I cover criminal court cases and I was reporting on a case recently where many media outlets were getting the charges against one woman wrong. Just as an example, let's just say the charge was forgetting to take out the garbage (which by the way, if that were a crime, I would be in so much trouble, but imagine with me here).

However, reporters and editors often have to shorten things and summarize them to either make them more understandable for their audiences or simply to make room for them in their headlines.

So, even though the charge was forgetting to take out the garbage, let's just say the reporters wrote something like "charged with keeping trash." Why? It's shorter, it gets to the point and let's face it: it packs a little more punch.

Keep in mind that's a journalist job in many cases: shorten, sweeten it and pack a little more punch. We have talked about not using too much jargon in another post and now we're just going a step further. If you have something long or complicated to include or explain in your story, consider these tips to avoid getting an abbreviation that you would rather not have:

• Give them the full statement regarding the facts you're speaking about, but offer a comparison to make it easier to understand. Say, "Well, it's a molecular sweeper of miniscule particles, but it's like a miniature vacuum." Then your headline becomes "Guy Invents Mini-Vac" and it's not wrong.
• Reiterate if there is a common mistake made with the facts. Say, "People actually commonly mistake the molecular sweeper as a high powered broom, but it's more of a vaccum."
• Be ready to offer an official abbreviation or nickname if there is one for your story. Don't leave it up to the reporter to shorten it if you can help it.

The moral of the story? Shortening and summarizing is a vital part of a reporter's job. They will thank you if you can assist with that.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.

Media is More Than Just the News

Alright, I know I talk about news. A lot.

But, there is definitely more to the media -- and getting your story told -- than the 5 p.m. news. Or your local newspaper.

There are documentary shows and reality shows, and even talk shows that still constitute the mainstream media, as well as magazine and specialty publications and radio shows. Not to mention the world of blogs and e-publications online.

Have you ever thought about pitching your story to one of those outlets. Consider these points when determining whether your story would be a good fit:

• Is it something that you read/watch/listen to regularly where you say to yourself, "I can comment on that" or "I have a story like that?"
• Do you know how to get in touch with someone to pitch your story to from that outlet?
• Is your story ready to publicized?

The moral of the story? There's more to media than just news -- and don't be discouraged if you haven't had any feedback from contacting news outlets. Check out other options.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.

Everything Comes Down to This

All the planning. All the research. All the experience.

It all comes down to this: your pitch -- and ultimately your story.

Have you ever noticed, when someone gets their story in the news, that everything they have done for their whole lives gets included?

That dermatologist interviewed about the new face-eating bacteria? Suddenly, we know everything there is know about where he went to school, what hospitals he worked at and where he interned.

It's research into the background for the story -- and it's very handy information for you to have for the reporter when you contact them.

Consider having the answers ready for background questions the reporter may have such as:

• How long you have been involved in the story;
• What changes you have seen related to your story over some past time period;
• What makes you qualified to be involved in your story.

The moral of the story? Everything comes down to this. Summarize everything that is related to your story in a neat package for reporters, because they will want to know the background.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.

Are You Made for TV?

A few years ago, I was part of an investigative team looking into inconsistencies in property values in Clark County, Ohio.

What that means in English is that some homes in the area were way overvalued -- leading to huge increases in property taxes -- and some homes were not valued as high as they should have been.

The culprit, according to one whistleblower, was shoddy reappraisal work done by a company hired by a shoddy county auditor. For this reporter, it was investigative heaven. And it was work that yours truly and a colleague of mine won an award for Community Reporting from the Ohio Associated Press.

But, oddly enough, this huge story that was in our newspaper constantly over more than six months made barely a blip in broadcast news.

Was it it because it wasn't important? Not at all. It was because, as broadcast is largely driven by audio and visual, this story was hard to show and explain.

Each time I wrote a follow-up to that story, I had to carefully craft it so that people could follow along and not get blogged down by numbers, factors and something one source called " economic obsolescence."

It was tough to do -- and would have been even tougher if I only had 1 minute and 15 seconds of broadcast time -- at the most -- to explain, including any interviews.

You need to ask yourself: is your story made for TV? Can you:

• Readily explain it in two or three sentences?
• Provide several interesting visuals to explain it?
• Offer simple statistics to prove your point?

The moral of the story? These are key points you need to address with any story, but especially with broadcast media. They rely on sight and sound to get your story told, so if your story consists of mostly paper, perhaps a newspaper would be a better fit.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.

Don't Say Too Much

As a reporter, I've often gone to interviews where I arrived with one story and left with a completely different one.

This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Usually, this is how it happened: after digging around a little in an interview, I found some tidbit or aspect that was a little more interesting than what I was originally asking about. This made for a better story -- and more attention to that person or organization's cause.

However, if you don't stay on track during your interview, you could end up with a piece you didn't envision. The best ways to make sure that you deliver the message you intended -- and, no, telling the reporters what questions to ask will not help you; it mostly only annoys the reporter --  include:

• Create three bullet points about what you want the reporter to know.
• Expand on those points with anecdotes, facts, figures and statistics.
• Don't be afraid to elaborate, but don't stray too far from the topic at hand, especially into controversial territory or subjects that you don't know much about.

The moral of the story? Reporters are there to dig out what's interesting, fresh and exciting about your story. Make sure you deliver your story in a package that satisfies those elements -- but don't say anything that causes your story to become unrecognizable.

Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.