Better Business Bureau Steals Business from For-Profit Company!

One of my good friends, Jo DeMars, has run a very successful business in Wisconsin since 1988. I profiled her in October 2004 in my “Success Secrets of Women Entrepreneurs” ezine. At that time, she had 25 full-time-equivalent employees, 40 independent contractors, and about 300 dispute resolution volunteers working with her company. Read the profile:

http://www.womenmarketing.com/demars.htm

Until 2005, DeMars and Associates’ biggest client was Ford Motor Company. When the Better Business Bureau underbid DeMars for Ford’s arbitration work, DeMars & Associates lost its biggest profit-generating client and has had to scale back its whole operation, a loss of 20 jobs and a drastic curtailment of work for 40 independent contractors and 300 volunteers.

Yes, you read that correctly. The nonprofit, membership organisation BBB took business away from a for-profit company! In the past, the BBB was a champion for consumers, helping them resolve disputes with businesses. Companies joined the BBB to show that they worked hard to equitably resolve disputes, and the Better Business Bureau worked with them to resolve complaints. But this is an entirely new direction for the Better Business Bureau. (Where’s “60 Minutes” when you need them?)

I think it’s time to expose the BBB for its deceitful practices. Stealing business from a member company is very underhanded. If you have ideas on how to publicize this issue, influence the BBB to discontinue this practice, or help DeMars and Associates become the strong business they once were, post your comments here.

How to get your news released delivered

In today’s spam-filled email world, it’s sometimes VERY difficult to get your news releases and PR pitches to the media person you are trying to reach. These tips hold true for personal emails, too, so even if you don’t do P.R., this article holds some important email tips.

Here are a few ideas to help you be more successful in reaching your target.

==> Write the release with spam filters in mind.
There are many words that trigger spam filters these days. Learn to write alternative words, substitute zeros for Os or add * in the word to avoid the spam trap. You can find out which words are likely to be a problem in this excellent list provided by Dr. Wilson.

==> Check your content to see what your spam filter rating is.
There are free sources to check your email. One of them is Lyris Content Checker, which checks it against the SpamAssassin database.

==> Send each email individually, not as a CC or BCC.
The CC function allows everyone to see who you sent your email to so you definitely don’t want to do that. The reporters will get irritated when they see you have sent it to all of their competitors. As my grandmother used to say,”It’s better to keep some things to yourself.”

The BCC function allows you to hide the list of recipients from everyone who receives the email, but it doesn’t hide it from the email programs and filters. These programs know that you are sending a BCC message to a list, and if you send it to 10 or more, it will automatically trigger the spam filter.

You can send your emails efficiently from many database programs. I use ACT! and it allows me to not only send to a group, with each email going individually, but it also keeps track of what I sent to whom.

There are also systems available, like the one I use to deliver my ezines, designed to send hundreds and thousands of emails all at the same time. And the best thing is, you can tailor your release to add personal details about each recipient, such as their name and the industry they cover.

==> Include the recipient’s name in the subject line.
When someone sends me an email that begins, “Lois,…”, I pay attention. I know that this person either knows me or I have subscribed to their ezine or asked to have them communicate with me for some reason. And I NEVER report these people as spammers. If I don’t want to continue receiving information from them, I politely unsubscribe or email them to take me off their list.
Think about it. You respond better when someone uses your name, don’t you? It’s a terrific way to get someone’s attention.

==> Include [News] or [Pitch] in brackets at the beginning of the subject line.
Again, you need to give the reporter an easy way to spot your news as legitimate. So tell them up front you are sending them news or a pitch and watch your email delivery rate soar.

==> Include the reporter’s column or beat in the first paragraph.
A reporter is always going to pay more attention to your pitch if you are one of their faithful readers. If you start out your email with something like, “Jane, in last week’s Tech Tips for Consumers column, you said…”, you will surely get the reporter’s attention.

==> Include all your contact information
Nothing’s worse than getting an email that you want to respond to immediately and having no way to contact the person except by email. Give the reporter all your phone numbers. And don’t forget your physical address and website domain. Make it easy for them to contact you.

==> Never include any attachments.
Unless you’ve been living in a cave without Internet access, you know that attachments are the way that most worms and viruses are spread on the Net. Windows XP strips off most attachments, and most corporate entities don’t allow attachments to come through their systems. They can even get you blacklisted so your emails cannot get through. So don’t be stupid. Don’t send attachments unless someone asks for them.

==> Provide a link to your website to download photos, graphics, graphs, bios and other background information.
Just about anything that you need to deliver to a reporter can be uploaded to your website. You can include product photos, people photos (remember to make them 300 dpi for print/ 72 dpi for online and in various sizes, so that the media can choose which size they want to use), bios, background information, sample chapters, and even an entire digital book. If the reporter wants you to send the product or a physical book, then you’ll have to mail that, of course.

==> Always include a subject line, but never put “Hi” or”Hello” in the subject line, especially alone.
Emails without subject lines are usually spam, and those that say hi or hello are usually viruses, so no one is going to open them. Be thorough. Include a subject line.

==> Follow CAN-SPAM rules and allow an easy unsubscribe method to your email list.
Even if you don’t include a one-click unsubscribe, you should at least include a statement that tells the reporter how they can get off the list or let you know that their beat has changed. A simple statement that says, “To get off this subscriber list, simply hit ‘reply’ and put ‘remove’ in the subject line” will suffice. And don’t forget to include your name and address.

Once you have their attention, there are many more things you can do to position yourself as an expert. On March 23, Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound, and I are doing a teleseminar to give you loads more publicity tips. It’s called, “How to Use the Media to Market Your Expertise.”

Getting seminar business

 Last week, Sarah Cohen of Life’s Inner Quest Center asked, “I’m seeking places where I can give seminars on the following subject ‘The Secret to Happiness’ and ‘Stress Less for Success.’ Can you offer suggestions?”

Brainy reader A.H. of Up4Contract.com offered these suggestions:

“I would try to reach out to human resource departments of larger corporations: Bank One, Suffolk Construction, county governments, etc. Many larger organizations offer their employees monthly programs on various topics that focus on their overall well being. I worked at Bank One (which may have changed names now), and we had a monthly Lunch & Learn. We brought in speakers on how to be a better communicator, how to balance life with work, and other related topics. I could see your topics fitting in with organizations that have a belief in the well being of their employees. I would start talking to the heads of the human resource departments and see if they offer such programs, and tell them how you can bring value to their employees.

“Another suggestion is to consider college campuses. While this may not be your ideal target, you may find sororities, student councils or governments looking for great programs to bring their students. I would highly suggest talking to the Greek organizations, i.e. Panhel (which is the leading body over the sororities), and tell them about your knowledge and how you would relate to the students. I know Greek organizations are always looking for worthwhile programs to bring to their members. If I can be of any assistance, I have connections at Marquette University.”

From Sandra Sims of Step By Step Fundraising:
“About six months ago, I joined an organization called Business & Professional Women. I found that it’s a great place to network with other business people and meet potential clients. Not only that, but once a month we have a guest speaker give a 20-minute talk. Civic clubs such as Kiwanis, Lions, Optimist, and many others have a similar format. Sarah could give a short talk as a ’sample’ of her seminar material and style, and then book paid seminars from the organization or other people she meets at the meetings.”

Liz Ryan at WorldWit writes, “As we gear up for ‘Camp WorldWIT 2005: Women in the Lead,’ we have some slots available for dynamic, inspiring speakers. If you fit this description and would be interested in speaking to a group of professional, talented and educated women please visit our Camp speaker page and apply to be a speaker.”

And Lois says: While business, civic and nonprofit organizations are not likely to pay you much for your speeches, it’s a great way to get yourself in front of lots of people who ARE in a position to hire you. Make sure they know how to contact you later. If you also have products to sell when you do these free seminars, such as a video, audio training CD or ebook, you can often make good money by selling these after your presentation. I suggest you join Toastmasters and the National Speakers Association, too, because you will not only get practice presenting speeches, but you will meet others who can help you get speaking gigs.

To get hired by business, civic and nonprofit organizations, you’ll need to get in touch with the program director. Research the organization and network your way in to the program director. Consider attending the group a few times before you approach the person in charge of programming. They will be much more likely to hire you if they know you.

Consider putting together half-day and full-day workshops on your topic, and expand your networking by partnering with other speakers who can help you fill out your program. That way, you will have access to their customer list, too. Create a postcard campaign with at least three postcards in the series to promote your programs, and mail them to a targeted list of businesses and organizations. Remember, it’s generally the human resources or training departments that hire speakers.

Write articles about your subject and place them in print and online publications. You didn’t mention if you have a website, but you should have one! A website is a terrific showcase for a speaker because you can easily post articles you have written on your topic, post audio clips of your speeches, and you can even post video clips easily today. So it can eliminate the need to create an elaborate sales package and it can often help you book a seminar without having to sell. Your website sells for you.

My next teleseminar guest, Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound, is a highly sought-after public speaker. And she started out much like you–with a wealth of knowledge on her topic (publicity) and a desire to get paid for public speaking. She used her 22 years of experience as a newspaper editor at four newspapers to launch her career as a publicity expert. That was ten years ago. Since then, her career (and fortunes) have blossomed by applying all of the publicity ideas she has learned over the years. She commands big bucks whenever she speaks now. And you can hear her for peanuts on our recorded teleseminar, “How to Use the Media to Market Your Expertise.” It’s available as a CD or you can download it immediately as an MP3 or written transcript.