P.T. Barnum, the iconic 19^th century showman liked to say: “All publicity is good publicity.”

That may be true. But I can’t tell you how many financial professionals contact us wanting to do “PR” for them. “We have such a great XYZ, but no one has heard of us,” they lament, assuming media outlets should be breaking down the door to do stories about them.

In today’s era of shrinking newsrooms, that kind of “earned media” coverage is harder and harder to do. It’s simple math. Newsrooms are shrinking at even the best newspapers, magazines and broadcast outlets. The editors and reporters who remain are completely overloaded and don’t have time for coffee, lunch, golf or 15-minute meet-and-greets just to get to know you. They’re under constant pressure to meet tight deadlines with timely, relevant content that will keep the audience engaged and advertisers happy.

And now thanks to crowdsourced pitching services like Qwoted, Source Bottle and HARO (Help a Reporter Out), journalists are receiving more pitches than ever for fewer and fewer coverage opportunities.

That’s why we recommend writing authoritative bylined columns for reputable media outlets cover your industry.

Here are some of the advantages of bylined columns over simply being quoted:

• Recognition and Authority: Publishing establishes you as an expert in your field, whereas a quote often places the spotlight on the person who cited you.
• Control of the narrative: When you publish a bylined article, you control the narrative. When you’re simply quoted in an interview, your comments are just there to fill in the blanks in the reporter’s story – and there’s always the danger of being misquoted or being taken out of context.
• Career Advancement: Peer-reviewed publications directly lead to paid speaking gigs, new clients, podcast guest appearances, job opportunities, and consulting opportunities.
• Professional Development: The process of publishing improves writing and critical thinking skills, forcing the consolidation of complex ideas. After a few articles, you’re presentations and “elevator pitches” will get even better.
• Greater Impact: A published work allows others to build upon your findings, contributing to the broader development of a field.
• Validation: Being published means a publisher or reviewers validated the work’s quality and value. That’s what cements your status as a bona fide thought leader.

• Shelf life. Many of the specialized media outlets we work with build an archive landing page with all of your bylined columns listed, as well as your headshot and professional bio. Most media outlets keep the articles on their archive pages live for several years. You won’t get an archive page just being a source.

But I already have a good journalist relationship

If you can build a good relationship with a top journalist who covers your industry or geographic area, that’s great. Those relationships can be an invaluable source of earned media coverage, and you’ll eventually be considered a thought leader. You’ll likely get quoted several times per year – usually on short notice – for stories they’re working on. Just know that you can’t control when they publish, what the story is about, and most importantly, other experts being quoted in the story.

Most good journalists use multiple sources for their report, and you can’t control the order in which you’re quoted or if you’re quoted in the same story as a competitor, former partner or someone who is generally regarded as unethical in your space.

Again, as a source, you can’t control the narrative like you can as a guest columnist or regular contributor.

Conclusion

All PR is good PR, but the right PR is worth its weight in gold. Let me know what you’re doing to garner earned media coverage. I’d like to hear more.

#thoughtleadership, #bylinedarticles, #mediacoverage, #PR

I was a financial journalist for many years before starting HB Publishing. You know how you feel when telemarketers call you just after you’ve sat down for dinner? Well that’s how I used to feel when a rookie PR person or fledgling entrepreneur would pitch me a completely off base story—typically when I was crashing on deadline.

I know this may come as a shocker, but the financial media does NOT exist to promote your firm or your personal brand. Time-pressed journalists are charged with informing their readers/viewers about the most important news, trends and best practices that impact their readers every day. Do their readers really care if you just opened a branch office, hired a new partner or now offer a new service? Not likely. It might be a big deal for you and your team, but is that news going to make the journalist’s readers more successful, more efficient or better informed? As President Biden would say: “C’mon man!”

But, these are the kinds of questions you (and your agency) should be asking yourself before you pitch. So, how do some advisors keep getting quoted, published and cited by the popular press?

Hint: they’re not buying their way in or taking out big advertising schedules in those media. Instead, they’ve learned to be a “Go-To” guy or gal for busy journalists—a reliable source the journalist can count on time and time again to explain complex topics to their audience in concise soundbites—without dumbing it down or pitching their firm’s services.

That’s actually the easy part.

The hard part is getting on the journalist’s radar in the first place. You can hire an expensive PR firm; you can spend lots of money blasting out press releases on a wire service. But “spray and pray PR” rarely works.

Instead, you and your team have to do some old-fashioned legwork. It doesn’t mean making cold calls (or e-blasts). You simply have to isolate 10-20 media outlets in which you’d most like to appear. Hint: these are the outlets where your clients, prospects and strategic partners spend their time keeping abreast of your industry. Next, familiarize yourself with the specific editors, writers, producers and bloggers who are most often covering the areas that map to your expertise.

Next reach out by phone, email, snail mail and social media with a brief, but carefully targeted “pitch” that shows you are familiar with the writer’s work (i.e. their beat) and why featuring you or your firm in an upcoming article can shed new light on a topic they frequently cover—or should be covering. It doesn’t hurt to cite references to recent stories the journalist has written about a topic on which you’re an expert.

Hint: Use a few of those keywords in the subject line of your pitch email.
Hint2: Don’t give up if your first attempt goes answered. You may need follow up three or four time before getting a response.

Better yet, let the journalist know you have research, presentations or articles that could enhance their coverage of a topic and to consider you a source the next time they cover that subject. While it’s hard to get journalists to have lunch, drinks or golf, if they like your angle, they will be receptive to a Zoom call, or at least an email exchange to discuss further.

Finally, don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call. More often than not you’ll get a voice mail. That’s fine. Even with many journalists working from home, they check their voicemail regularly because heck, they don’t get many legit voice messages anymore, and when they do, it’s usually important.

For more about getting media attention that matters, see our recent posts:

• Don’t ‘Pitch’ Stories to the Media; Be a Problem Solver
• Getting Quoted in The Journal Is Not Impossible, But……

Conclusion

Newsrooms are a lot thinner than they used to be and the news cycle moves faster. While journalists can be cranky at times, they’re still human. They love a good story—and even better—a good story teller. You’re a pro. Why shouldn’t you be on of them?

What’s your take? I’d like to hear from you.

#practicemanagement, #wealthmanagement, #PR, #credibilitymarketing, #thoughtleadership

Quality over quantity to build longstanding relationships

As our 5th annual CPA/Wealth Advisor Confidence Survey  draws to a close, several data points stand out. More than four out of five surveyed advisors (81%) told us they expect their practices to grow over the next 12 months. Even more encouraging, nearly two in five respondents (38%) expect their practices to grow by more than 10 percent in the year ahead—up from 21 percent who felt this buoyant in March of 2020.

What are high-growth firms doing differently in 2021?

For one, they’re working the press. They’re not just garnering press mentions; they’re leveraging those interviews into guest columns, background interviews and podcast appearances. Nearly half of respondents (47%), told us they find press mentions to be “very” or “extremely” effective for enhancing their status as thought leaders. And 46 percent said publishing bylined columns was a “very” or “extremely” effective thought leadership tactic. In fact, press mentions and bylined articles both ranked among the top 5 leadership tactics out of nearly 20 we asked respondents to rate.

The firms most optimistic about their growth prospects in 2021 were even more likely than average firms to seek press mentions and publishing opportunities. High growth firms were 5 percentage points more likely than average firms to rate press mentions a “very” or “extremely” effective thought leadership tactic (51% vs. 46%). They were 4 percentage points more likely than average firms to rate bylined articles “very” or “extremely” effective (50% vs. 46%).

Here are recent examples from our clients:

• Tax specialists BLAKE CHRISTIAN @taxcredits_CPA  and JAY DARBY  (HCVT, LLP) were published in Bloomberg Tax (O-Zone Alchemy: Turning Net 1231 Gains Into Gross 1231 Gains (and Losses)), which led to an appearance in the Millionacres/Motely Fool magazine and podcast (Bitcoin Boom Got You Facing Tax Hit? Consider Opportunity Zone Investing).

• Estate planner RANDY FOX (Two Hawks Consulting) @randyafox1 was published in WealthManagement.com (Why Are Aging Rockers Cashing Out Their Music Catalogs?) and featured in Medium.com/ Authority Magazine (Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Randy A. Fox of Two Hawks Consulting Is Helping To Change Our World). 

• Tax-centric wealth advisor @KYLEWALTERS (L&H CPAs) has earned a twice-monthly guest column spot in Accounting Today. Don’t miss his latest Tiered huddles help firms manage busy season 
• Wealth advisor DR. GUY BAKER, Ph.D (Insight Wealth Solutions) was featured in U.S News & World Report (When Do You Become a Senior Citizen?), Money Geek (Expert Insight on Conventional Loans) and Bank Rate.com (With rates so low, are CDs worth it in 2021?)
• Tax specialist RANDY CRABTREE (Tri Merit) was published in Accounting Today Down Economy Offers Great Opportunity for CPAs to Hit Restart

By the way, our clients don’t have to resort to “pay for play” (sorry Forbes Advisory Council) or “spray and pray” press releases. They take a highly targeted approach to becoming trusted go-to sources for top journalists on tight deadline. Next time, I’ll tell you more about how they do it.

*** NOTE: We’re keeping the survey open for another week. Give us five minutes of your time and we’ll send you a 20-page pre-publication summary of the findings. See how you stack up to your peers.

Conclusion

Our 2021 survey is a joint initiative of CPA Trendlines, Elite Resource Team, The Financial Awareness Foundation, the Investments & Wealth Institute and HB Publishing & Marketing Company. We don’t make money from the survey or share email addresses or individual responses of participants. We’re just trying to give back to the profession.

What’s your take? I’d like to hear from you.

 #practicemanagement, #wealthmanagement, #PR, #credibilitymarketing, #thoughtleadership