Wow, what fantastic weather we’re having. Us Brits just aren’t used to it and being a typical Brit I was out in the garden yesterday and now have a pair of burnt shoulders to show for it.
I bought a very swish new water pressure washer from Argos (with cashback from my ei42 shop) and couldn’t resist getting out to give the patio a blast. I thought at 9.30 in the morning the sun wouldn’t be hot enough to burn me so didn’t bother with any lotion.
I had the job done by 11am but that was long enough to have caught the sun on my shoulders which have gone rather red. Oh dear.
I spent the afternoon gardening (well, clearing weeds) while Matthew splashed in his paddling pool and Liz did her best to keep Millie in the shade of our summerhouse (sounds very grand but it’s really more like a shed). All in all, a fantastic family day in the garden.
Today it was back to work after a few days off trying not to think about press releases, articles and breaking clients into the media. Easier said than done though as I do find it quite difficult to switch off, especially after such a great week last week – my best ever since I set up the business.
I took last Thursday afternoon and all day Friday off so we could celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. We went off to The Malmaison Hotel in Birmingham which, if you’re thinking of going, is a rather plush hotel let down by a mediocre restaurant.
In the hotel bar I spotted comedian Dylan Moran – star of Black Books and other things. I have always been something of a fan of his and consider him to be a very funny man.
So, having consumed a couple of glasses of the bubbly stuff it seemed like a very good idea to go over to him and say hello. Liz of course, left me to it, so I headed over to him alone (he was on his own too).
It was a rather strange meeting. He was sober and rather serious. Not at all the laugh a minute guy we see on the box. Then again, looking at it from his point of view, there he was having a quiet pint when a sloshed up bloke walks over and asks if he wants any company. Suffice to say, he didn’t.
At least the visit gave me something to write about for my Nottingham Evening Post column this week . I’ll put a link up here on the blog when it’s published on Friday.
Pressman and The Naked Trader
A couple of years back I became interested in the Stock Market and the whole concept of buying and selling shares to make a profit.Before taking the plunge I turned to the mighty Amazon to help me research the subject. There are lots of books on share trading but I was immediately taken by The Naked Trader by Robbie Burns.
The book had many great customer reviews on Amazon – always a great sign. I Googled Robbie and quickly found his own website. After ten minutes reading I was hooked.
Like me Robbie is an ex national newspaper journalist who read Rich Dad Poor Dad and decided to start working for himself. He soon found he had a knack for buying and selling shares and has never looked back since.
I admire Robbie because he has a talent for finding multiple income streams and he’s a man who lives life by his own terms.
A couple of months ago he added an update to his site detailing how his father-in-law had suffered a heart attack and been treated in the hospital in my home town of Nottingham.
Robbie was extremely positive about the hospital staff and the overall experience of being a patient. I thought it would make a great story for the Nottingham Evening Post – we get so used to media scare stories about the NHS that a piece saying how wonderful the treatment at an NHS hospital was too good to pass up.
I began my journalistic career at the Evening Post and now write a column for the paper on parenting so I have good connections there. I phoned a friend on the newsdesk and forwarded the url to Robbie’s site. Sure enough a few days later a story appeared. Click here to read.
I emailed Robbie who said he was very happy with the piece. Never being one to pass up an opportunity I inquired if I could help him win publicity for his book. Robbie put me in touch with his publishers but after a few emails to and fro it seemed the publisher felt no extra publicity was required. It seems a short term view but as Robbie’s book is still on Amazon’s bestseller list, I can’t really argue.
This was around the time I was publicising Shed Simove’s book Ideas Man – click here to buy. I arranged for a copy of Shed’s book to be sent out to Robbie. He read it and asked to meet Shed. The two of them got together in a pub in Putney for an author love-in. The next day Robbie wrote an extremely positive review of Shed’s book and their meeting on his site. Click here to read.
I was very pleased for Shed – Robbie has an extremely loyal readership and his review sparked sales of Ideas Man which zoomed up Amazon’s list.
Robbie’s book has now been updated – click here to buy it. It remains essential reading for anyone interested in the Stock Market. It explains complex concepts in terms so simple even a hack like me can understand.
His site is wonderful because he puts so much of his own life into the updates it is almost like subscribing to a private soap opera. Last month I even managed to sell a story to The Sun based on one of his updates! He was talking about bumping into Dr Who in a bar. When he said The Doctor was complaining about the price of lager I just couldn’t resist giving one of my mates on The Sun a ring! Click here to read.
So if you want to make money and be entertained too, buy Robbie’s book and take a look at his website.
More Pressman Success
My current incredible run of national newspaper hits for my clients just keeps getting better and better.
I have been working with author Greg Waggett for several weeks now. Greg is a really interesting guy who has written a memoir of his time fighting with private security forces in Iraq. In My Blood is a great read. Click here to buy it.
The book was quickly published – and Greg was elated. But then it failed to sell. Greg told me: “The problem is no one knows it’s out there Steve.”
The small publishing house behind the book had little know-how when it came to publicity, which is why Greg turned to me.
I identified the human interest elements of his story.A couple of years ago, when he was 58 years old, his relationship and his business both collapsed within weeks. At a low ebb Greg decided he needed to make a break from the past and go in a different direction.
I’m sure most of us can relate to that feeling of needing a change after a lover gives us the elbow (such memories are pretty distant for a happily married chap like myself of course!) but where most of us would go and buy a new top or perhaps have our hair cut Greg took things much further and headed out to Iraq to lend his weight to the private security forces out there.
Once I had boiled the story down to a punchy Pressman style release I began punting it around my contacts in the media and I’m very happy to report the story has been picked up by The Sun. Click here to read it on The Sun’s website.
It is a fantastic result for Greg who has been desperate to tell his story and who had been trying extremely hard to get a paper to pick it up for months before turning to me. I couldn’t be happier for him.The Sun has the highest readership of any daily English language newspaper in the world so this piece will help him reach millions of potential new readers.
Last week was my best ever. As well as The Sun piece on Greg Waggett I won features in the Sunday Express for Patients Talking (double page spread) and a great piece in the fashion pages of the Daily Mirror for Bagnificent along with a page five lead piece with pic also for Bagnificent in Business 7.
Gerry Campbell, the founder of Bagnificent has emailed me to say hits on her site have gone “through the roof” so that’s very gratifying and shows the incredible power of PR in action.
I also had page leads in the Nottingham Evening Post, The Leicester Mercury and The Derby Evening Telegraph. I have also had verbal agreement on pieces for other clients in The Sun and The Daily Mail. Once they’ve been published I’ll put up full details here on the blog.
It’s a very exciting time at the moment and I seem to be on fire with everything I touch turning to gold right now (hey, it’s no good being modest when you’re running your own business!)
Free Money
Ei42 is a great new shopping portal which lets you earn cashback on all your internet shopping - even eBay! Click here for details.
Inspiring Entrepreneurs
I now have my own bookshop - in association with Amazon. It is stocked with all my favourite business books and all the books which have inspired me over the years. Click here to visit the Pressman Bookshop.
SEO Tips
My top two tips for search engine optimisation are so simple - if you haven’t done them yet what is stopping you? Tip 1: Google Maps - creating a Google Map listing for your business is free and takes about five minutes. You’ll instantly leap up the Page Rank.
Tip 2: Use the link at the top of this page - right under where it says Pressman Public Relations - to join Touch Local. You can join for free to create a simple listing - which will help - but I recommend creating a full listing which will allow you to include your website url. You’ll find the phone calls and emails soon start flooding in with new inquires. There are some great SEO books in my bookshop.
Pressman Seminars
If you would like to find out how to slash your advertising spend yet gain lots of great publicity for your company, how to plan your PR strategy, how to find an angle about you and your company that the press will love, and how to craft punchy press releases that journalists won’t be able to resist, then come to one of the Pressman seminars.
Seminars run from 10am to 4pm and cost only £295 per person with lunch, parking and tea / coffee all included in the price. I will take you through exactly what the press need and want and help you identify what aspects of your company, products and services, are PR-able.
I will work with you on an individual basis to help you create a perfect press release to kick start your campaign. You are guaranteed a marketable release – if it isn’t finished on the day I will complete it for you later and email it to you within a couple of days. If you would like more details email me at steve@pressmanpr.co.uk with “seminar” in the subject box.
The Germans claim to this day that it shouldn’t have been allowed - but the Swiss ref, Gottfried Dienst, and the Russian linesman Tofik Bakhramov, said “Goal” so it stood. These were the days when other countries liked us. How things have changed - just ask Andy Abrahams.