I take great joy in helping others earn the media spotlight. About a year ago, I met Melinda Wade at the Women’s Business Exchange breakfast event at the Washington Athletic Club. I was the morning’s do-it-yourself publicity speaker.
Melinda and I chatted for a few minutes before the program began, and in short order I learned that she was under 40, running a very successful business, and growing it in a smart way. That she was a woman business owner of a boat center seemed remarkable to me. A few months later, Melinda attended a Publici-Tea™ Workshop, and I learned even more about her and her business. Fast forward a few months, and we danced around the idea of officially working together. Then, opportunity struck. I got a call from a retail reporter from the Seattle Post Intelligencer. She was immediately in the hunt for a retail business to profile for the next Saturday’s paper. Did I have a suggestion?
It just so happened that I read that Olympic Boat Centers had recently filed for bankruptcy. Gas prices are at an all time high. Would this reporter be interested to know that a woman owned boat center headquartered in Seattle just recently moved to much bigger spaces and is enjoying booming business in spite of those somewhat dire circumstances? The answer? Yes.
The front page of the Seattle P-I business section yesterday featured a fabulous, confident photo of Melinda Wade looking to the horizon on one of her company’s magnificent boats, along with an equally wonderful story about her path to success. Here is the link to make it easy for you to read all about it.
This is one of those MasterCard moments. Price to attend a Publici-Tea™ Workshop: $297. Value of earning a favorable, front page story in one of the most widely read daily newspapers in the Puget Sound region? Priceless.
Now, I can’t promise every Publici-Tea™ guest the same result because every business is different and has its own story to tell. But I can promise that I’ll take a genuine interest in your business and be on the lookout for opportunities to help you share your story. Melinda Wade is just one of many examples of this commitment taking shape in a pretty compelling and powerful way. Will you be next?
There are still a few seats open for the August 15 Publici-Tea™ in Tacoma. And there are seats remaining for the September 10 event in Portland and the September 12 event in Bellevue. Will one of them have your name on it? Why not register for two and bring your marketing assistant along? If you are the big picture person in your business, bringing along a team member to be accountable for publicity program implementation is a very smart play to support smooth sailing in YOUR business. Register today at this link.
