Blog Author Mellissah Smith - Page 39

Over the years, there have been a few PR experts that have stood out; namely Shona Boyd. She is an industry veteran in Sydney and has had every big name client under the sun. She is more professional than the rest and without doubt is one of the few people in the industry that guarantee results. She has a no bullshit radar, and refuses to work with people who can't sit straight. I love her. She was one of the first real PR people that I have ever met.

Then there were others that came along, without qualifications but equally capable in getting column centremeters like Roxy Jacenko. They have built their businesses on largely fluffy PR but have done so with gust and have certainly gained my admiration.

I played the PR game earlier on. I realised that it was a quick way to make some serious money. I worked on the more serious part of the equation; public listings, technology PR, business PR and alike. It was fun. All it required was an ability to write a press release and build a relationship with a journalist. By knowing what the journalist was interested in, I was able to tell the client upfront whether or not they had a chance of getting published or not.

For that privilege, I wrote the press release in 20 minutes and charged $2,500 per piece. Easy money and paid the rent. Didn't get much better than that.

Gosh times have changed. Why did I ever stop doing this. Now, we charge a few hundred dollars for writing a press release and send it out to a database. Not the same results might I add, but it seems that that is what most people are doing and getting away with.

Good PR people have the following qualitites:

Due to the high growth nature of our business and our relativley new inside sales model which is working a treat, we have had an abundance of positions available latley. 

Our team have been interviewing hundreds of candidates and its interesting to see how many of them perform in an interview setting, or as many would say, on the first date.

Here are 15 things every job interviewee should consider when going for an interview:

Most entrepreneurs don't listen. They trust their gut instinct and often find that their newest great idea, should take precedence over everything else their business is doing.

While that is good and well, this constant need for gratification and results often leads to entrepreneurs missing the mark - and then wondering why they are forging ahead as first thought.

I had a humbling experience today and I want to share with you just what that meant to me as an entrepreneur and founder.

Marketing Eye has been around for more than 10 years. We were not an overnight success, but have steadily grown a very successful business in Australia and in the US (Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, Denver).

Building a business has never been easy and every single time I think that its got its groove going, I am awakened with a rude shock. It seems that the business is always growing, changing, adapting and needing a new influx of ideas or improvements in the way we do business.

Having siblings often is an essential ingredient in helping a child navigate the world, teaching them how to share, be empathetic, and play well with others. With only children, there is less need to navigate the world as usually parents over compensate for the fact that they are the "one and only" child they have, and help make their lives as smooth and easy as possible. All of their attention goes on the child, and when the child asks for something, its hard to say no - afterall, you only have one child.

Only children are more often than not spoilt. 

I've been away now for one week and am completely relaxed and recharged with a half decent tan courtesy of being in the mediterranean. Travelling has always been something that I have loved to do. I travel constantly for work and also for pleasure, usually mixing the two together. To travel is a luxury and a privilege. For the first time in a long while, I am seeing just how amazing my life has been because I have been able to travel and experience so many different cultures and environments, that broaden my perspective on life.

I won't beat around the bush on this topic because it's something that we all experience at some point in time - and if you say that you don't, I am calling #bullshit.

I am always asked to help friends out with their marketing. It's been something that I am asked every week by at least one person. I tend to shy away from it. I know you are thinking "why?". The truth is that I think deep down that I won't be good enough to help them. They deserve the best to get their business idea off the ground or take their business to the next level. And that may not be me. It may be one of my team members. It may even be a competitor.

Here's why:

It's been a mammoth month in so many ways. End of financial year in Australia is always draining. As a marketer, there is no fun in fulfilling your obligations as a business owner for the taxation department.

Unlike many professional services firms, I cared less about how much billable hours people are doing until the fatal day that it was brought to my attention by my internal accountant that some people were "performing" not as good as others and the gap was significant.

It is harder to work in a professional services firm than in corporate. Knowing that you have to do a certain number of billable hours is a lot of pressure until you actually stop thinking about it.

There are so many reasons why marketing campaigns fail, but don't let not following up be one of them.