“Margie is the best vendor I have ever worked with. She and her team
at Zable Fisher Public Relations are perhaps the top agency in the
industry for small to medium-sized businesses looking for quality
results at a reasonable price, and is one of the few PR shops that
works on the "pay for performance" model -- no results, no charge.
Margie has been extremely instrumental in getting our firm, along
with its story and products, top-shelf recognition from major media
outlets like the New York Times, Newsweek, Fortune and CNN, among
many others, at a fraction of the cost a "traditional" public
relations agency would charge. Highly Recommended.”
David Young,
CEO, BMIGaming.com,
2007 Inc. 500 winner, Top 500 E-Retailer from Internet Retailer
“Margie is in a class by herself. She is calm, focused, highly
creative and can deliver on any challenge. Most impressively, she is
able to leverage the nation’s most valued writers and news agencies
because so many of them trust and rely on her as a most credible
source for access to top newsmakers. She has been a great asset to
my business on many levels,”
“Margie is brilliant! She has an uncanny ability to immediately
dissect any business situation, throw out what's not working,
maximize what is working and streamline the path to success. She's a
people person extraordinaire, a marketing genius, and my own most
trusted mentor. Bottom line - no matter how successful you are, if
you're not working with Margie, your business isn't doing as well as
it could.”
Wendy Guarisco, Owner/Publicist,
The Guarisco Group
"Margie, I had a fabulous meeting. I feel very energized and excited
about the 'new us.' I just ran it by one of my key people and she
LOVED everything you recommended. Wow, was our session a great bang
for the buck!"
Barb
Astler,
President and CEO,
Barbi's Baskets and Unique Gifts,
www.barbisbaskets.com
"Having our Gourmet Key Lime Bundt Cake selected as
one of "Oprah's Favorite Things, 2004" was not just a huge honor it
was also a huge Public Relations opportunity for We Take The Cake.
I looked to Margie to help me capitalize on this newfound fame with
more placements. Margie was able to secure a spot for us on the Food
Network and in the Associated Press.
Margie is an asset because of her great insight, contacts and
invaluable business advice. But, Margie's customer service and
follow-up is what "takes the cake".
I firmly believe that P.R. is the only way to get your name out
there. So, call Margie!"
"I have worked with other public relations firms and none can
compete with Margie. Her prices are better, she is great at
following up, and I trust her advice. Our business has grown from
the placements she has gotten us. We have been featured in the Wall
Street Journal, New York Times, Worth Magazine, Entrepreneur
Magazine, VH1, The Orange County Register, The Palm Beach Post and
more."
"Zable Fisher Public Relations really gets the job done. From great
TV to awesome interviews - working with Margie and company you get
the whole package. My business has grown a cool 30% since I've been
working with her. Whether working directly with the owner or with
the staff she understands how important Public Relations is to a
business."
Kymberly Byrnes,
Studio Owner,
Pulse Pilates Studio of Boca Raton www.pulsepilates.com
"I am very impressed with Margie Fisher's unique approach to public
relations. First of all, Margie was willing to share her technology
up front even before the first meeting. This instilled a sense of
comfort and trust that I was working with the right person.
Secondly, at the initial consultation, Margie listened carefully to
all of our requirements and strategic plans, and then presented ways
on how we may easily and effortlessly enhance them. Already in the
first week we have begun implementing Margie's suggestions with our
mailing pieces, presentation approaches, and repurposing our
materials for publication. As a result, I believe this will be able
to enhance our next year's revenue by over 100%! I look forward to
our continued growth with Margie Fisher helping us all the way to
the top!"
Specializing in Test Preparation and Life Skills Strategies for
Teens
“Margie is a talented and creative media relations and business
consultant. She thinks outside the box for herself and her client's
giving her a distinct edge. Margie is passionate about what she does
and it shows.”
“Margie Zable Fisher is an extraordinary resource for interesting
entrepreneurial profiles. She's very easy to work with, understands
the needs of a busy journalist and provides excellent contacts
within her business circle. A call from Margie is always welcomed
and always productive. As a PR person, she's one of the best.”
"I met Margie a few years ago, and I have been impressed with her
work from the first day I heard her speak. She is knowledgeable in a
wide variety of topics, especially those related to small
businesses."
Kate Volman,
Vice President of Business Development,
The Greater
Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce,
bocaratonchamber.com
“In the last twelve months The Zable
Fisher team has gotten Glamajama placements on the Today Show, in
Working Mother Magazine, Woman’s World Magazine, ePregnancy
Magazine, L.A. Parent Magazine, the Dallas Morning News, Atlanta’s
Star 94 Giftionary radio show, and more. In that same time period,
we have grown, and our products are now in Nordstrom’s, worn by more
stars (such as Lisa Rinna on Dancing with the Stars) and are now top
sellers in Japan,”
Heather Nolte,
Founder,
Glamajama
Glam Clothing for Babes www.glamajama.com
"Margie is responsible for getting us publicity placements in USA
Today, CNN, More Magazine, and many others. Our business has been
booming ever since."
"If you're a small business and you think you can't sell your
products to Target, think again. Margie presents the information in
an easy-to-understand style, and includes resources that can help
you. ‘Skyrocket Your Sales by Getting Your Product on the Shelves at
Target’ is a great Report."
Guy Kawasaki,
co-founder of Truemors,
Entrepreneur Magazine "Wise Guy" columnist
and author www.truemors.com
“Since buying the Do-It-Yourself Public Relations Kit, we’ve gotten
over 30 publicity placements. When we get involved with a new
service, we go through the Kit and see what kind of angles we can
come up with for stories. We also learned how to get publicity by
offering free speaking engagements. The Kit was worth ten times what
we paid for it.”
Question: What is the difference between advertising and public relations?
Answer:
An advertisement is a specific message that you pay for to be
inserted in a specific type of media (newspaper, magazine, trade
journal, radio, TV) at a certain time. You have control of the
content of the ad.
Public Relations is the ability to get known in a positive way, both
to your target market and your community. Some examples of Public
Relations activities include: media coverage (publicity), writing
guest columns, booking speaking engagements, writing e-mail
newsletters, creating and implementing events, etc.
Here is a great chart detailing some specific differences between
the two:
Advertising
Public
Relations
Space or time in the
mass media must be paid for.
Coverage in mass media,
if any, is not paid for.
You determine the
message.
Interpretation of the
message is in the hands of the media.
You control timing.
Timing is in the hands
of the media.
One-way communication -
using the mass media does not allow feedback.
Two-way communication -
the company should be listening as well as talking and the
various P.R. venues often provide immediate feedback.
Message sponsor is
identified.
Message sponsor is not
overtly identified.
The intention of most
messages is to inform, persuade, or remind about a product -
usually with the intention of making a sale.
The intention of public
relations efforts is often to create good will, to keep the
company and/or product in front of the public, or to humanize
a company so the public relates to its people or reputation
rather than viewing the company as a non-personal entity.
The public may view the
message negatively, recognizing advertising as an attempt to
persuade or manipulate them.
The public often sees
public relations messages that have been covered by the media
as more neutral or believable.
Very powerful at
creating image.
Can also create image,
but can sometimes stray from how it was originally intended.
Writing style is usually
persuasive, can be very creative, often taking a
conversational tone - may even be grammatically incorrect.
Writing style relies
heavily on journalism talents - any persuasion is artfully
inserted in the fact-based content.
(source: Vicki Hudson, Grand Rapids
Opportunities for Women, Grand Rapids, MI, 1/99)
Question: How much budget should I set aside for public relations?
Answer:
This varies depending on industry, and whether or not you are an
existing stable business, or a new or growing business. Generally, a
marketing budget is 2-10% of annual gross sales. Your public
relations budget is usually a part of your marketing budget. So, if
your annual sales are $100,000, and you decide to devote 5% of sales
to your marketing budget, you would have $5,000 per year to spend on
marketing efforts. Depending on your industry, you could decide to
spend some of that on advertising, direct mail, or public relations.
Question:How do I decide how to allocate my marketing budget between
advertising, direct mail and public relations?
Answer:
Here are some questions to consider:
Does your industry allow advertising (some professions, such
as attorneys, frown on advertising)?
Do you have a product or service that is easily explained in
an advertisement (a bouquet of flowers – yes; what a financial
planner can do for you – no)?
Do direct mail pieces typically work for your product or
service (pens with your company name – yes; accounting services –
no)?
Question:Can you get me
on Oprah or the front page of the Wall Street Journal?"
Answer:
Maybe. The answer depends on many factors,
including how long you are willing to work on that goal, your
flexibility on story ideas, your product or service or background,
and more.
Question: Why are you
pitching me in a story that features my competitors (or in a story
about one of my products, or another angle)? I just want a nice
profile about my business.
Answer:
All clients prefer features, and we obtain
feature placements where possible, and mentions when features are
not possible. However, a mention can be very valuable to your
publicity goals, especially if you can say that your business was in
a major media outlet. Most media outlets work on many more stories
that cover trends or groups of businesses in an industry, or
specific products or services, instead of profiling just one
business.
Question: What results can I expect from your
publicity efforts?
Answer:
We get this question all the time. Just like
any other marketing activity, there are expected results and actual
results. The difference with public relations is that there is much
less control of the outcome of activities than with other marketing
efforts. The risk of public relations is softened by the reward of
the highest level of credibility presented to your prospects. For
instance, an ad in the newspaper may be read or not, and the message
will not be as credible since the product or service owner wrote it
him/herself. However, a story in that same newspaper about the
business will most likely be read and considered a third party
endorsement, as it was written by a reporter.
That said, a public relations firm with
experience and successful results in your product or service area is
something that you should always look for.
The most important thing: Successful results
may not be sales. Remember, public relations activities don’t
contain a call to action for a sale, as advertising and direct mail
do. Sales can result directly from public relations activities.
However, the goal of public relations should be to get your company
positive exposure to qualified prospects on a consistent basis, so
that those folks will want to do business with you, when they are
ready to do so.
Question: We have an
incredible story. Why haven’t you gotten immediate placements for it?
Answer:
From a client perspective, your stories are
always incredible. From a media perspective, they get hundreds of
stories a day, and their idea of incredible may be a huge scandal,
breaking news, anything with a celebrity, etc. The publicist’s very
difficult job, is selling your story idea against all of these
others.
Question: I’ve been
working with you for two months and while you’ve gotten some interest
from media outlets, you haven’t gotten any placements. What’s the
problem?
Answer:
Here are several answer to that question.
First, there are possibly hundreds of media contacts that are now
familiar with your story and could possibly cover you in the future.
Also, if you have asked us to pitch major magazines, the lead time
is a minimum of 3-6 months from the time the story is finished
(magazines publish issues 3-6 months ahead). So even if the magazine
says yes, by the time the story is written and published, it may be
many months later.
From a working relationship perspective, we tell clients that they
must commit to at least six months of working together, to see
results. And that’s assuming that there are some short-lead media
outlets on the list, and that the client can provide testimonials
and success stories immediately. We actually recommend committing a
year to your initial publicity efforts. If you’re not willing to
spend at least six months on this effort, don’t even start it. It’s
not fair to you or the publicist. In fact, if anyone bad mouths a
publicist, ask how long that person worked with the publicist. It’s
often for only a few months, which is not long enough for results.
Question: We’re a small
business and we need sales now. Can you do whatever it takes to get a
placement?
Answer:
I promise you, we’re doing that already. Just
as it makes you happy to get a placement, it makes us happy, knowing
you’ll be happy and might even be a great reference. Most of us are
small business owners ourselves, and realize that every minute
counts and we want results quickly too.
Question: How many hours
are you really spending working on my account? Maybe you’re just not
putting enough time in to get the results.
Answer:
We can put in hundreds of hours, and
sometimes, the story pitch just does not work. Or, we can spend 10
seconds speaking to a media person and it instantly clicks. Time
spent pitching is not a good measure of the ability to get results.
Question: Why don’t
editors quickly make a decision on pitches?
Answer:
Because they have probably gotten 500 other
products or story ideas today from people just like you, who think
their products and stories are terrific. Or, the editor is finishing
up working on stories for the current issue or segment, and won’t be
done for a week or two. Then, the editor goes on vacation
(especially in the summer) for two or three weeks, as the mail
continues to pile up. Or, the editor goes to one of 20 trade shows
that he/she is attending that year, and is out of the office and
backed up for another two weeks. Or, they’ve lost the product or
pitch and we need to send it again.
Question:Why can’t you
contact them constantly to get a quick decision?
Answer:
Because they often don’t make decisions
quickly. And we have to work on their timetable, not ours, because
they control the decision. And, just like when people constantly
call you to “make a sale,” calling them frequently irritates them,
sometimes enough to not even consider the pitch.
Question:I see your
other clients are getting placements. Are you spending all your time
on them and not enough on me?
Answer:
There are times when there are breaking news
stories that include clients, and at those times, I focus on the
client. However, the time periods are generally very short, such as
a day or two. Over the course of a month, everyone gets what they
were promised.
Question: If the media
person says no, can’t you go around that person, or over the person’s
head?
Answer:
No. Media teams respect the choices of each
individual media person and will be even angrier if you’ve already
gotten a no from the right person on the team to make the decision.
And, it often takes years to create a great relationship with a
media contact. Going over their heads can create an immediate break.
Question:If you’re a
great publicist, why can’t you reach the media by phone all the time?
And why do some of them never answer your calls?
Answer:
Here are a few reasons. One is that many of
the media are writers, and many writers prefer to have contact via
the written word, vs. the phone. And they can print, file, and save
the information for later. Also, talking on the phone takes time,
when an e-mail will be quicker or they can read it when they want.
What we do is valuable to your business. It’s
more valuable than other marketing efforts, such as advertising,
that cost even more money. And, we have a very difficult job. Our
job is a combination of salesperson, magician, writer, marketer,
confidante, therapist and more. If you add all of those professions
up, you’re getting a heck of a deal.
Question: My product
launches in the middle of September. If you start working on September
first, how many placements can you get in September? I can’t afford to
pay you any money before that.
Answer:
Most media have long lead times. Magazines
often have lead times of 3-6 months; newspapers, depending on the
type of story, can have lead times of up to several months, and even
television can have lead times of four to six weeks or more for
stories that aren’t breaking news. And that’s assuming that the
media is immediately available and interested in quickly working on
your story. Otherwise, and typically, the lead times can be even
longer.
So, if you are doing a product launch, it’s
best to start at least a couple of months in advance if you’re
looking to get publicity to coincide with the actual launch
timeframe.
Question: I need to get
some sales before I can hire you. So can we work on a deferred payment
schedule or can you take a portion of my sales?
Answer:
Sorry, but no. We need to get paid for the
work we do, and we have families to support just like you. So you
should probably wait until you’ve set aside enough money to be able
to hire us.
Question: I don’t have a
Web site or I’m working on one. Does that affect my publicity efforts?
Answer:
Absolutely yes. Your Web site is critical to
your publicity efforts. If you sell products online, it’s a must, so
that people can buy your products. But even if you don’t have a
product company, most media folks will check a Web site for
credibility or more information, and so will potential clients.
Question: I got a nice
placement, but I didn’t get any sales from it. I guess publicity isn’t
worth it, right?
Answer:
Wrong. Studies show that people need to be
exposed to a product or service, on average, seven or more times
before they make a purchase. Publicity is not a one-shot deal. Just
as you must advertise consistently, you must have a continuous
publicity program in order to make a difference in your sales
efforts. Also, there are some benefits to publicity that are
valuable in addition to immediate sales. One example is placements
can be used in marketing materials to make your company more
credible, and convince prospects to buy.
Question: It seems like
I’m being asked to spend lots of money every month for no guaranteed
results. Isn’t that a stupid business decision?
Answer:
Great question. First, of all, let’s take a
look at all marketing efforts. If you choose advertising, you’ll be
able to see it, but no one else may see it, and you might not get
any sales from it. Same with direct mail, Internet advertising,
Yellow Pages advertising, etc. Bottom line: results are not
guaranteed with any marketing effort.
Why choose publicity instead of or in addition to other marketing
efforts? Because it’s the most credible form of marketing, as a
third-party (the media person) is essentially endorsing you, your
business or product. All of the other types of marketing involve you
creating your own story, which is obviously not as credible.
So, assuming that marketing is critical to your business, let’s say
that you decide to choose a publicity effort as part of your
marketing program. As in every business decision, you should make
every effort to get those good results. So if you want to have a
successful experience with publicity, you should do the following:
Find a publicist who has a track record of getting successful
results for people in your industry or line of work (find this out
through referrals, checking out the publicist’s Web site, etc.)
Check three references
Agree on a scope of work and expectations and put them in a written
agreement that you and the publicist sign off on
If you’re still skeptical, ask the publicist if he/she is willing to
work on a pay for performance basis
