19 DIY Publicity Lessons Inspired by the Wizard of Oz

DIY Publicity Lessons from the Wizard of Oz
Can Lend Magic Fuel to New Year’s Success


By Nancy Juetten

The just released 70th Anniversary Edition of the classic film “The Wizard of Oz” is as memorable and evergreen as the Emerald City. And, the story brings into clear focus some powerful do-it-yourself publicity lessons that are equally evergreen for business and success planning for the New Year.

1. You don’t have to fly over the rainbow to get much of what you want. Most of the media coverage you seek to make a difference in your business can be found in your own backyard.
2. Don’t let “blue bird envy” stand in your way. Wishing and hoping doesn’t get the job done. Get into action today to earn the attention you seek for your message.
3. Big news always rings loud and clear – Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help to get what you need. Good witches and mentors are everywhere -- if you just ask the local munchkins for quality recommendations.
5. Along your yellow brick road to success, don’t settle for Munchkin Land when the Land of Oz is what you really want. Think big about what you want to accomplish and the perfect media outlets where you most want your message to be heard.
6. Celebrate new media. If the crystal ball isn’t delivering the solutions and information you need, find alternative ways learn what you need to know to carry your message forward.
7. There will be forks in the road and different paths to take along your journey to DIY publicity success. Make a choice, put some spring in your step, and have some fun along the way.
8. It takes brains, courage, and heart to make your message stand out.
9. Frame your story as a horse of a different color so it stands apart.
10. Choose local color to invite memorable and remarkable photo opportunities.
11. You have to be willing to put up with things that get in your way, like angry apples, flying monkeys, wicked witches, and sleep-inducing poppies.
12. Put your best dress on and your best face forward before you make your pitch.
13. Collaborate with a quality team when making your approach.
14. Never underestimate the power of a sassy pair of shoes to boost your confidence when pitching a story or doing anything that really matters in your life.
15. Don’t easily surrender Dorothy. Be willing to fight for the coverage you want.
16. “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” You have more power to make things happen in your business than you ever thought possible. You just have to look in your bag of tricks to find the right tools and resources to the get the mission accomplished. And you have to use them.
17. There is no place like home. Start your media efforts close to home.
18. Earn loyal friends, fans and followers with every step you take. That will go a long way to lend strength and momentum to your buzz-building effort here and beyond, today and forever.
19. As you make your own storytelling plans for the New Year, commit to learning new skills to make sure your message is heard, or add the right members to your winning team to bring an element of magic dust to your success equation.

Set your course, make your plans, and journey forward with quality effort and the conviction to achieve the media recognition you seek.
Just as Dorothy discovered, you can make a lot of magic happen if you just click your heels together and get to work.

Nancy S. Juetten is a newspaper columnist, speaker, Publici-Tea™ trainer, and the author of the Bye-Bye Boring Bio Action Guide. If you are a rock star, but your website bio is all washed up, this guide shows you how to write a rockin' bio, one step-by-easy-step. Get an excerpt from this popular guide when you opt-in to receive the Media-Savvy-to-Go ezine at www.byebyeboringbio.com.

3 Reasons I Missed Blogging

Recently I had a lot of fun with a 30 day blogging challenge. Well, as life would have it sometimes, I got distracted and delayed by other pressing projects. Ultimately this means while I had 30 posts in 30 days, I didn't get 30 days of blogging in.

Now while I could be feeling down and blue about missing the target. I am actually quite pleased. What I discovered was that I really, really love blogging! What I also noticed were 3 very prominent reasons that I miss the daily joy of writing and musing with my thoughts.

Reason #1 why I miss blogging: I shared a sense of connectedness with my friends, colleagues, mentors and proteges while blogging. The act of writing daily in my posts kept my attention and focus on what I had to contribute to others. Ultimately this brought me closer to the extraordinary things those same folks had going on.

For instance, my good friend Nancy Juetten of Main Street Media Savvy and I had a few interactions during my blog challenge that proved to be profitable and rewarding for both. Her DIY Publici-Tea express is a great workshop, one that I have attended multiple times and got to share with others through my blog. I enjoyed contributing to the event through blogging, tweeting, facebooking and my coaching circles and receiving updates from her on the status of her growing event. I learned a lot on how to market and promote events for optimum return on investment thanks to this connectedness.

Reason #2 why I miss blogging: I enjoy musing about my daily thoughts and experiences, without blogging, it just stays in my head. While I am a verbal person and one who is very social, having the chance to relate to people in under 500 words a day is a kick! It gets me to bottom line my thoughts, and inquiries which for me can at times be a stretch.

Reason #3 why I miss blogging: My intention with both my blogs and as a coach is to work at shifting perspective with my clients. Whether it is working with Teams, Business Leaders, or Soloprenures, my heart is to proactively work toward shifting perceptive and opening up possibility. With blogging, I have that opportunity every day and I embrace it wholeheartedly.

So whatever state of blogging you may be in, I encourage you to look at what schedule may work best for you. Something that is more than just once a week for maximum benefit personally and professionally. Hey, why not try a 30 day blog challenge on for size. You never know what you might get in return. For me, I got two blogs, a huge number of followers and some great dialogue for future posts! The experience was simply put, priceless.

Got Job Satisfaction? Some questions from the Coach may help you know.

Today I heard from three friends whom I have not heard from in a very long time. One, is a franchisee of a struggling company I used to coach for, and the two others are employees of an Organization I left for coaching, who live in different parts of the state.

Interestingly, they each had very similar things to say about the current status of affairs. They are feeling drained, broke, busted and disgusted with the current events in their jobs.

What I found to be intriguing, was two fold, 1) I heard from all three on the same day, and 2) their stories, while brief, are very much the same. Even though the come from very different job environments, two work for the 'man' and the other works for 'self,' and they are all wanting to seek something else. The stories were parallel on all levels. Without respect of gender.

Now at first glance it might seem like the 'grass is always greener' scenario, but not this time. Each individual is feeling devalued, mistreated, manipulated and simply disrespected for the effort and work they put in. Something unfortunately, not uncommon amongst our employees/teams when leaders and organizations lack good communication.

My three conversations today got me thinking. First, it was confirmation that I am coach! I love being a resource for people. Second, I know these three people are not alone, the only thing they have in common is that they know me. That's it. And then last, how do we allow ourselves to get to this point of feeling like it's the point of no return?

To answer that is actually quite simple. We need to have a flag pole in our life that we use to run our dreams, goals and happiness meter up against. It is beneficial for our well-being when we can identify the flags or potholes that may derail us and impact our job and life satisfaction.

Do you know and clearly see the warning signs for unhappiness? More importantly, do you know what to do to change in order to get to satisfaction? Consider this.

On a scale of 1-10 are you satisfied with your job? If you ranked that on the low side of below 4, you may want to consider getting some support around the conversation of what will it take to be an 8 or even a 10. Mastermind groups are a great way to help get clarity and build a trusted board of adviser's around you for support and breakthrough.

If you scored 5-7 on the scale, ask what will it take to make it a 9 or 10? You are on that teeter-totter of life at that middle of the ground marker. It could go either way and depending on what your goal is, will depend on where to focus your energy. You might consider getting clarity around vision and purpose, when you know that you know that you know what you were created for, every choice you make wants to align with that hope in knowing. You won't settle for middle ground.

Now if you are in the smaller percentage and scored an 8 or higher - Way To Go! My encouragement for you is to consider what will keep you stimulated? What's next for you? Challenge yourself to figure out what would hit the home run for you in your career right now.

Coming next week-just for women! 52 Exquisite Self-Care Tips Booklet for the Professional Woman. Buy it today!