Nowadays businesses can spend a range of their hard-earned revenue on press release distribution; even with free options companies must invest time and effort to develop releases and than track them.  Large distribution service providers tout a myriad of ways they channel your release to press, old and new.  But if your goal is actual coverage from your release rather than just SEO results, what do they really deliver? Do they guarantee they have sway with their "targeted" press contacts?  Do they guarantee a certain amount of coverage?  The answer has been no in our experience.

Is part of the problem that the press release as we've known it is finally obsolete? It is as far as we at MCTT are concerned, as attested by the results of our clients' releases over the past two years.  We have identified greater success with certain social media in terms of engaging with targeted audiences than via traditional PR.  Contributing to that issue has been the twin demons of arrogance and inaccessibility of traditional editors.  And unfortunately we've seen a similar trend amongst popular bloggers.

At the end of the proverbial day, what companies seek with PR is coverage, certainly their version of it.  Period.  SEO takes you just so far and yet somehow these release distribution services are more and more about just that, SEO.  It must be because it is easier to pursue than the coverage.  Therefore, it may mean your company is far better off working with a PR professional who can produce proof of their press relations credentials.  Your value-to-cost ratio could well be much higher as a result.

For large corporations, traditional press and press releases can still play an important role, for a variety of reasons.  For emerging and small businesses however, it is our opinion that their needs are better served with alternative media solutions.

        

It's like dealing with miserable Mr. Potter from "It's a Wonderful Life" on a grandiose scale.  The Potters of the lending institution world is a group of abject human beings who literally love to suck the life out of others, in as many creative and self-serving ways as they possibly can.  Now that they are being taken to task, at least to some degree, they are bemoaning the fact amongst themselves and looking for yet more novel ways to wreak havoc upon their misbegotten customers.

From mortgage to credit card lenders, ever-changing policies and highly questionable business behavior continue to grow and mutate.  These wily carnivores are already twisting the forthcoming reformation to suit their need to slowly and painfully financially murder consumers and small businesses.  To them, the slow kill is delicious and satisfying.  And the dream of a global Potter Falls—where the opportunities to maim the citizenry while stripping them of all financial resources are endless—is ever present on their one-track and un-evolved minds.  Do you notice the fatal flaw in their thinking?

The Potters past and present, those unhappy and angry little dictators of the financial world, don't reform without a fight.  Let's give the current bunch a good one.

        

Brought to you by a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, "A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of '08 and the Descent into Depression" takes a cold, hard look at what brought us to our current economic woes.  Posner himself mentions in his first blog amendment to the book that much has transpired since February 2009 when the book was launched, and therefore futher explanation was required.

Even if you're unfamiliar with the book itself, you should find the review below and the follow up blog entries enlightening.  We certainly did.

Review of the book by the Washington Post


Through Atlantic Monthly's Daily Dish:
 
Blog entry number 1


Blog entry number 2


Blog entry number 3


Blog entry number 4

        

FROM THE WHITE HOUSE BLOG

5/18/2009
The housing plan President Obama unveiled today could directly help up to 9 million people — but indirectly, it will help all of us.

In the end, all of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis. And all of us will pay an even steeper price if we allow this crisis to continue to deepen," President Obama said today in Phoenix, AZ. "But if we act boldly and swiftly to arrest this downward spiral, every American will benefit."

He laid out the four key elements of the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan:

1. refinancing help for four to five million homeowners who receive their mortgages through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
2. new incentives for lenders to modify the terms of sub-prime loans at risk of default and foreclosure
3. steps to keep mortgage rates low for millions of middle class families looking to secure new mortgages
4. additional reforms designed to help families stay in their homes

The plan I’m announcing focuses on rescuing families who have played by the rules and acted responsibly," the President said, "by refinancing loans for millions of families in traditional mortgages who are underwater or close to it; by modifying loans for families stuck in sub-prime mortgages they can’t afford as a result of skyrocketing interest rates or personal misfortune; and by taking broader steps to keep mortgage rates low so that families can secure loans with affordable monthly payments.


THE REALITY
Have you or anyone you know been able to benefit from this plan as yet?  For those people who do not have mortgages through Freddie Mae or Freddie Mac (and likely have seen their mortgage bounced from one financial institution to another), good luck.  Getting any related relief is virtually non-existent.  If you're an entrepreneur or small business owner, trying to navigate the delicate balance of personal versus business related expenses, and you do not qualify for this program, where's your relief?



SMALL BUSINESS ARC LOAN PROGRAM

5/18/2009
Washington D.C.: Small businesses suffering financial hardship as a result of the slow economy may be eligible to receive temporary relief to keep their doors open and get their cash flow back on track through to a new loan program announced today by SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills.

Beginning on June 15, SBA will start guaranteeing America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) loans. ARC loans are deferred-payment loans of up to $35,000 available to established, viable, for-profit small businesses that need short-term help to make their principal and interest payments on existing qualifying debt. ARC loans are interest-free to the borrower, 100 percent guaranteed by the SBA, and have no SBA fees associated with them.

“These ARC loans can provide the critical capital and support many small businesses need to make it through these tough economic times,” said Administrator Mills. “Together with other provisions of the Recovery Act, ARC loans will free up capital and put more money in the hands of small business owners when they need it the most. This will help viable small businesses continue to grow and thrive and create new jobs in communities across the country.”

As part of the Recovery Act, the ARC program was created as a no-interest, deferred payment loan to help small businesses that have a history of good performance, but as a result of the tough economy, are struggling to make debt payments.

ARC loans will be disbursed within a period of up to six months and will provide funds to be used for payments of principal and interest for existing, qualifying small business debt including mortgages, term and revolving lines of credit, capital leases, credit card obligations and notes payable to vendors, suppliers and utilities. Repayment will not begin until 12 months after the final disbursement. Borrowers don’t have to pay interest on ARC loans. After the 12-moth deferral period, borrowers will pay back the loan principal over a period of five years.

ARC loans will be made by commercial lenders, not SBA directly. For more information on ARC loans, visit www.sba.gov.


THE REALITY
How many small businesses actually qualify for an ARC loan?  With the stringent qualification requirements, are the businesses that truly need the assistance being overlooked?  And frankly, as these loans are to be made by commercial lenders—financial institutions still unrepentant or transformed by the "recession"—how much of a break are small businesses really going to get?



THE FRUSTRATION
The truth is that too many of us who "play by the rules and act responsibly" are not receiving assistance, from any quarter.  We're on our own.  We will, as always, pull ourselves up by our proverbial boot straps.  

        

Getting your new business off the ground or finding novel and affordable ways to build and maintain it are challenging and sometimes mind-boggling—-not to mention time consuming.  We've been seeing some great related articles online recently and thought we'd share a few of them with you in a consolidated and quick-reference way.  We plan to continue offering these quick read reference entries on a ongoing basis.


A New Take on Incubators
Credit Card Reform
1 Entrepreneur's Struggle to Stay Afloat



Time Saver/Great Reference/News Briefs via SmartBrief

        

The day Donald Trump took over the Miss Universe franchise is the day it should have faded into history. 

There were major issues with the contest already, beyond the obvious criticism of sexism:

• Contestants are carbon copies of each other, virtually indistinguishable from one to the next.
• Through Trump, the beauty contest business is solely about an insane pursuit of so-called physical perfection.  It's a beauty factory and an extremely expensive one.

Now, with Master Trump's absolution of Miss California's personal politics and the questionable photos there is one more reason the franchise should be doomed: The crowned winner no longer need represent "the people."  She is now free to simply represent herself.

The veneer of respectability beauty contests used to aim for is in Trump's hands now gone.  With that tiresome aspect of the business out of the way, perhaps the next iteration of the franchise will be a cross between Miss Universe and Apprentice.  Can't you just visualize it?  Gorgeous clones duking it out in front of the camera instead of behind it.  The title could be "Beauty and the Apprentice Beast."

In any case, it's sure to be as classy as the man himself—-just like the edifice he erected in his own image, Trump Tower.

        

From LinkedIn and Plaxo to Twitter, members pursue connections with other members as though it was a race for a grand prize.  The theory apparently is that the more connections you have the more valuable you must be.  But is this really true?

Over the years I've been contacted by a number of people who have 5000+ "friends" on a given network to join their pool of connections.  I've accepted their invites.  I have never heard from them again. Not one of them.

Like many of you, I've reconnected with former colleagues.  I have taken advantage of Plaxo's e-card service; send periodic messages.  Rarely do the recipients reply.  The likelihood is that they are mega busy with their day jobs.  But the lack of response begs the question, why are these people in these social groups if they don't socialize?  Do they appreciate the fact that the other person has spent time to contact them and perhaps they should find the time to acknowledge it? Has it dawned on them that if the time comes they need support for a new business venture, product or service launch, or employment opportunity that management of their networks can play an important role?

As a hiring manager, I guess I'm supposed to be impressed with candidates with huge networks, but generally I'm not.  If they're not working their connections then the numbers they site are meaningless.  If they are working them I want to know what the results have been and how much time they devote to the effort.  If these candidates are not in sales or business development, then I want to know how they apply their social networking to their work and again, how much time they spend on the process.

For me the groups within the networks have proved to be the most valuable, provide the highest return.  The discussions in particular offer a great way to learn about other members and their capabilities, get answers to questions or conduct research, and stay current with developments in a given field.  But again, one needs to find the time to check in, reply to others who've taken the time to post, send invitations or post queries, and periodically check in with your existing "friends."  

Working your social networks requires smart planning and follow up.  If you plan to dazzle prospective employers or sales prospects with your related prowess, be prepared to demonstrate intelligent application of the numbers you've amassed.

Like any other business, marketing, or personal activity, it's wise to find a way to manage your networks so that they truly benefit you, and the other parties.  Size matters when you can leverage what you have.

        

Here's a quick entry for your consideration, an interesting perspective on Twitter, sent to us by our friends at www.girlshopspot.com:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18445274/

Have a fine weekend.

        

Being practical is always wise.  Being practical is today's economic environment is just plain prudent.

In tracking macro trends as well as developments in marketing, we have found that there are key marketing initiatives that are most practical and prudent for small businesses.  Which of these is/are best suited for your particular business and budget, and to what degree, will depend upon a number of factors.  The reason we refer to these as initiatives is because many of them require a fair amount of time and effort to support, a number of them on an ongoing basis.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Before you launch into any marketing ...<< MORE >>