Letters to the Editors Work
Don't forget about this old-school marketing tactic in a social media world.
Even in today’s social media world, the letters to the editor columns are among the best-read sections of any newspaper, whether it is the Smalltown News or USA Today. It is your link to the public. But major newspapers get hundreds of letters each week and most run only a few letters a day.
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The rules for getting your letter in the paper or being posted online:
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- Be timely. If your letter is about news that’s three weeks old, nobody cares what you have to say
- Be brief. Keep it short, simple and to the point, under 200 words.
- Have an angle. Make sure your letter is different than the hundreds of others the newspaper receives. Have a reason for them to run it.
- Be sure it is well-written and typed.
- Try to make reference to something that has been in the newspaper, especially in another letter to the editor.
Where in the World is Anthony?
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Spoke this afternoon in Chicago at a financial managers conference. Business development tip no. 1 for all my many construction clients: THE two most important people to winning new projects are your PM and Superintendent. But are you preparing them effectively for interviews?
Spoke all day today at an insurance conference in Scottsdale, Arizona. Presenting tip 30: Half your audience, at any given time, is mentally engaged in a deep personal thought. More if you're boring. Learn how to snap them back.
Spoke this morning at a credit union conference in Destin, Florida. News media tip 6: Don't waste a reporter's time by being unprepared. Facts+good quote=win for you.
Worked all day today with contractors in Lexington, Kentucky. Presenting tip 19: Don't let a mistake derail your entire presentation. Recover and move past it quickly and your audience will forgive and forget.
Gave opening keynote this morning at a tech conference in Boise, ID Communications tip 23: Your primary goal in every presentation, meeting, etc. is not to inform. It's to PERSUADE. Stop spewing content & instead convince your audience to pay attention & retain key information.