I just received the email below from a subscriber. I changed the names to protect the guilty. Read every word of the email and every word of my reply. It’s critical to your business survival:

Hello Paul,

I desperately need your advice on a problem my friend has. My friend James owns a music store and has been doing well until his main rival has been able to secure a direct link to the main newspaper in the region. They have a member of staff who is engaged to the top journalist of the music section for the paper.

Therefore they have been able to have huge write ups for the last few weeks, 1/2 page articles all for no cost to the store. Sales have dropped considerably from James’s store and as both stores deal in collectable and retro vinyl etc, the amount of second hand stock from people selling is all but stopped coming in for James whereas the other store has been getting huge amounts due to the overwhelming publicity they are getting.

We would be so grateful for some ideas or advice you may be able to give. James has quite many of your books but he seems to have all but given up – he says that he can’t continue to fight when they have that sort of power – meaning free publicity, and lots of it. I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for taking the time to read my email.

Kind regards,

Caroline Dayner

Now for my reply – and it’s not going to be pretty. So if you’re hoping for a “let’s all hug, cry and be best friends” solution, you’d better stop reading.

But if you want the hard truth without the frosting on it, if you want the information you need to survive, focus in and keep reading.

For YEARS (yes, years) I’ve been telling people all around the world of the critical importance to learn and use publicity.

I’ve talked about it many times in my ezine; many times in my paid newsletter. I talk about it every time I speak at a seminar somewhere around the world. I talk about it on my DVD “How to get $1 Million Worth of Publicity? FREE!”

Some people paid attention, learned how to get and use publicity and are now sitting pretty.

A larger number, though, did not.

And now, the precise situation I’ve been predicting and warning you about is here.

Let me summarize the message I’ve been pounding out for years:

Whoever has the attention of the media wins – period!

I don’t care how small you and your business are and how big your competitors are – if you know how to attract the attention of the media and get free publicity, you win.

I don’t care how big you are and how small your competitors are – if they know how to attract the attention of the media and get free publicity, YOU LOSE!

Let me give you the examples I give the audiences at the seminars I speak at:

Who do you think would draw a bigger crowd – all of the living Nobel Prize winners gathered together in one room or?

Kim Kardashian?

Who do you think would draw a larger crowd – the entire United States Supreme Court or

Lindsay Lohan?

Get my point?

Regardless of what you think about Kim Kardashian and Lindsay Lohan they have done two things right – the two things I’ve been preaching to you about.

1)they’ve learned how to attract the attention of the media and 2) they’ve made themselves celebrities

Everyone reading this can do both of those things. You can learn how to get the attention of the media and you can make yourself a celebrity. You can be a celebrity insurance agent, a celebrity grocer, a celebrity auto mechanic, a celebrity dentist.

It makes absolutely no difference what business or profession you’re in –

you can make yourself a celebrity. And it’s not difficult at all.

But I’ve told you how to do this many, many times in my writings.

In the situation with James and his music store, he has done neither. What’s even more frustrating is that James’ friend says that he has my publicity materials right there in front of him!

Apparently he’s using the manuals to keep the door of his shop open instead of learning my system. If he was using the manuals to learn my system, he would know exactly what to do, he would be doing it and he would be seeing success. Instead, he’s in a panic.

James, (and everyone reading this) there is no magic pill. If you had used my materials to learn how to get publicity, I don’t expect you’d be in this situation.

Is it too late? Maybe not. But your friend says you’ve given up. If that’s true, close up shop and go look for a job.

James, based on what your friend has told me, I have no sympathy for you. You had (and still have) all the tools you need right in front of you.

Have you learned my system and followed my formula? Have you taken part in the free coaching calls? Have you asked questions on the coaching calls?

For whatever reason, it appears that you haven’t. So I will do nothing more to help. I’ve done enough by producing the materials to teach you how to attract the attention of the media. You have to take it from there.

Many times in recent weeks I’ve told you that, in my opinion, things are going to get a lot worse around the world before we see some improvement.

Most people are in a panic about that.

Not me. Not other people who’ve taken the right steps to be prepared for

what was obviously coming. People who are prepared know that this is going to be one of the greatest opportunities of our lives. We’re ready to take advantage of it.

So, to James and everyone else in his situation – it’s never too late. You may have missed a lot of opportunity that passed you by because you didn’t take action – but there’s always more coming your way every single day. But you’re the one who has to take action. You’re the one who has to learn the strategies that will make you successful. You’re the one who has to write the press releases and get them out.

For years I’ve been giving my subscribers case studies of people who’ve put my publicity system into action and have had great success. They had great success because they found the right information and put it into action.

Next month I’m interviewing Dan Page during my monthly coaching call. He’s one of my publicity members and subscribers. I love this guy! He takes action. He tries, he fails, he succeeds, but he doesn’t give up. As a result, he’s had tremendous success.

Wait until you hear his story. It’s great.

Every once in a while I get emails from subscribers who think I’m too tough on people.

Too bad! Unsubscribe from my ezine and subscribe to another ezine where they feel your pain, buy your excuses and agree with your thoughts that the world isn’t fair.

The people who put their arms around you and tell you that you’re right, the world isn’t fair and your excuses for not succeeding are perfectly valid are not your friends. They’re your enemies. They’re your enablers. They are the very people holding you back.

I surround myself with successful people. Not one of those people ever talks about why the world isn’t fair, why they have valid excuses for not being successful or why only the rich get richer.

The rich get richer because they’re willing to do what it takes to get richer. The rich get richer because they give back. The rich get richer because they focus, then they try, then they try again and again and again.

I can’t count how many times I’ve told you that one of the things that drives me the most is doing whatever I can to help the greatest number of people succeed. But that does not include doing the work for them.

I’ll point the way, but you have to make the journey. If you’re willing to do your part, I’ll do mine.

Paul Hartunian is respected around the world as a leading expert on how business owners can get publicity both online and offline. His website – http://www.hartunian.com – is a resource center for reliable publicity advice.

Paul Hartunian is respected around the world as a leading expert on how business owners can get publicity both online and offline. His website – http://www.hartunian.com – is a resource center for reliable publicity advice.

Author Bio: Paul Hartunian is respected around the world as a leading expert on how business owners can get publicity both online and offline. His website – http://www.hartunian.com – is a resource center for reliable publicity advice.

Category: Marketing
Keywords: what is a press release, how to write a press release, how to release a press release, online pr