I share a good deal in common with BL Ochman. We were both educated as journalists, ran our own PR shops and now classify ourselves as recovering publicists. We both share households with a dog and a cat. She's written a book on blogging, and ... oh Hell, why don't I just have her to tell her own story:
1. You’ve had a few interesting past lives. You once ran a top-tier PR agency. What made you decide to step out?
There were several factors, chief among them that I was burnt out on PR. When I saw the Internet, I knew I had to re-tool and get involved. I took a year off, spent it studying the Internet.
My first client, in 1996, was Just for Men Hair Color. A political reporter noticed that both Clinton and Dole kept showing up at events with different hair colors. So we built a site where you could see each of them in black, brown, red, blond and gray hair and vote on the color you liked the best.
The site was only up for a couple of weeks but 78% of the people who voted thought the candidates each should change their hair color, a coup for the client. People liked Dole with gray hair, but they couldn't decide what color looked best on Clinton. We got a ton of media coverage and I was absolutely hooked on the promise of Internet marketing and PR.
I started writing for Internet Day and other online publications and clients came from my articles. That's how I got consulting work from Ford, IBM, Preferred Hotels and many other big companies.
2.We’ve known more than a few kvetchers in our day, but you are the only one who claimed professional strength. What inspired you to start Rent-A-Kvetch? Can you tell me a bit about the success it engendered? Why did you stop doing it? Can you give me an interesting anecdote about your professional-strength kvetching?
There are those, like my mother, who'd tell you I was born complaining. I was having lunch with a friend one day and she was asking me, as all my friends always did, because I'm a writer, to write a letter for her. She'd bought a disposable razor and it fell apart in her hands.
She said "you're so good at this, you should do it for a living." And I asked "What should I be Rent-a-Kvetch?" She said "don't forget that."
So I wrote a press release and sent it to a couple of editors I knew. I said I was starting a division of my agency called Rent-a-Kvetch to handle any legitimate complaint as long as it was about something kind and legal. I thought they would laugh and offer to pay for lunch.
Instead, stories ran on a Sunday in New York and LA. That night, FOX News called and ran stories about a train wreck, a visit by the Pope, and me. "What the hell should I say," I asked my father, who advised me to be very positive.
Next day, BBC, CBC, US Magazine and a million radio stations were on the phone and at my door. People started sending me money. I got them new refrigerators and cars, solved roommate problems, you name it – all for $35 a letter. I incorporated. I was on Today, GMA, Oprah (three times) and in People, Vogue, you name it. Big, big fun. The media liked me because I told funny stories and I knew what they wanted.
One complaint: a woman bought a Maytag refrigerator. It broke. She called them and a very snippy customer service person gave her a hard time. She called me. I wrote the attached letter and she got a new refrigerator.
But I never figured out how to make lots of money as Rent-A-Kvetch, although I even had a licensee in Atlanta. At $35 a pop, it's hard to make a living and when I raised the price to $75, people stopped calling. I did gift certificates one Christmas and they sold like hotcakes.
But I got tired of listening to people complain and so I stopped kvetching for money. Also, my Internet consulting and writing started to really take off and I didn't have the time.
I am talking to a book agent right now about writing a book on complaining.
1. Could you describe your current business? Where is it going from where it is now?
I help companies make more money selling online. I write and search engine optimize their content; develop calls to action on their sites; coach them on blogging; do some publicity; place online advertising, run events. Anything that helps them to succeed.
I am hoping to make blogging my full-time work, with maybe a little consulting on the side. I want to sell more of my own reports and articles, get off my butt and start running seminars again, and build my blog's circulation so I can support myself with advertising that runs on it and in my email newsletter, What's Next Online, which has 4000 subscribers. I am joining an ad network and will be making a big push to expand the reach of the blog.
2. When did you start blogging and why?
So many really smart people blog. I wanted to join the conversation. I started blogging in 2003 when I moderated I-PR, a list of 15,000 marketing and PR people. And then I started What's Next Blog in early 2004. I love blogging. But whoo! Does it ever eat time! I used to think dealing with email was hard. That looks like a piece of-cake compared to managing all the information I wade through.
3. How has blogging changed you and/or your business?
Blogging has helped expand my access to information. I'm a total news junkie who reads three dead-tree papers a day, follows 35 blogs closely, reads a ton of magazines and a whole lot of online newsletters.
Several very good clients have found me through my blog. Blogging has introduced me to a lot of very smart people, like you and Robert. To stay cutting edge in my writing, blogging forces me to keep learning and expanding my horizons. And it's fun.
The blog also directs people to my site, where I sell my reports. That's become a very big part of my business. Clients I work with these days understand that they really need help to do business effectively online. They know from reading my blog that I am up on what's happening online and they trust me sooner because they know me better from reading my blog.
I have a degree in journalism and feel that getting into PR was a wrong turn. Blogging brings me closer to journalism and that is very satisfying. I recently join the Media Bloggers Association. It has lots of journalists and several A—List bloggers. They will be offering journalism training for bloggers in cooperation with Poynter and will be doing CARR training to teach us how to handle statistics and survey results. If I wasn't blogging I wouldn't have these opportunities.
4. You have authored a book: What could your company do with a Blog? Can you give me the executive summary? How is the Book doing?
The book has 85 examples of companies using blogs in their marketing. It explains what blogging is and is not; provides resources about blogs, explains how to pitch bloggers and tells who should and should not blog for a company.
I have sold more than 300 copies, at $97 each, in the past four months. And I've been invited to speak about blogging at a number of online and traditional conferences.
5. Can you tell me about your article about Press Releases from Hell and How to Fix them?
I wrote an article in 1999 entitled "The Traditional Press Release is Dead" and another entitled "Press Releases Are a Colossal Waste of Time." Those are still among the most popular articles I ever wrote.
I am astounded at how absolutely terrible most releases are. So I wrote a book with before and after examples of terrible releases.
I've sold more than 500 copies of the report and am in the midst of an updated version that includes blog posts from hell.
6. You have argued that not all businesses should blog. Which ones should and which should not? Can you summarize your reasons?
Blogging takes more time and effort than might be obvious. IMO blogging is daily journalism and many executives would rather have root canal than write every day.
The businesses that should blog are the ones that are willing to be open and honest with customers and suppliers and the media. That eliminates a lot of companies who still think that they can control all messages and that they can ignore feedback. There are a ton of companies in those categories.
One of my clients, Paul Perdue at iFulfill.com just started blogging about how to balance work and family while growing a multi-million dollar company. He loves to write, to tell stories and to listen. This is a perfect combination for blogging and I think his blog will gain a lot of readers because he is so open as a human being. He is genuinely interested in what his customers have to say. And he is truly interested in learning as much as he can about the Internet and trends. People like Paul should blog.
I've worked with CEOS who were lousy communicators even though they were successful. Who'd want to read their blogs if they were going to be close minded and they were lousy writers?
Sure the business landscape is changing, but there are still a slew of businesses that still believe the Internet is a fad. I don't believe they are likely to become bloggers. My own brother doesn't have a website for his business even though he is leaving a lot of money on the table as a result. Shoemakers' children syndrome I guess?
7. Which consultants should blog? Which should not?
Consultants should blog when they are willing to share information that could help other people and that might even inform their competitors of how to be better at what they do. I believe information should be shared. One time someone asked Walt Disney if he wasn't worried about telling so many people about his ideas. And Disney said "Those were last years' ideas."
I feel that way too. What good is knowledge unless it is shared. I don't worry that someone is going to do better Internet marketing than me because I tell them my ideas in my blog or my how-to articles. They won't be me and they won't have my experience. When it comes down to it, people do business with people they like and trust. Blogging brings you one step closer to customers and makes them feel like they know you.
If you are paranoid about your ideas being ripped off, don't blog.
8. How does blogging fit into a typical company marketing mix?
Several ways: a blog is basically a very effective content management system. Blogs are perfect for online press rooms, newsletters, product information, teaching.
All of those things are part of the marketing mix. People want to get information in different ways. Some will like reading a blog, others want to see a newsletter, or have a salesperson visit. Blogs are a tool for communicating with customers and interacting with them.
However, I think each company's situation is a little different and I am not so sure there is a typical marketing mix.
