Dear Entrepreneur,

I know what you do is difficult.

I know you stay up late and harbor dreams.

I know your fingers are tired from typing, your eyes from staring, your voice from explaining, your brain from trying.

I know you calculate just how many businesses close each year and worry that yours may be one of them. I know you balance being honest and being hopeful.

I know you are scared about putting too much of yourself out there, online and in the brand. I know it feels like you are pouring your heart into the internet, where it’s not always welcome.

I know there’s always someone that thinks they know better. Always someone who has succeeded or failed in your shoes. Always someone to compare to. I know it’s haunting.

I know it’s always about the money and yet not about the money.

I know you question, and quiver, and quake – and yet just keep going.

I know you didn’t choose the easy path.

I know you chose this one because it works for you. For your love. For your passion. For your skills. For your family. For your spouse or children. For you.

Keep working it. Ignore the voices. You know what works.

Pivot if you must. Persevere when you must. Pilot where you must.

Every one of us that has taken this path, that harbors these dreams, knows.

And we recognize, appreciate, value entrepreneurship.

It’s a hard road, but a good one. Keep walking.

Whether it’s your grand openong or a special holiday event, if you can get media into your space and get a little attention, that can bring exponential exposure to your brand, but how do go from a handshake to a lasting relationship? How do bring quality schmoozing to the table?

Now I’m not one to play games and I hate being inauthentic, but to be honest when it comes to media relationships, just like sales, sometimes you have to dig deep down, grab a little courage and a smile, and sweet talk your way through. Here are some tips for schmoozing that moves beyond the syrupy ridiculous and into the quality connections:

1) Be Ready! Have some samples or freebies set aside. If you are giving out SWAG, keep a few in reserve. You don’t want to be left empty handed if a news crew shows up.

2) Be Chatty! I know you’re tired but think of them as a potentially big client or customer. Turn on the smile, thank them profusely for taking the time to be there, and talk up your excitement!

3) Be Connected! Especially when you are dealing with local media, you want your community focus to shine. Turn your conversations around into how happy you are to be in that area and how much you love the history, the future, the opportunities there!

4) Be Available! Wear pockets and stuff them with business cards. When someone from the media introduces themselves, make sure they know how excited you are to share trends, marketing insights, viewer or reader ideas with them. Then hand them your card, let them know you are available for quotes or interviews. Oh and here’s a trick… tell them “This is my information if you ever need to get in touch.” Make sure it sounds exclusive. They want to feel like they have a great, limited connection!

5) Be Flattered! I know you’ve pitched an exhausting number of times. I know you’re jaded and disillusioned. But when that media celebrity – no matter how small – walks in, be ready to welcome them with enthusiasm. I’m not saying you need to make an announcement. (In fact, just as any celebrity walking in, I recommend not demeaning other customers by ignoring or neglecting them. All customers should be treated like celebrities.) Ergo, treat news outlets like your favorite customer… and maybe just a bit better.

By the way, here’s what not to do. Ready to get in touch with the media, check out some of my examples. Need a press release or sales pitch? Let’s chat today.

I talk a lot about avoiding jargon and overused words in your copywriting.

And then I realize you may not know my own jargon… Such as copywriting.

Do you know what you’re getting or what you’re asking for when you hire a copywriter? Do you know what copy is?

Too often our minds form it’s homonym “copyright” when we think of copywriting. Copyright is about your rights to ownership over a particular piece of copy. Copy is quite informally just a chunk of writing, a bit that you use – whether it’s on your website, in brochures, in press releases, in an ad, on a video, etc.

Which brings us back to our original question. What is copywriting? It’s writing of copy. It’s developing a sentence, a slogan, a tagline, a phrase, a paragraph, a sales pitch, an email, an article, a blog post, a webpage. It’s what you need and how much you need. And it’s custom to your brand.

Kind of makes you want to hire a copywriter, doesn’t it?

I remember it clearly and plan to treasure that memory for a long time.

It involved tears, lots of tears, wet and bitter, raining on my pillow. It involved a deluge of cliches and frustrations. It involved a breaking of sorts. It involved finally knowing what I don’t want and what I do.

A clear path through the tears.

It was my moment.
The moment I knew I couldn’t wait for a job to be offered.
The moment I knew I could no longer work at someone else’s bidding.
The moment I knew I needed to work, and I needed to do it at my pace.
The moment I knew I needed my own career, my own business, my own self-made job.

The moment that the fear of not working or waiting to work was bigger than the fear of my own work.
I was watching this great interview with Tory Johnson on Young Female Entrepreneurs last week and when addressing the question of fear, Tory explained that you should go forward with a business idea when the fear of not doing it is bigger than the fear of doing it.

She’s right. That’s the moment.
Whether it involves tears, or a lightbulb, or a pillow, or just an open door, that moment is pivotal. That’s the moment when you’re thinking changes. That’s the moment you face your fear and no longer want to run.

In talking with a friend this week, she told me about her moment. She just experienced it. It’s still fresh. Sometimes those moments, when they are so near, feel bitter. You don’t want to dwell on them, but they are precious. They remind of what we want and what we don’t want.

Cherish your moment. Apologize to those in attendance if necessary. Work out the details of what changed in that moment. And remember it as the day you prepared to take the leap.

Tweet about it

Breaking news is great.
It pulls in interest. It’s what everyone is thinking and talking about. It’s a launch pad for new ideas and a sounding board for old ones.

I highly recommend sharing great articles with your audiences and using them to start and continue new conversations.

But there are also a very wrong ways to do it. Very wrong. Here’s how NOT to use news:

1) Treading on Tragedy
I shouldn’t have to say this. I shouldn’t. But I must. Because I have literally received emails evoking the names of people who just died. Just leave it be. If it’s tragic, it’s sacred. Just leave it alone.

2) Misleading Mentions
Don’t headline your newsletter or post with an implication that you are going to shed light on a particular topic and then when the reader clicks, jump ship for a highly promotional, content-low piece. Just don’t.

3) Overly Opinionated
Be Careful when you post sensitive, political, religious, or personal pieces that you temper your own view point. It’s easy to rant behind a screen, but time often temper our views and newsletters and social media don’t allow for that time. Give yourself a step back when you post. And be careful.