Finding Blogs, cont.

A perfect compliment to the last post, I just found this article on finding the best blogs in a given field. (Thanks, unSpun). It's worth a read.

Ad and PR Blogs... how to choose

With so much out there to digest it's hard for someone just getting into the field to figure out what's most worthy of attention. Magazines, eNewsletters, blogs, eZines... content is non-stop. How do you choose?

As I'm working on structuring my own blog -- finding a voice and figuring out what unique message I have to say to the world -- I've been especially enjoying reading other people's blogs. I set up my own NetVibes page and now get a steady stream of Ad- and PR-related postings every day. Here's what I'm reading now:

The Steve Rubel Lifestream offers the most consistent and regular posting -- with short updates coming every few hours. The author has a blog too (Micro Persuasion) but I like the lifestram as it it's somewhat of an information tease... bits of news here and there to investigate as you will. Has been a great resource for discovering new blogs, websites, and hot articles.

PR Squared is Todd Defran's comments on social media marketing. Consistent lengthy posts that get you thinking. Bonus: his firm Shift Communications, has an employee blog (unSpun) that covers a hodge podge of thoughts from Shift professionals.

Gaping Void Hugh MacLeod draws cartoons on the back of business cards and comments on his life and the media. He's the mind behind Microsoft's Blue Monster, the corp's new mascot for their new PR plan to tell their own story instead of letting their competitors and the media do it for them.

Adverganza. Just found this one (thanks, SRL). Comments on advertising industry. Haven't had much time to look into it but so far it seems good.

Forward Blog is targeted at young PR and Advertising professionals. Archived posts on interviewing, job hunting, and PR basics. Regular podcasts with a similar focus.

What are you reading?

Keeping Busy When it's Slow

How important is keeping busy in an entry-level position? I love a fast paced, constantly moving, never-ending workload environment. I love being busy and knowing that the day will so filled with work that I won’t know how the clock reached 5pm when I’ve barely had time to look up. I love the responsibility of it all – feeling an integral part of the big picture because –even if the tasks are small – project completion relies on all aspects being completed.

Lately I have not been busy. There’s been no press to announce and the bulk of my large yearly project is completed. There are details to coordinate and deadlines to meet but they take up a very small part of the day leaving me with large periods of undirected time. Understanding that I need projects to keep myself sane and happy I’ve begun my own pet projects – developing our (once non-existent) social media presence, blogging, helping to restructure our website and updating our meta tags (SEO). My company allows me a great deal of freedom to develop these areas so it’s been fun exploring ways to make ourselves stronger in areas where we were recently no present.

Still, I wonder how much I need to balance this work with the small assigned tasks I’m expected to complete. Does keeping up with PR blogs and researching new social media outlets look like I’m just messing around online? Reaching out to my boss has been only moderately helpful. Instructed to enjoy the break b/c busier times would come led me to create my own projects. But at least a month later I still am dragging so what I keep wondering is, “What, exactly is expected of an entry-level PR professional with no press to occupy her time?”

Things to Love about PR

There is a mild buzz of Valentine spirit in the office and chocolates being passed around. In honor of the "holiday" I give you:

Things I love about public relations:
1. Media. I love that my job necessitates me keeping up with the latest media developments, reading blogs, searching the internet, and skimming magazines.
2. Netvibes. A new discovery (thank you, PR Newswire seminar) that collects RSS feed from blogs and sites of my choice. An oh-so-easy way to keep up with non-stop news feeds.
3. Writing. As a former English major and lover of the written word, what more could I ask from a job than to be required to write, write, write all day long.
4. Creativity. For pitching stories, promoting clients, and generating excitement for a product. There's always a newer, better, smarter way to tell the story. You just have to be creative enough.
5. Dress. Representing yourself, your firm, and your client, dressing well is a requirement of the job. If you're a clothes-lover like me, being expected to look great is a great added bonus.
6. People. Communicating with people -- clients, press, your audience -- is a integral part of the job. A great story or unique product won't get you anywhere if you can't express it.
7. Facebook, myspace, linkedin. Exploring how people present themselves in this unique forum. Watching as the platform evolves from personal to professional to...

What do you love about the industry? What are the best parts of your job?

Mailing Lists

Mailing lists day.

For the past few days, I’ve been working with list rental services, collecting quotes, choosing demographics, and signing forms, to make sure that we have 200,000 names ready at the mail house when our big mail piece is (finally) ready to go. I’ve run into a number of problems in doing this: 1. it’s taken nearly a week to come to a consensus on what types of names we want to purchase and how much we’re willing spend on them; 2. we’re not willing to spend much, which means taking a lot of time getting quotes and then declining the offers; 3. we need more free lists (my job) though the time to arrange trades for them is dwindling.

Decisions were finally made yesterday – yea! – so by the end of today all should be in order to be done by deadline. My organizationally inclined brain is pleased as the constant back-and-forth of the past week had been getting a bit frustrating and being the representative voice of indecision to the various list companies was making me look like I don’t have it together, which I hate.

Today I work on the in house mailing list. A list, which, despite having a few thousand bad entries, is not entirely disorganized. It shouldn’t take too much clean-up to get it ready for the mail house and the task, should give me a pretty mindless, relaxing morning.

A few things I’ve learned while working on collecting mailing lists:

- List services generally need a week to process an order, but can often do it quicker.

- Mailing lists are (usually) cheaper than email lists.

- When selecting demographics of a list “AND” is the assumed conjunction – creating a highly specified list. Specify “OR” if you want a collection of all the selected demographics.

- Lists can be marked by the mail house, showing you which lists are most effective in generating a return.

- List generally cost between 10 and 25 cents per name, with a minimum amount per order.

The Privileged Generation

Out for coffee with a friend earlier this week, the subject of the new generation of workers came up. As we chatted about our post-college job search, grueling interviews, and the eventual offers, she pointed out that part of the difficulty that of finding a job stems from the fact that we are proud members of the "privileged generation." Now I've heard this arguement before: the 20-somethings of today's world want it all and want it now. We grew up being told that we could do anything we wanted -- encouraged more than criticized, we believe that with enough effort and a good education, we will rise to the top.

What our parents, teachers, mentors, and advisors forgot to tell us is that there's quite a large gap between the time we're told this and the time it proves true. They failed to mention all menial tasks and annoying grunt work we'd have to put up before we arrive. Their constant encouragement didn't include speaches about 'paying your dues' and so, my generation, "the prividledged generation' has had to learn the hard way that that if we want to be president, CEO, or own our oun business, we're going to have to put in some hard time of answering phones, taking messages, and opening mail.

You may be smart and you may have great great ambition, but (what I'm learning) is that a huge part of early years on the job is about handling the small details of the big picture. Sending out a press release? Guess who gets to manage the database of publications and reporters? Preparing a mass mailing? Guess who'll be collecting quotes from mail houses and list rental companies? Phone calls, filing, and organizing details. These are the resposibilities of an entry-level marketing professional, and it's these tasks that this 'privileged generation' has such a hard time swallowing. Filling this position, however, is as necessary a part of climbing the career latter as getting a degree.

I'll grant you that much of this is easier said than done. It takes patience and a few self-reminders to smile though the tasks, work diligiently, and stay focused on the next step. As my friend mentioned during our coffee outing, it's in our nature to be impatient and want it all now. And perhaps, this driven, ambitious attitute will be a major driving force in our future success -- determining what story we will tell when the power is (eventually) left in our hands. But first we need to get there. And right now, getting there means answering a few more phone calls and taking a few more messages.

A Blog Begins

The beginnings of blogging...

On Tuesday I went to a marketing seminar sponsored by PR Newswire. In addition to being a great excuse to get away from my desk for a few hours, the conference focused on online marketing -- a topic of particular interest to me. After spending about a year working at a web design studio, examining websites has become somewhat of an hobby. I can't help but pick at poorly structured sites to consider what I'd do better. More content, less flash, better layout, clearer focus. Yet I don't have a website. Not a homemade site and not even a simple do-it-yourself in a hot second site. Heck, I don't even have a blog. Though, I've considered it, things seem get in the way. What would say? How would I define myself? Who would listen? Well, this conference inspired me to dive right in. So here goes...

The world of online marketing fascinates me. How in the vast universe that is the internet, you can can influence the way people connect. Make it easier. Make it quicker. Drive the way people think about how they work online. This blog will be my thoughts on that. As a pr professional just getting her feet wet, I'll explore the excitement and tediousness of the first years of work and express my thoughts on what I'm learning, what I want to know, and where I see this ever expanding industry going in the next 5, 10, 20 years.

So welcome. To my musings, my ramblings, my speculations, and my curiosities. I'm not sure where this blog will end up, but I'm happy to say that it has finally begun.