By Alexander Irving —
  Some writings resonate
We’ve heard every reason and excuse in the book for salon professionals not becoming successful with their own PR.
“I can’t afford monthly PR agency fees“, or, “I can’t afford multi-month commitments right now“. Those two have always been among the biggies. Well we’ve solved that one for you. Check out PR a la Carte. Let’s not hear that particular excuse anymore. OK?
On that topic, here’s a post we received a copy of this morning from Seth Godin’s Blog . If you don’t subscribe to his blog, we suggest you do. Here it is, short and [...]
… Continue reading What’s Your Excuse?
By Alexander Irving —
 Photo courtesy of Tolis Flioukas
Pay Day Yesterday!
Like the “Starfish story” … we know we have done something important.
We all work hard. You, in the salon behind the chair, and we, in our BeautyPRpro and Esche & Alexander PR roles. We do what we do … over and over.
We bring our experience and talent to the table every day for our friends and clients. We share our information, experience, and observations to help make the world (and life) a little better for ourselves and others.
But despite all your (and our) best work, we know people [...]
… Continue reading When Were You Happy Right Down to Your Very Soul?
By Alexander Irving —
 Just talk … It’s upsetting.
… and it always makes us sad.
The wishers … the dreamers …. the pretenders … the talkers …. so very few actual starters.
So many stylists talk a good game. They talk about about stepping out from the crowd. They talk about what they are going to do for themselves tomorrow. They talk about entering the ‘big pool’ … NAHA or the Contessas, or some other great PR opportunity.
I don’t mean I’m upset because they miss out on being as famous as Nick Arrojo, or Vivienne Mackinder … Very few do. I mean [...]
… Continue reading Are You a Self-Sabotaging Salon Pro?
By Alexander Irving —
 “The World is Filled with Talented, Poor Dreamers”
We don’t remember who gets attribution for that quote, but our BeautyPRpro header copy above reflects how we feel about that headline.
Several thousand years ago a Roman philosopher said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”. More recently, a guy named Samuel Goldwyn, a Hollywood producer/movie mogul said, “The harder I work, the luckier I get”.
Well, odds are you’re not going to be ‘hit by lightening’ and hired for that new reality TV series on Bravo, so you better start planning how you are going to get noticed and [...]
… Continue reading How To Become an ‘Overnight’ Salon PR Success
By Alexander Irving —
 Your ‘Appearance’ is a Basic Salon PR Ingredient
Salon Bogar in Londonderry, New Hampshire, http://www.salonbogar.com and http://www.facebook.com/salonbogar is a ‘brilliant’ example of how a salon owner with commitment and determination can:
Re-image their salon without going broke. Make the internet and social media work harder. Motivate their staff. Expand and grow their connections with their clients. Get closer to their local press. Diversify product offerings to match their clientele’s wishes.
It all happened gradually and manageably over the past couple of years, in a tough economy, and (if you’ve visited their website already), the results speak for themselves. Larger than [...]
… Continue reading Making Your Salon PR ‘Larger-Than-Life’ In a Smaller Market
By Alexander Irving —
 Social Media is Excellent PR
We recently shared some knowledge with our class at the American Board of Certified Haircolorists (ABCH) Educational ‘Summit’. For us it was a snapshot of 40 education-hungry colorists and what they knew about using social media to help them promote their business. Only a few understood it much at all.
Of course everyone was on Facebook, but few people knew beyond the photos/videos tabs, the wall, and how to send messages. Only one person had a plan and strategy for being there and was using it to attract more clients to their salon.
Back to [...]
… Continue reading So You Think You Can FaceBlogTwitLink?
By Alexander Irving —
 Brushing Up Your Interview Skills
Although this post is aimed a bit more at those who are newer to the game of getting media attention and what to do with it once you get it, we suspect a few old-timers could also use some brush-up on their interview skills as well. Only the questions might change.
OK, you’ve been doing your homework.
You have been sending your local news releases out regularly when suddenly one day the front desk calls and tells you a local TV news person you’ve been wooing (who noticed you originally because you sent them a [...]
… Continue reading Magic Media Interview Moments-Are You Prepared?
By Alexander Irving —
 Opportunities for PR happen not only because you are a talented salon professional and send out interesting news and photo releases. They happen because you are a part of people’s lives doing things that distinguish you from others in the crowd. You are a respected member of the community … a player .. you do things ‘differently’. That’s ‘unique’.
I’ll disagree with my guest poster’s contention that you don’t see mentors in the news. Actually, we do every day. People like Beth Minardi, Brad Graham, Vivienne Mackinder, (uh) Don Bewley , and hundreds more on the list. These individuals [...]
… Continue reading Where Have All the Mentors Gone?
By Alexander Irving —
 You Recommend Clients Change their Look, Don’t You?
“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.” – William Edwards Deming (1900–1993)
Every hairdresser you know loves to be in the ‘news’ and to find a measure of fame … Why not? It’s a noble goal … and very doable for those willing to plan for, invest in, and put the sweat equity into obtaining it.
You need a few basic ingredients of course … talent and skill, a personality, and a decent work ethic. Of course that does sound like a whole lot of hairdressers you know who [...]
… Continue reading Out with the Old, In with the New
By Alexander Irving —
 Today was unusual.
We got a hand-written card in the mail.
It stood out in the pile like a sore thumb. Hand-written, imagine that. Different … That took time.
We went back into the house where we usually toss the mail on the kitchen table for opening later, but not today. We stayed together and opened that piece. We looked at the return address. How ‘old-fashioned’. We left all the other mail for later.
It was short, sweet, and thoughtful. We commented on it and discussed that person and (I assume both) thought to ourselves, ” Gee, they found this [...]
… Continue reading PR at its Best: Simple and Old-Fashioned
|
|