Tag Media Relations

A Glimpse in the World of a Publicist Part 1 Blog was about the work I did during the day! 

A Glimpse in the World of a Publicist Part 2 Blog is about the work I started doing overnight #NoSleep and working throughout the day; and leading into the next night!

March 5, 2019  I have a long night ahead of me to catch up on work; and deadlines to meet.  Since I will be working with no interruptions tonight, I figured this would be a great time to write a Part 2 Blog on the duties I’m about to do.  You will learn more about what I do as a Publicist.  I’ve been hearing many tell me they don’t know what a Publicist does. Here is a glimpse into the life of a Publicist. You will read about what I do and not so much on how I do it.  Also, I have to keep in mind confidentiality and trade secrets, so this is going to be a general blog on what I do.

1:00 AM – I like to work backwards, so I look into my last notebook and work back to my first notebook, if that makes any sense.  I do this because the current is most important and I can work the past out in due time. First on my agenda is to continue launching my Author client’s social media campaign for her upcoming event.  I have a lot of content and visuals I previously prepared for the campaign.  I had to do my homework to prepare for the campaign. Research; client communication; and a game plan on how I want to execute the campaign.  I use a Social Media Content Calendar on an Excel Spreadsheet.  Organization is key when working with clients!

2:30 AM – Taking a short break.

4:49 AM – My Artist client texted me to inform me that he has a live in-person interview at 5 PM EST. At this time my phone was at 2%, but  I will be giving him a call to discuss the details and promote his upcoming interview.

5:15 AM – My break ended up being a LONG break. I got caught up in a movie, “Friends with Benefits.”  It was so good I couldn’t stop watching it. Then warmed up my dinner that I never ate last night and drinking hot chocolate. I’m ready to get back to work now.  I needed that relaxation anyway! I didn’t think it was going to be long.  LOL! However, during the beginning of the movie, The social media campaign for my client was still running.

5:25 AM – I’m going over the proofs of a website to ensure all content was done by the graphic designer. Not giving out any info, the official news will be released soon! I’m editing the content on the website.

7:18 AM – I noticed that the Leading Global Broadcast company that deals directly with the National Charts such as the Top 200…basically ALL of the Charting for the Music Industry is now following me on Instagram and liking my content from my postings.  I already receive radio airplay reports directly from them for my clients, so that was pretty cool! Like I always say…I must be doing something right!!! It’s time to drop off my boys to school; and they made it to school safely and on time.

9:12 AM – Getting back to where I stopped earlier…working on the website and proofs.  Currently, I have 4 pages to review and edit that content on the website, however I can barely keep my eyes open. There’s no way I can function in the state I’m in right now when it comes to reviewing pages and editing content. So I really need to get my second wind back.  I have a meeting at 10 AM, so I’m going to take the rest of the time to get in a quick nap or at least relax.

Handled personal business and relaxing. Unfortunately, no shut eye.

My business partner called me to discuss the website.

1:19 PM – I went back to editing the website.  All editing is done.  Site has been published to make sure all is ready for public launch.

Between this time, I got myself ready for the day. I took Jon to his doctor’s appointment.

3:35 PM – While at the gas station I emailed my business associate and he got right back to me in regards to my request, which he accepted.  We have been working together for years.  He’s a major connection or shall I say his company is a MAJOR force behind my Public Relations Boutique Firm.

During this time, I picked my kids up from their friend’s house. We all + Jordan’s friend …I stopped at McDonald’s to get them a snack came back to our house.

6:00 PM – Preparing for the Local, Regional and National PR Campaigns. (While Jordan gets ready for basketball practice.)

6:25 PM – Left to drop Jordan and and his friend, Ben to Basketball Practice; made a quick stop and came back home.

6:25 PM – My client called me and at 6:38 PM I called him back to discuss his upcoming in-studio interview.  We are scheduled to have a phone meeting later on tonight to discuss his current release and new music releases.

7:00 PM – Back to preparing for the PR Campaigns…I have a launch deadline to meet.  Sometimes some social media networks are available to use; and some not. So now, I can’t use the one I want to use. I will need to create a different social media account because there is only one that has yet to be set up; and it needs to be set up before the launch.

7:35 PM – My partner called to discuss business that needs to be handled asap.  I added more to do’s to my notebook.

7:48 PM – I’ve been looking for a email; and ran across a email from the DJ I submitted my client’s music to for music rotation.  He informed me that he played my client’s 2 songs during the indie segment of the show; and he’s going to do so again. He will give me a heads up when his music is going to play, so we can hear his music playing:)  I would love to hear the show as well.

8:28 PM – Until I hear back from my business associate, I’m going to work on branding social media networks because visuals need to be updated.

8:34 PM – My partner called me to discuss minor issues that need to be fixed on the website.

10:48 PM – I’m finally done with working on the website and social media networks.  I’m ready to take a break and eat dinner…Chinese food! Yum! Yum! I’m starving!

11:18 PM – I still haven’t ate my dinner yet. Too busy taking care of some business matters for my upcoming campaign launch.  At this time, I heard back from my business associate via email with FAB news! Let’s just say he is totally a life saver.  I can’t explain it, but God is always on time.  He’s always has had my back from day 1 and we never even met in person via he is located all the way in California. Company to Company, we make it all WORK! So now, I can finally eat my dinner and actually enjoy it without having any business worries. Whew! Thank you Jesus!

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As a Public Relations Specialist, the duties far exceeds that of a Publicist.  However, specifically I’m going to share my day as a Publicist with everyone. I’m doing this because many people don’t know what a Publicist does, but most importantly do not know why they need a Publicist.  The question of the day is…..

Are you ready for a Publicist?

Before I begin, this is what I do always ONLY at the beginning of each week.  This sets the tone for the days ahead with strategic planning of projects, products, and so forth and to execute those plans of actions.

8:30 am ~ My client (Artist) calls me.  We discuss what I need via song mp3’s for his upcoming campaigns.  We briefly discuss what we need to do today when we follow up for a later call because we both need time to figure out our strategy and like to hear each others ideas and then we come up with an execution plan.  I listen to the music he sends me so I can review it, provide my feedback and for use.  I receive both versions…original and the radio-edited because he knows that I need both.

9:06 am ~ My same client contacts me to ask me a quick question before sending me more music.  While I was in the middle of checking all of my business emails. (I have several because each email reaches the max in such a short time.)

9:15 am   – I decided to do a blog about my day and so, here I am.

9:18 am   – Designing the image for this blog post.

11:00 am – Checking all of my social media networking accounts for any engagement & to stay up to date on the specific industries, such as music, book publishing, and film.  I respond back or take notes for future response.

11:06am – I see that my client responded back to me in regards to his BIO.  I immediately stop what I’m doing to inform him that I have received his BIO headline (which I loved) – Sometimes my clients would like to use their own which is actually better for me. Coming up with creative headlines is never easy. LOL! I told the Artist Manager that I will do it now. I pull up his BIO, logged onto our Project Management Database and start the timer, make the change, and upload to Project Management to submit to him. The time is recorded, but this time is unmarked on the billable box because it took me less than 5 minutes to make the quick change, but still documented as making the change.  It will show up under non-billable time.    The rest of the content has already been completed, reviewed, and he is satisfied with my work and the creative direction that I took with it. We had minor edits, but nevertheless, the BIO is done and ready for use since the headline is changed.  However, my client will still review the BIO in its entirety to check for any minor edits and, if not, I will receive confirmation that it is good to go.  I informed him that I have just submitted the updated BIO to him.  Now back to where I left off in going through all of my social media accounts as well as my clients.  I have access to all accounts in order to run their campaigns, branding and image purposes.

A R&B artist that I have known for over 6+ years or close to it via in the past I hooked him up with a live radio show interview out of his city and this was actually the very first live radio show interview.  We went to the location.  He even had the chance to sing his newest song a Capella style and he nailed it! The radio show hosts absolutely loved him and wanted him to come back on their show.  It’s one of those moments that artists do not forget and are grateful and appreciative for making it happen for them.  Then years later in 2016 (or 2017, I forget) we reunited at an event in VA at a mansion for an artist showcase.  I was invited as media to provide coverage and he was one of the performers with his rap partner.  Their performance was HOT!!! Very creative, I must say! Well, getting to the point….he always sends me flyers to where he will be performing.  i just found out the he is a featuring performer on an event coming up on the 30th of this month.  All I can do is let him know that I received it, but not sure if I will be available to make it or not, but will keep him posted.

It’s awesome to see my client’s book is getting major feedback from her fans…via I’m connected to her new Facebook Author group page where she shared what her fan wrote! It was awesome, now her fan has me wondering….is my client going to write more books to keep the story going with the two main characters??? That remains to be seen so stay tune with that one.  I download the fan image so I can share via social media from my end.  I love when I see my clients are getting fan engagement from the work that they have done on their own. For now, I will quickly share on my Facebook personal page.  I scroll down her group page back dated one week to see what she is promoting so I can piggy back it so to speak. Social Media informs me a lot on what my client’s are doing for their projects.  I start taking notes on what I need to promote and I download the images for promo. (It is now 12pm)  While doing so, I do a quick share to my personal Facebook page.  I also post on my Facebook Group that I started for writers, authors, screenwriters, and filmmakers.  She is promoting a prequel to her book, that was published at the end of August.  I check the SEO to see where the book stands online so that I can know what needs to be done to get more exposure for the book through publicity.   I jot down what I plan to do so later I can strategically do a roll out plan and execute it.  Not to mention, she has a group on Facebook that needs to be promoted in order to gain more members. I’m sharing 2 clients with major videos and images real quick so I can keep tract on the up to date promo they are doing. So I’m doing a lot of downloading, saving, taking notes, sharing, etc so I can make sure I include during their campaigns.

2:20 pm  – As I’m still going through my social media, I have a prospect who is a published author and has a few more questions in regards to the proposal I sent her. (By the way….I look forward to working with her:)  Once she signs the proposal to give me permission to do the services, I draft and send an agreement for review and signing and then send the monthly retainer invoice via PayPal.  Then we begin our client relationship and get to work!!!

2:53 pm  –  I’m finally done going through my Facebook accounts and my client’s Facebook accounts. I’m still not done. There’s more major social media sites to tackle.

4:30 pm  – A local person from a referral reached out to me. I received images of a local studio. I’m not sure if he is only a Artist or a Artist & Producer. I’m not sure how he wants me to assist him, but he does. I tried calling back, but had to leave a message on his voicemail because I didn’t catch him in time before he went to the studio. So we’ll try again so I can have a better idea on what he needs done.

6:54 pm  – Checking my Twitter accounts and my client’s twitter accounts. Still haven’t finished up with going through all of the social media to see what is what with my clients, as well as my business.

7:05pm  – I have a newspaper called, Celestial Caring Enterprise, LLC World Daily News Features and today I’m featuring Chris Brown that was shared by K-WAVE 104.3 and the featured placement is located on Hush! Magazine.  I plan to screenshot so I can do promo on this feature.

7:31 pm – I just finished going on a Twitter ReTweet Binge.  One of my client’s Book Publishing Company is preparing for a Review Tour for her upcoming new book release to secure a few dates in October.  Now jotting down notes because I need to do promo and reach out to bloggers directly.  I ran across a great writing tip to share to my Facebook Group listed above.  It was about Show n Tell and A LOT of writers and authors fight with that on a daily basis during their writing time.  My client’s upcoming book is going to be her seventh book released!!!  I obtained a YouTube video that I can use in one of the other promotions that we are currently doing for her other book that has the chance to turn into a movie.  I went on a retweeting binge again. Then ran across some AMAZING news. My client’s book is officially an International Bestseller #1 in the USA and UK #32 Canada Top 100 in Australia and Germany. More great news for publicity.

9:23 pm  – Reviewing my Instagrams, my client Instagrams, and other Instagrams via if I need to be updated on what anyone else is doing for my client.  Specifically I have one client whose music is going to be played on a major radio show hosted my major folks in the music industry. Updates on the radio show are listed via a nice flyer promo. I’m back to taking notes. My clients have images with heavy hitters. This is important for publicity.  I have another client who has A LOT of teasers that I can use for publicity with her books.

9:44 pm   – I have other clients and projects that I don’t need to review any updates from their social media, but instead go through all of my notes to find out where we are in the process of what needs to be done.  I review all 3 of my client notebooks from current to previous.  So here we go.

• I have to do a Social Media Campaign for an upcoming out-of-state event. (Time is ticking so I would prepare tomorrow. )
• I have to put a PR Package Deal together for an upcoming event. (I can hold off on this for right now.) These 2 items above are very important because I’m one of the Sponsors.
• I already have notes on what I plan to publicize later, so I can move forward to other tasks.
• Re-reading a Press Release that I previously did for a client, but yet to release. Now, its time to release the Press Release, but I have to come up with a different angle for the artist because I would like to launch his Regional PR Campaign.  I’m trying to come up with a catchy headline for his Press Release.  Whew, I found a catchy headline which ties into everything that is going on right now in the world with specifics. Now, time for me to rewrite the Press Release. Time is now 11:24 pm.

Now that it is after midnight.  I’m ready to go to bed.

Thanks for reading about my day in the life of a Publicist.  If you have any questions, please let me know.  Thanks!

Day Two

7:20pm  – (Preparing for my client’s Regional PR Campaign) Listening to my client’s songs to determine which one I suggest we drop this week because he has so many songs and we have to also be strategic about how we roll out all of his singles leading up to his album release.

12/10/2018 >>> I just went to my website backoffice and saw that this blog post was never posted. SMH! So I’m going to post it right now. I’ll do another one again soon! 🙂

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Gerome “GQ” Quigley Jr. is a Professional Boxer 16-0 (15) KO’s and a 2X Champion (Virginia State Welterweight Champion & IBA International World Champion.) He’s  from Washington, DC and resides in Gaithersburg, MD with his family.

On March 24, 2017, I was in attendance with Charles Shelton of Goldmind Entertainment & Media, LLC for a boxing weigh in and press conference held at the Cities Restaurant & Lounge, 1909 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 for “The Return of Gerome “GQ” Quigley” event held that next evening.

When we arrived at the venue, we knew exactly where to go. We saw a long conference table with the officials of the boxing event. I assumed they were getting organized for the weigh in. I sought out Courtney who was the Media POC whom informed me of the do’s and don’ts regarding the media in attendance. We were only approved to take photographs on the scene, but no interviews. That was a great situation because this was my first boxing experience. We had our Photographer, Donald E. Cooper, Jr. aka DJ of My Own Creative Outlook, LLC on deck. I had my pink notebook that fits right in my purse for note taking and used my cell phone to take my own photographs on behalf of Celestial Caring Enterprise, LLC, a Public Relations Boutique Firm.

We walked up a few steps leading to another floor where all the boxers waited patiently for the weigh in to begin. The way the venue is set up, I would assume the area was the VIP section with rounded table booths. I saw a few media guys present as well. At the top of the steps, Shelton introduced me to Gerome “GQ” Quigley. As our three-company team scoped out the exclusive area, we had to figure out how we were going to proceed. I looked at the different boxers walking around the floor and sitting at the booth tables conversing amongst one another. Then in the middle of the room was a long table where I saw other media outlets looking through some papers. I thought I was supposed to fill out paperwork, for instance due to any liabilities, etc. I immediately went to the table to only see documents that didn’t look like it had anything to do with needing our signatures. I asked Courtney, if we had to sign anything, she said all was covered for media. Great! It’s always best to stay on your P’s and Q’s to ensure you do what’s correct at events when providing media coverage.

While we waited for the weigh in to begin, I walked around the room writing my notes and taking photographs, while at the same time directing Cooper on getting specific angles of boxers. At this point, you would’ve thought I’ve been involved with boxing press conferences in the past.

I noticed the officials were clearing out the middle of the floor. I knew the weigh in was about to start, but I wasn’t sure how it would all take place. The long table was moved between the media and other attendees and the weigh in area. On the other hand, officials were making sure the weight scale was working properly then introduced themselves.

I was in the way back, so I glided through the crowd and made it to the front, literally right at the table that had a clean white cloth covering it. I set myself up to be organized and ready for the weigh in to begin while standing up. I happened to be between a very nice and informative media rep from another company. This cameraman helped me keep track of the names of the boxers as they were going on and off the scale. Being new to this, it was moving fast or I was moving a bit slow. I sometimes couldn’t hear the names or remember the names due to writing down the number order and weight. I thought it was going to be a few boxers, which were listed on the flyer, but to my surprise, it was 22 boxers that weighed in.

The boxers would unclothe themselves, men down to their briefs and the women were either in a bikini or two piece work out attire enough to cover their private areas. Only one woman was fully clothed, not showing her body below her face. The boxers would then stand on the scale one by one, all doing the same poses, front face with arms to the side to be officially weighed and weight announced. Next, held their hands in front of their body before flexing their muscles to show their physique. This is where the seriousness came into effect between the opponents after being weighed, both boxers would stand on the floor to face each other with fists by their face and then they would face the media for photos. When they exited the weigh area, the routine continued with all the boxers.

The boxing participants had more men boxers than females. When the weigh in was over, boxers, media, and the officials either stayed at the end to engage with one another and/or take photos. Our team took photos from the top floor steps to the bottom of the floor. Before leaving, I could get Gerome “GQ” Quigley’s attention away from the boxing officials to take photos with him, thanks to Shelton knowing Quigley very well. I had just met GQ that day.

Courtney informed me that I could interview 3 boxers at the boxing event. I needed to send her the 3 names. I had the choice to do interviews before the boxers were getting in the ring or after their fight. I chose to do interviews after they came out of the ring. My 3 options consisted of Gerome “GQ” Quigley, Justin Bell, and Luther Smith. I had a backup boxer just in case I couldn’t get an interview from one of my selected boxers, the other one was Dravontay “Speed” Rawis.

It was a pleasure and great experience to have the opportunity to being a part of the boxing weigh in & press conference. I look forward to providing media coverage for more weigh in and press conferences for GQ Promotions.

 

 

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Charles & I are hanging out with Greg Hackett & Don Hollingsworth.

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