January 2012 Volume 4 Issue 42

Hi Friends & Colleagues,

Happy Friday! For those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area, a couple of our clients have events coming up you won’t want to miss. Today’s e-newsletter also shares tips & tricks about e-newsletters and media pitching, and includes details about two celebrity gifting opportunities. Keep reading for the full scoop!

Cheers,
Erika Taylor Montgomery
Three Girls CEO & Chief Publicist

CLIENT CHITCHAT

Are you going to be in the San Francisco Bay Area within the next month or two? Here are two upcoming client events you won’t want to miss out on:

The Snarky Musical Adventure, Becoming Britney! How does a pop sensation wind up bald and trapped in her own musical? And can musicals save her soul??? Find out when “Becoming Britney” opens at The Retro Dome in February 2012. A caustic (but loving) PG-rated fable that chronicles the rise, the dip, and the salvation of a foolhardy celebrity phenom, “Becoming Britney” features eleven original songs that pay homage to multiple musical theatre genres including shows like “Annie” and “Rent”, movie musicals like “The Little Mermaid” and “Little Shop of Horrors”, and composers like Rodgers and Hammerstein among others. Find out more and get tickets at www.theretrodome.com.

Bay Area Business and Franchise Conference – Registration Enters You to Win a Kindle! Do You Dream of Owning YOUR Own Business? Meet executives from award winning franchises experiencing nationwide growth and learn about 2011 Franchise Growth Areas and Trends, Retirement alternatives, Latest developments in franchise financing, Franchises with an initial investment from $80K-$150K and more! Franchisors will share information covering growth trends, what sets them apart, details on their history of success, experience requirements and why their owner’s are thriving. Find out more and register at franchise2012.eventbrite.com.

Click here for more information about our clients!

THREE GIRLS GOSSIP

We’ve got two exciting celebrity opportunities coming up: Earth Day in Hollywood and Mother’s Day in Hollywood!

Put your product directly in the hands of A-list celebrities! Three Girls’ celebrity partner is creating special gift boxes in honor of Earth Day and Mother’s Day for stars like Tom Hanks, Ellen Degeneres, P!nk, Amy Adams, and more.

Our celebrity partner will use their direct access to top talent and their reputation for pampering the world’s biggest trendsetters to introduce fabulous, unique and useful products to these celebs and their families. Celebrity product placement is a tried and true method of differentiating your product from the masses.

What’s the deadline to participate? March 30, 2012 for Earth Day and April 20, 2012 for Mother’s Day.

How many samples? 30 (25 for celebrities & 5 press samples) for each promotion.

How much is it? $2,250 each or $4,000 for both.

How can I find out more? Email us at info@threegirlsmedia.com.

COOL CONNECTIONS

Do you need some identity design and branding work done? Check out Shimmin Design! They cre­ate, expand, evolve, and strengthen the iden­ti­ties of small and medium-sized busi­nesses. Whether you’re just launch­ing your com­pany or new prod­uct, or you’ve been in busi­ness for years and need to take your company’s iden­tity to the next level, they can help. Check them out at melissashimmin.com.

TIPS & TRICKS

How to Write a Professional, Effective Pitch: It’s All in the Details! Six Tips for Success – Everyone is vying for attention, to have his business noticed, to have her product be the focus of an editorial review or TV spot. Do you ever wonder how these lucky people make it happen? It takes work to grab the attention of media professionals. One great way to achieve this is to create a professional, well-crafted “pitch.” In a previous blog, we drafted an overview of the pitch. In this installment, you’ll learn the fine details to further help you gain a media professional’s attention. “Pitch” is simply the Public Relations (PR) industry’s term for a customized letter-sent via email, never snail mail anymore- to journalists, in an effort to persuade them to cover your story. Read more on our blog.

6 Tips for Using E-Newsletters as a Powerful Marketing Tool – Promoting your business requires a multi-pronged approach through a variety of avenues like social media, websites, blogging, coupons, and in-person networking, just to name a few. Another powerful marketing tool are email newsletters. In one marketing newsletter, which your target audience can see right inside an email, you can disseminate lots of information, tastefully and invitingly laid out. Read more on our blog.

Three Girls specializes in working with small and emerging companies to help increase their brand awareness and name recognition. Our affordable campaigns are a fraction of the cost of a one-time ad in a national magazine. Three Girls also has a unique Al La Carte PR Services Menu and also provides comprehensive PR Campaigns for mobile apps.

How can Three Girls help spread the news about your company? Email today for a FREE consultation. We’re happy to answer your questions.

Cheers,

Erika Taylor Montgomery, CEO – Chief Publicist
Three Girls Media & Marketing Inc.

Email: erikamontgomery@threegirlsmedia.com
Phone: 408-871-0377
Fax: 866-875-7847
Web: www.threegirlsmedia.com

Will you be in the SF area this Thursday, Aug 18?

During the mixer, you’ll be able to:

• Connect with peers and potential clients; hundreds of decision-makers, executives and entrepreneurs from various industries will be there.
• Pre-order your copies of The Spirit of Silicon Valley
• Enjoy gourmet appetizers, live music (30′s-40′s classics), a military martial arts demonstration and win prizes!

Find out more and register for the event at http://ow.ly/5YnWG.

Media Advisories are used to tell journalists about upcoming events their readers might be interested in.

Media Advisories are sister documents to a Press Releases or Pitches in which the focus is an event. Like a pitch, you want the information to be as clear and concise as possible. The main difference is the formatting.

The important information to include is:

Contact Info – Your phone number and email address.
What – Generally 2-3 sentences about the event.
When – The date and time.
Where – The name of the venue in addition to the address.
Why – The purpose of the event and why their readers / other locals should care.
Who – 1-2 sentences about you or your organization.
More Info – A link to the event page for more information.

We generally recommend you send Media Advisories to the media 6-8 weeks in advance of the event. If the event is a press conference, we also recommend you distribute the advisory a couple of times: once as far in advance of the event as possible (preferably 6-8 weeks) and again a day or two in advance of the event to remind the media.

Photo Credit: englishpen

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Get more information
Register Now!
I can’t make it

Want to know why successful small to midsize business owners know the importance of revenue growth and succession planning? Or how a privately owned business can have business dollars create personal liquid net worth for the owners? Come to the panel discussion to find out!

WHEN: Thursday June 30, 2011 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM PDT

WHERE: Silicon Valley Capitol Club, 50 W San Fernando St. #1700, San Jose, CA 95113

Find out more about this exciting event here.

How well do your business cards represent your company?

What do your business cards look like? Erika recently came back from an event with a stack, and it got me thinking about what makes business cards effective.

Your business card is a reminder of you and your brand. You want the overall design to reflect what you do, in addition to providing your contact information. If nothing else, be sure you include:

• Your name
• Your phone number
• Your email address
• Your website
• Your logo and tagline
• Any additional ways you’d like to connect with you, such as your Facebook page URL, Twitter handle, etc.
• Your mailing address and fax number for convenience, too.

Get creative when you design your business cards. A lot of business cards are mostly white, so feel free to use different colors – just make sure everything is still easy to read. You can also explore textures, holograms, round the corners, make it vertical, etc.

There are all sorts of websites that provide tips for making your card stand out – such as changing the shape, making them out of chocolate, etc. Feel free to explore different options and, if it’s cost effective and fits with your brand, give it a try. Personally, I prefer the standard size and shape, though. Here’s why:

• I like to take notes on business cards I receive. It’s hard to write a note on non-traditional business cards like CDs or coins, though.
• I have a business card holder to keep the cards I collect. Non-traditional cards won’t fit in the holder so I actually end up losing them instead of knowing where to look when I’ve got someone in mind.

Here are a few more tips for creating your business cards:

• Keep it simple. Don’t use too many fonts or include too much information as it can be confusing and convoluted.
• Triple check for typos. Use spell check and make sure your contact information is correct.
• Always have a few business cards with you. You never know when you’re going to run into someone that might be a valuable business connection.

Do you have any additional suggestions?

Photo Credit: kibrly

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Our own Erika Taylor Montgomery will cover Public Relations Basics: How to Get the Most out of a Modest Budget and share several free and low-cost PR/Marketing tools for savvy entrepreneurs. She’ll teach you:

• How to find out what stories dozens of journalists are working on each day and how to reach them
• How to get at least 10 bloggers to write about your company
• How to monitor your online news

Bill Belew, Founder of CosmoFairNetwork (the largest blog network in Asia), who will cover 4 Absolutes to Get Your Site Noticed on the Web. For a preview, read one of Bill’s articles here.

Here are the event details:

• March 24, 2011, 10:30am – 1:15pm
• Just $35 if you register before March 20. $45 at the door. Event fee includes lunch, soft drinks and dessert!
• Venue: Bliss office at Sedusa Studios at 1300 Dell Ave, Campbell, CA

RSVP, learn more about the event and/or connect with the SASSY Networking Group at http://www.chrystalbougon.com/Sassy_March_2011.html.

Erika was selected by the YWCA's TWIN Honoree Selection Committee to receive a 2011 TWIN Award!

3 Cheers for Erika!  Three Girls is pleased to announce that Erika was selected by the YWCA’s TWIN Honoree Selection Committee to receive a 2011 TWIN Award. Her outstanding achievements qualify her to join a select group of women who have previously been honored with this honor.

The Tribute to Women Awards Program, one of the nation’s most prestigious awards given by the local and regional YWCA’s, recognizes successful women executives for their outstanding achievements. It is an important and well-known event demonstrating the esteem in which companies hold their women executives. This award program was established in Santa Clara Valley 25 years ago, and participants represent most of the major companies in the Bay Area.  Each year, Honorees receive a Tribute to Women award at a gala dinner event attended by Silicon Valley CEOs, dignitaries, Honorees and their families.

As one of the primary fundraisers of the YWCA, the Tribute to Women Awards Program generates funds that support the YWCA’s programs. Over 15,000 people receive services every year from the YWCA in the areas of Intervention and Prevention Services, Childcare and Economic Development.

Read the full release here.

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SVOS is an annual event that allows the public to visit Peninsula and South Bay Art Studios for free. During the first three weekends in May, over 300 Silicon Valley artists invite members of the community to experience a wide variety of different artistic media in their studios.

New this year, SVOS will expand their Open Studios for Schools program by hosting students at some of the open studios. This will give art students a chance to get to form relationships with professional artists and see how working artists prepare their studios, as well as display and sell their work.

Over the past 25 years, SVOS has provided an opportunity for the general public, art enthusiasts, art collectors and investors, educators and art students to spend some time in the comfortable setting of artists’ studios, providing an opportunity to discuss the artist’s attitudes and motivations.

Participating artists, including professionals, amateurs and students, work in a variety of fields, such as painting, mixed media, photography, sculpture, jewelry, calligraphy, ceramics, fiber arts, pottery, mosaics, metal work, glass, drawing, printmaking, watercolor, woodworking and more.

Read more about it or register online at www.svos.org.

In the midst of the busy holiday season, Tibay International wants to recognize the hard-working women that often wear many hats and juggle many areas of their life and business by hosting the Red Carpet Gala, a night of networking, holiday shopping, hors d’oeuvres, red carpet photos, giveaways and mini-makeovers by Just Glam. The gala is open to new and seasoned business owners, as well as the general public.

Speakers include Nicole Caldwell, Founder and CEO of the Just Glam Cosmetics, and Deborah Shea, President of NAWBO Silicon Valley and Founder of Hellbent Marketing. Exhibition vendors are all women-owned businesses, as are the caterers and photographers (Y Studio Photography) for the event.  Sponsors include Mechanics Bank Community Development Corporation and Sims Metal.

Here are the details:

• Date/Time: Thursday, December 9, 6pm – 10pm
• Location: The Craneway Pavilion, 1414 Harbour Way South, Marina District of Richmond, California
• Tickets are available at redcarpetgala2010.eventbrite.com and cost:
  • $20 for students with photo ID
  • $20 for Women’s Initiative students and graduates
  • $30 regular / at the door

NOTE: Advance ticket purchasers will be entered into a drawing to win a prize.

For more information, please visit redcarpetgala2010.com or email info@redcarpetgala2010.com.

Sweet Potato Casserole (from Erika)

Ingredients

• 2 29-oz cans of sweet potatoes or yams
• 1 15-oz can of crushed pineapple
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup sliced almonds or pecan-halves
• 2 4.5-oz packages of Plush Puffs Gourmet Marshmallows: Gingerbread Spice, Caramel Swirl or Maple Bacon (your choice)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put the yams in a baking dish and cover with all of the remaining ingredients except marshmallows.
3. Put in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and cover with the Plush Puffs Gourmet Marshmallows.
5. Put the dish back in the oven for 3-5 minutes until the Plush Puffs Gourmet Marshmallows melt.
6. Serve and enjoy!

Cranberry Freeze Salad (from Emily)

Ingredients

• 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
• 1 8-oz can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ cup chopped pecans (optional)
• lettuce leaves
• pecans garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Combine sauce, pineapple, sour cream and chopped pecans.
2. Mix well.
3. Pour into 8” square pan and freeze until firm.
4. Cut into squares and serve on lettuce.
5. Garnish with pecans.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving recipes?

Photo Credit: Jessicizer