Blog Posts About: PR

We've been lucky over the years. Our videos tend to speak for themselves and have helped to build a little buzz and help our brand without too much formal PR.  But with the launch of the new site, we thought a little buzz would help get the word out about the our new direction. Below are links and excerpts from a few blog posts about the new Common Craft.

Seattle’s Common Craft video firm has built a business out of simple, explanatory online videos made of paper cutouts — most famously the “Twitter in Plain English” video that was featured for more than a year on the Twitter home page. Now the small company is trying to carve out a new business model — switching to a membership approach and moving away from pay-per-download videos.

Three years ago we wrote here about how the two person team quit doing client work and moved into a model based entirely on licensing rights to the educational videos they produced. Their videos were available for free online, but corporate customers happily pay to have the rights to show the content to their employees. This week Common Craft changed models again. From an iTunes model to a Rhapsody model, co-founder Lee LeFever says. Customers will now buy subscriptions and have access to all the videos Common Craft produces. It's an interesting twist in a story that any independent content producer online could find inspiring.

All in all, I think it’s a great move. Today more than ever, teachers and businesses are looking for ways to incorporate video into their educational practices. But there’s a shortage of quality video to choose from, and for many, creating their own videos is simply not feasible.

Enter Common Craft, who already has a reputation as a top creator of short, practical educational videos. Says LeFever:

“We’re building a platform that will allow us to understand the needs of our members and grow our video library significantly based on that relationship. It’s a win-win.”

If you use video to education clients, employees, or students, I’d recommend giving Common Craft’s video subscription service a look. You’ll be hard pressed to find many other sources for videos that entertain and charm as much as they educate.

But I also think the two videos above just prove one thing, Common Craft cannot be copied. No one but Lee and Sachi have the pixie dust to turn 3 minute videos into something magical. I totally agree with this piece of the press release:

"The simple format, clear communication and lighthearted attitude connects with people on a fundamental level. They make people smile in three minutes."

As the pay-TV industry has learned over the years - and Netflix has more recently - the pay-once/watch-as-much-as-you'd like aspect of subscriptions is very compelling. The purchase decision needs to be made just once up-front and thereafter the provider can focus on delivering value. That's the approach Common Craft is now using and it looks like a smart move.

There are a lot of reasons I'm delighted by this latest evolution, not the least of which is my happiness at seeing friends succeed. But maybe the biggest one is this:

Nearly every traditional business model for content creation is in turmoil these days. Books, newspapers, television, movies, music — all of those industries are scrambling to cope with the challenges of a new and dynamic digital world. So when someone comes along who can create something terrific, who can do it really well, and can turn that into a viable business, it offers real hope for anyone who wants to earn a livelihood from their creative talents and skills.

A few months back April Joyner of Inc. Magazine contacted me to talk about the growth of videos as a sales tool.  I wasn't really sure what the article's angle, but spoke from our experience in working with clients on videos that explain their products.  The article is now online and in the print magazine.

My big points came out (mostly accurately) as:

• It's not about how something works, it's why anyone should care about
• The script is really important, write it first
• Keep it short

The article also profiles the video experiences of iPhone app company Smule, Kiva Systems and has a mention of our friends at Wistia.  Check it out.

Dear SSPR,
You have been sending me emails for months now, apparently from someone named Sarah who always has a "Story Idea:" for me. Since then I have asked three times (including a voicemail) to be removed from your distribution list. What happened today?  I received another email from Sarah about another awesome "STORY IDEA".

I've given up trying to stop your emails. You obviously don't care about my requests, or care that you're proving to me and a lot of others that you accomplish the opposite effect of PR - you demean your clients in front of the very people you're trying to reach. I would never write a story after receiving a pitch from you.

I know that stories from bloggers mean a lot to your clients. Do they know your tactics?  Do they know that you don't respect requests from the very people you are asking to write stories?  Do they know people like me consider you spammers?

I think the PR industry has a place in the online world and there are hordes of smart people in PR who have found the right ways to work with bloggers. I just received a pitch today from someone who had read this site and personalized their message. I respect them for taking the time.

You, SSPR, have a very long way to go. Like any relationship, your efforts must be built on honesty and respect. It has to be built on personal connections.  Every time you send an unwanted email and ignore removal requests, you are insulting me, yourselves and PR industry as a whole.  It's called spam and no one wants more of it.

What I want is for you to understand what is wrong with what you're doing.   Here are a number of resources and perspectives for understanding how to pitch bloggers.

Matt Haughey: How to Pitch Bloggers

Getting to First Base: Social Media Marketing Playbook (e-book)

Pro Blogger: 21 Tips on Pitching Bloggers

Stowe Boyd: The Growing Backlash Against PR Spam

I suppose I should be thankful in some ways, you've suceeded in giving me a "STORY IDEA", though I doubt it's what you wanted.

PS - I see you've made it onto the PR Spammers wiki.  Congrats on that.

Updated:

Just after posting this entry, I was contacted by Belinda Banks, Executive Vice President at SSPR, who was apologetic and said that change is happening in the company. From her message:

We have addressed this situation internally, not only with Sarah but with our entire staff, especially all of our new team members. Inaccurate pitching is a personal pet peeve of mine and we are striving for each staff member to resonate that same theme.
I appreciate Belinda's response, but at the same time, the proof is in the pudding.  I hope we'll see real change from them and others in the industry. 

I write that title with tongue firmly in-cheek. I do work with a couple of Fortune 500s, but Steve is reacting to the survey results that show that Google Results = Bad PR and referring to a case study I wrote a while back about using blogs to get better search results. He says:

Fortune 500 companies need to tear a page out of Common Craft's Google playbook. They boosted their Google rankings by defining a niche for their blog, targeting search phrases, naming categories for each phrase, and writing effectively about subjects related to each category.

I'm flattered, but I think it is an odd comparison to make. Here's an excerpt from the comment I left on the entry:

From my perspective, what Coke needs is the ability to have a voice in the "conversation". By having (something like) an authoritative blog on the soft drink industry, they can become a more powerful voice among the negative press. They can stand up for themselves and perhaps earn better Google rankings in the process.

They should be doing the same thing that brought me to this post -- listening to what the blog world is saying and responding like a person.