The Importance of Being Media Ready

I had just come off my weekly Teleclass to my clients in London and it was 9.15pm at night. I was washing up the last of the dishes from the celebration of Australia Day with 15 friends in my back yard.

As I was reflecting on just how blessed I was to have friends who fill me with such joy …… when I was startled by the shrill sound of the telephone.

It was a reporter from the ABC in Brisbane apologetic about the time and date but asking for comment for tomorrows breakfast news. Someone has released a study on seachange and treechange and she wanted me to comment.

This is just a valuable example of how important it is to be media ready. The media have no shame as to how and when they will contact you and when they get you on the phone in these odd circumstances, they want your opinion NOW. This is the power of a strong WHO and WHAT and is what happens when your website its keyword rich with the topic they are looking for.

If you haven’t encountered the media yet, what I have found to be most common is that they will tell you their name and the media outlet they are from. Immediately after that they will rocket straight into what they want from you and what their story or article is about.

The big thing to remember is that reporters work to tight deadlines and are constantly stressed and time poor. The easier you can make it for them, the more chance you have of being called for other stories.

Media such as magazines or specialty interest stories have wider deadlines but radio and general news want your comments NOW.

The answer is to have general comments prepared and ready and to be clear which side of a story you are on and be very willing to add value where you can.

To deal with the NOW situation, I recommend the following, assuming you feel comfortable about the story and wish to be quoted.

1. Take control immediately and turn the tables and start asking as many questions as you can think about on the spot about the article or the story they are proposing.

2. Always keep a pad and pen by the phone and scribble down as much as you can

3. Don’t feel pressured to give an immediate response, buy yourself some time by simply asking them to phone you back.

4. Go immediately to your office space or a quiet space

5. No matter what is going on in your life, focus into the NOW moment

6. Quickly decide one or two points you want to get across that relate to the story.

7. When the reporter phones back, be clear and concise with your answers, keeping your comments as relevant as you can to the topic

8. Try to add value to their story and if possible try to give an opposing point of view or a different take on the story

9. Then shamelessly self promote your media inclusion to anyone who will listen!!!

The media are simply looking for content and if you can quickly get to the point they will love you.

BUT be warned - the media can make or break you and you have to be prepared and willing to accept the consequences if they do a bad story. I had an instance where I got a small inclusion in a story about the dark side of seachange and a reader took exception to my circumstances and wrote a damming letter to the editor which got printed the following week. It was so bad my friends encouraged me not to read it and to this day I haven’t but the story itself got me a lot of recognition I could never have achieved on my own.

So tread with caution but also know free pr and free media is one of the quickest ways to get recognition and your name out to many for free.

So you will hear me on the ABC in Brisbane tomorrow commenting on recent research that says Treechangers and Seachangers are changing their behaviors because the nature of some popular destinations like Byron Bay have become over populated. I quickly chose to take the stance that people moving to a new place will always seek things that are known to them and will still seek places like Byron or Daylesford because we have culture such as cafes and restaurants that will help them acclimatize. There were a thousand takes on the story but that was the one I chose after a long busy day.

The golden rule of media from my rock and roll days was: any news is good news and it generally is, so get yourself media ready and get that message out to the world.

Then afterwards you self promote and ensure you are even more ready for the next call.

Do You Have A CHOOSE Day?

The Beatles made a lot of money from a song called Eight Days a Week but to make a lot of money in your small business doesn’t mean you have to work Eight Days a Week.

Work life balance and starting a small business are not often seen on the same page. Somewhere in the “silent code book for small business – author unknown” there is a rule that says you have to work your butt off to be successful and everyone somehow finds that rule and adheres to it.

Most certainly you do need to put in a lot of time and effort in the early days ……. BUT if you work yourself into a burnout frenzy, you are NOT going to be able to work effectively IN your business, let alone ON your business.

One of my fabulous coaches and mentors the lovely Belinda Merry taught me that you MUST have regular time off to rest and recuperate. That message is even more important for health and wellbeing practitioners.


If you aren’t 100% filled up, you can’t give 100% to others.

In the early days of setting up your practice you need to be out and about seeing and speaking with a lot of people and it can be exhausting. If your practice is already full or filling, it can be exhausting just giving as much as you do to your clients so balancing that with adequate rest and down time is vital to your success.

BUT there IS a lot of work in getting any small business working well and sometimes you do have to burn a bit of midnight oil to get all the things done that you’ve got to do. Plus most of us have a home office and the temptation to overwork is generally just a few steps down the hall.

So I’ve come up with strategy that works for me.

I have ONE NON-NEGOTIABLE DAY OFF EVERY WEEK.

That means no matter what is going on I MUST NOT go into my office, nor turn my computer on, nor answer the office phone, nor do filing or paperwork – nothing! One day a week has to be completely for me. That rule never gets broken because I know Belinda has a global tracking satellite at her international headquarters that registers if you work on your day off and she will come after me!

I found if I had two non negotiable days off and there was a back log starting to build in my office, all that would happen is that I’d end up stressing about it.

So I created the concept of CHOOSE DAY

I create a CHOOSE DAY in my diary one day every week. So I cross the day off and write in CHOOSE DAY. It can be any day of the week, it doesn’t have to be a set day each week but it does have to be in your diary every week – months in advance.
So when CHOOSE DAY rolls around I can look at that day and think – is there anything so pressing it can’t wait until tomorrow?
Sometimes there are pressing things that MUST be done so I choose to work part of the day. Sometimes I use CHOOSE DAY as my creative writing day, which I love and it fills me up. Other times I know there is nothing pressing so I have CHOOSE DAY off to dig my garden without guilt, or go shopping or just rest and read a book. What is important is that I get to CHOOSE.

The golden rule is that you NEVER book anything else on a CHOOSE DAY so that when it rolls around you have a true choice in how you spend that day. I find by having a CHOOSE DAY I end up with eight days in a week because I tend to jam everything into the other days of the week so CHOOSE DAY remains free. I find it stops me procrastinating on the other days and I just get on with whatever needs doing so my CHOOSE Day remains a “me” day.

Sacred Tours with Keepers Of Wisdom Jeremy Donovan and Harold Tayley

Amazing opportunities arise every day but the opportunity to experience something this extraordinary with people who hold their land and their knowledge so sacred do not come up every day. Put this on your wish list - I have!

Sacred Tours with Keepers Of Wisdom Jeremy Donovan and Harold Tayley are from the Kuku -Yalanji Nation of Far North Queensland.

After lengthy consideration Jeremy and his family will now open their sacred world up for you to experience the richness of Australia’s Ancient History.

This tour will be a 6 Day Tour where you will be given the opportunity to experience the rich Rainforest cultural beliefs and participate in some of the Sacred Healing Traditions.

The Trip will consist of 2 nights staying at the 5 Star Thala Beach Eco Lodge, on the 1st and last night.

The other nights will be sleeping out on the land beneath the Stars in supplied swags.

Guided by Jeremy Donovan and Harold Tayley, the tour will give you an insight into the Traditional life of the Kuku - Yalanji including Bush Food, Hunting Traditions, Rock Art, Healing and Sacred Ceremony.

Both Jeremy and Harold are well known for there Cultural Knowledge and Healing Traditions. Jeremy has Travelled extensively throughout Australia and Internationally sharing his Inspiring Story, Sacred Music and Healing.

This tour will give people the opportunity to live and experience Australia’s Aboriginal Cultural breaking down the walls of separation, giving each individual a unique opportunity to feel the pride in Australia’s Custodian Culture. The Tour is limited to 10 people per tour assuring an intimate and personal experience.

15th August - 2oth August 2010

Tour Cost $2200.00p/p

all major meals, transport and accommodation will be included. (Flights to Cairns Not included)

Due to the Nature of this Sacred Trip and its location please contact Jeremy for details of the Itinerary: 0410 779 789 or healing@jeremydonovan.com.au
www.jeremydonovan.com.au

Downloadable PDF Brochure click here

Changes in Technology

This is the movie I made from three clips shot from my new FlipCam - too much fun!



The New Year is such a fabulous time to look back and come to terms with what has happened in the past few years.

Something I've been marvelling over the holidays is just how much has changed in the past thirty years. As a teenager in the 70's we used to roam about town with no idea what anyone else was doing, we bought music on tapes or vinyl and didn't even own a computer. We played music on instruments not computers and we actually had to be there to play them! If we wanted to record it cost a fortune and you needed a record deal anyway and well the thought of making a video was so far from our minds - we had never heard of MTV!

In contrast, just today:

* I have spoken to the world via Facebook

* Recorded audio down a phone line in the USA at a fraction of the cost to get similar quality in a studio and I've got instant access to the product to stream out to the world within seconds of hitting the stop button.

* I've set up autoresponders which will automatically deliver a learning program worldwide while I sleep...........

* And I've saved videos at a quality that couldn't be imaged from a devise smaller than the packet of cigarettes that used to go in our top pocket in the 70's (and of course now we are fully aware of the dangers of smoking because we can Google it on our mobile phone........that plays more things than our average lounge room could cope with 30 years ago)

BUT what hasn't changed is quality time spent with friends, eating food made with love and relaxing in beautiful surroundings - no machine for that.......yet!