In the THIRD post in this series on ‘how to win free media for your business’, we look at press releases. Earlier we looked at the importance of thinking like the media, and there were also 15 pieces of advice to bear in mind when contacting the media. A well written and target media release can...Read More

These days we are faced with a wide range of media channels. More than ever before. It’s a minefield. But there are ways to cut through… It’s a tough old business Firstly, perception switch. Think of things from the media’s point of view. Media has become a very tough business over the past decade or...Read More

Rather than put up an informed debate, all you need now do is roar ‘fake news!’ at anything you don’t like. How has it come to this? Right off the bat let’s be clear what ‘fake news‘ is. It’s pure fabrication, invention and lies dressed up as a news story. It is intended to deceive....Read More

Have a look around the world at the less democratic countries, and there you will see a neutered or government-controlled press. I was in a South-East Asian country last year on assignment, and the ruling government managed to put one of the main independent newspapers out of business declaring it had not paid its correct...Read More

When we were contemplating the best revenue model for aussiehome.com, the online real estate portal we established in 1999, we considered the following main alternatives: Subscriptions – real estates agents pay regular fees to list their properties Advertising – advertisers pay for display ads on the website eCommerce – home seekers can buy/rent directly off...Read More

Do facts matter anymore? The person who would go on to win the 2016 US Presidential election made statements that were true (or mostly true) only 15% of the time over the election cycle. His opponent’s statements were true or mostly true 55% of the time. Fake news was shared more than correct news. Last year, the...Read More

Last week I did a talk to BloomLab, the university based co-working space for student startup folk here in Perth, WA. My slides are visible above (and also here). Here is my 10 “flearnings” (learning from failures) – hard won advice from making the wrong decisions (many times), but learning from them. Startups are easy...Read More

The latest newspaper circulation figures for Australian media organisations make for more sorry reading. Every title, no matter how they try to dress it up (and, boy, have they tried) is in the red, as the graphic above shows (courtesy: ABC News). Fairfax media seem to have totally given up on print’s future, calling the newspaper...Read More

As you will know, dear reader, I made a career change earlier this year, to work for a local business news media organisation. Looking at the chart above, you may wonder why! I’m absolutely loving it. The attraction of the position was to be front and centre of a major shift in how media companies arrange...Read More