The Library
Below are a few of the services to which GroundFloor Media subscribes. We like to leave the administrative work to these vendors; it gives us more time to spend on what we do best – creating communications strategies and sharing our clients’ stories with their key audiences. The good news is that we don’t charge you extra for using these resources. Our pass-through cost model saves you money. And, quite frankly, it saves us the headache of explaining why you should pay us extra for a service you can subscribe to on your own.
Even if you’re just starting out, or working on a limited budget, you should look into these services yourself, so you can spend more time doing what you do best – growing your business.
(Note: Services with an asterisk* are free of charge.)
Industry Organizations : Learn more about the public relations industry from these nationally recognized organizations:
- Institute for PR – www.instituteforpr.com
- International Association of Business Communicators – www.iabc.com
- Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) – www.prsa.org
- Social Media Club – socialmediaclub.org
Awards/Speaking Opportunities/Trade Shows : Again, don’t waste your time doing something that’s already been done—go to these providers to see where you can stand up and be heard:
- Catchpole – www.catchpole.com
- Marketing with Honors – www.marketingwithhonors.com
- Trade Show News Network – www.tsnn.com
Coverage Tracking: Don’t spend your time tracking down every story that ran in every paper, on every newscast or was discussed in social networking mediums. Instead, subscribe to a service and let them do the dirty work we refer to as “clipping”:
- Bacon’s – www.bacons.com
- BurrellesLuce – www.burrellesluce.com
- Factiva – www.factiva.com
- Google News Alerts* – www.news.google.com
- Lexis* – www.lexis.com
- Radian6 – radian6.com
- Twilerts.com* – twilerts.com
- SM2 – techrigy.com
- Yahoo* – www.search.yahoo.com/subscriptions
Media Database : Here’s where you’ll find up-to-date contact information for print and broadcast reporters nationwide:
- MEDIAtlas – mediatlas.prnewswire.com
- MediaSource – www.bacons.com
- Vocus – www.vocus.com
Translation Services : Need that press release in Spanish? French? Japanese? Here’s where you’ll find reputable resources to translate your documents into different languages. And they know the subtle nuances to help it fit in culturally too:
- Translation Links – www.translationlinks.com
Wire Services : At the touch of a button, send your press release to news desks statewide, regionally, nationwide or even around the world:
- Business Wire – www.businesswire.com
- Marketwire – marketwire.com
- PR Newswire – www.prnewswire.com
- PRWeb – www.prwebdirect.com
Books of Interest : Below are some of our staff’s top picks for a little light reading:
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“The Confessions of an Ink-Stained Wretch: An Insider’s Secrets to Getting Press” by John F. Persinos |
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“A Big Life (in advertising)” by Mary Wells Lawrence |
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“All Marketers Are Liars” by Seth Godin |
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“Built to Last” by Jim Collins |
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“Good to Great” by Jim Collins |
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“Managing the Professional Service Firm” by David Maister |
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“The Big Moo” by Seth Godin |
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“The Fall of Advertising & The Rise of PR” by Al Ries & Laura Ries |
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“Why We Buy” by Paco Underhill |
