VT Business Expo Booths

Rachel Carter PR apprentice, Emily Bellmore, and myself headed off to the Vermont Business Expo a few weeks ago held at the Sheraton Burlington.

The Sheraton really does hold the prize (in my opinion) for the best conference space in Vermont. I have never attended an event there that wasn't polished and must give kudos to the Sheraton for another job well done. Of course, I would also have to give kudos to Delaney Meetings & Events, which I think most folks would agree, offer a second-to-none industry standard for event planning in Vermont. And a major hats off to Antonia Opitz of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce who is responsible for the entire overall event. Great work!

Emily and I planned for a full day at the Expo for two reasons: The first is I wanted to give Emily a good amount of time to meet friends and colleagues of mine and really actively engage in an apprenticeship. The other is I wanted to have the chance to see what other businesses are doing in Vermont! As a small business owner, I seldom get the opportunity to just check out other people's work and talk with them about what they are doing. It was refreshing and enjoyable. (Pictured here is Emily engaged in booth games)

Most fun was checking out the booths - let's see if my thoughts match up with any of the winners:

One fun stop was chatting with my friends at Shadow Productions. Not sure if they were trying for a booth award, but their friendliness and general way they do business is award worthy in itself!


Always good to chat with my friends at City Market and wherever they go, they present themselves right on target with their brand - good work!


When I played the Wheel-of-Fortune, I won a ham from McKenzie Country Classics. Unfortunately I did not actually redeem my prize because I had no place to keep it cold, but was most appreciative - perhaps they can partner with a local cooler provider?


Tilley's Cafe certainly rocked both the games and the costumes - they are so good at presenting themselves. Oh, and they have valet parking in downtown Burlington - talk about solving problems and having amazing customer service!



And then there was my personal favorite booth - Safeguard of Vermont (and New Hampshire). These folks had costumes! And not partial - full on! They even had a rocking horse to go along with their western theme. Oh, and what do they do? Promotional products! I think they have won my business for creating Vermont Vibes car decals!


Interested in knowing who actually won awards? Check out the VT Expo Best Booth Awards!!!

Tweet Tweet Tweet

Twitter took a foodie turn in the Mad River Valley last night at the Round Barn Farm's Great Vermont Locavore Tweet-up. Created by Chef Charlie Menard of the Round Barn Farm's local and organic catering company, Cooking From the Heart, the event brought together Vermont foodies, localvore supporters and participants, and Vermont twitterers. Promoted mostly by the Round Barn Farm on Twitter - http://twitter.com/roundbarnfarm, the event was well attended with the perfect mix of the above!

Seven Days also whisked it into this week's issue and you can check out more on the event in the article.

I'd like to take a few moments to recognize some of the great folks I met and caught up with last night and instead of linking to their websites, I will direct you to their Twitter pages!

I had a fantastic time chatting with Jeff Connor, owner of the Grunberg Haus, a delightful inn located in Waterbury and also the author of one of my favorite Vermont Blogs - Vermont Travel Notes!
http://twitter.com/GrunbergHausVT

It was great to catch up with my old neighbors from the Bobbin Sew Bar & Craft Lounge and awesome to see how well they are doing and living out their passions and mission!
http://twitter.com/thebobbin

I loved meeting MariaLisa Calta in person - one of Vermont's very best food writers and also the PR gal for Circus Smirkus - one of Vermont's best entertainment concepts ever!
www.smirkus.com - (no Twitter yet, but I am sure it won't be long!)

It was inspiring chatting with Brian Swichkow, an energetic, driven, and talented young Vermont entrepreneur - watch this guy!
http://twitter.com/swichi293

Meeting neighbor and Seven Days' creative culinary writer, Suzanne Podhaizer, was a treat - she is so innovative with covering Vermont food related stories and integrates excellent social media practices!
http://twitter.com/feedmenow

I am very much looking forward the story Candace Page from the Burlington Free Press is working on - she's creatively incorporating 140 characters into it and can't wait to check it out!
http://twitter.com/CandacePage

As always I enjoy running into Amy Kirschner, the amazing mastermind behind Vermont Sustainable Exchange, and really enjoyed being able to spend some time together!
http://twitter.com/vtexchange

It was great chatting briefly with Vermont Edition's Jane Lindholm - one of my most favorite segments of VPR; after maybe the jazz I enjoy at night and did so as I headed home from the Tweet-up.
http://twitter.com/JaneLindholm

And of course always running into PR pals - wish we could all spend more time together - colleagues are not part of running your own business!
Claudia RenchyMorton of KSV - http://twitter.com/MonkeyHouseMama
Andrea Learned (women marketing guru) - http://twitter.com/AndreaLearned
Sandy Yusen of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters - http://twitter.com/sryusen
Nicole Fenton of City Market - http://twitter.com/NicoleFenton

Oh, and my Twitter is http://twitter.com/RachelCarterPR

Kudos Chef Charlie and the Round Barn Farm! This event was great proof of how social media connects people on a real, personal level - yay!

VT Business Conference Report

It may be a Monday, but I feel as if I am in the midst of Vermont Conference Week. Friday wrapped up the start with the Women Business Owner's Network (WBON) Conference at the Hilton in Burlington. As outlined in the below post, the New World of PR was the overall topic and the speakers were great! I was especially impressed with the Seven Days speech by Pamela Polston and Paula Routly. And, no, I am not just saying that because I am a PR person. I was inspired by their tenacity and boldness (which as the owners/publishers/editors of Seven Days I am fully aware, but was inspired to hear it live) and was also completely amused by the way they told the story. And when it comes down to it folks - traditional PR, new age PR, tech PR - it's all about how you tell the story. Be real and make it relevant. Pamela and Paula did this for the large group of women business owners who gathered for this well run conference.

I think my workshops went well and enjoyed helping business owners try to figure out all this new media slop so it's actually a bit tasty. I will say the Hilton needs to get with the program and stop trying to be so obvious about trying to make a buck and offer wireless to all as a part of their conference package. Is it really worth annoying several presenters so you can charge ten bucks per wireless session? Couldn't you just include wireless for all at a conference with a password in the fee structure? Are you really that ignorant to customer feedback? Maybe you need to Twitter.

So moving on now that it's the middle of Vermont Conference Week - this Wednesday and Thursday is the long anticipated Vermont Business EXPO brought to us by the new media savvy Vermont Business Magazine and my new favorite networking vehicle - the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. Every day I learn more reasons as to why Vermont businesses should be a member and do believe my Vermont public relations business will be joining in the near future. And speaking of savvy, check out the EXPO's You Tube feature!



If you haven't made plans to attend this year's EXPO, you should seriously re-consider your marketing goals and make sure there is a measurable reason why you are not attending. (Even if you don't have a booth, you can still attend - otherwise why would there be booths?)

Hope to see lots of folks there - I will be there for the day Wednesday!

Building Blocks For Literacy

I had the utmost privilege to work with the fine folks at the Stern Center for Language and Learning in Williston, Vermont last year to help with PR trainings for the launch of BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LITERACY®, a research-proven program for parents and early care/education providers to help prepare children for literacy success.

The experience of working in a training capacity was great and the Stern Center in general is an amazing organization committed to helping individuals identify their learning strengths as well as their needs and to finding solutions that allow everyone to learn. But I must say, the most rewarding part of my work with the Stern Center was truly learning about BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LITERACY®. This program really is what it is all about as far as putting an end to the lack of literacy that afflicts this country. And instead of people just blaming the fact that both parents have to work to support families in today's world, BUILDING BLOCKS directly attacks the root of the problem without placing any sort of blame. It trains those who teach the young children - preschool teachers, parents, and other committed adults to easily encourage the practice of the specific skills which held children learn to read.

From the press release distributed nationwide when the program launched a few weeks ago: This free on-line 12-hour course provides adults with a toolbox of enjoyable activities to build a solid foundation for children to succeed at reading once they enter school. Studies have shown that this kind of preparation can help decrease the number of children at-risk for reading failure.


And studies for real - the Stern Center is by far one of the most respected and well researched institutions dealing with literacy and while the official research specific to BUILDING BLOCKS began back in 1997, it truly began when charismatic Dr. Blanche Podhajski founded the Stern Center in 1983.

Kudos and hats off to all involved and if you're reading this and have a preschool age child or know people who do - do everyone a favor and send them this link - www.BuildingBlocksForLiteracy.org!

The New World of Public Relations

It is a whole new world out there and the dino days of old school PR are either done or need to be completely integrated into the existing landscape of social media, grassroots networking, word of mouth marketing, and viral communicating. As Peter Shankman referred to and we all know - old white dudes don't run the show anymore.

Interested in learning more? If you are a woman business owner, aspiring business owner, or marketing professional, I HIGHLY suggest signing up and attending the Women Business Owner's Network spring seminar - The New Rules of Online Marketing & Public Relations.

I first joined the WBON two years ago, a few years after I started my Vermont public relations business and the first event I attended was the spring seminar. I left that seminar and started a website, met with a banker, registered with the state as an official business, found a bookkeeper and began preparing for my own accounting process, and started three blogs. Now I am in my third year of business and I credit so much of what I have learned to my experiences with the WBON. When I chat with other aspiring women business owners, the first piece of advice I give them is to join and learn from this fantastic organization.

The spring seminar is being held next Friday, May 15th at the Hilton in Burlington, Vermont. Presentations and workshops will be presented by the following:

Paula Routly & Pamela Polston - Seven Days

Pat Heffernan - Marketing Partners

April Cornell - April Cornell Holdings and http://musings.aprilcornell.com/

Elaine Young - Champlain College and http://champlainprofessor.blogspot.com

Marion Dane Abrams - Madmotion, LLC

Teresa Langston - Net-Spin, Inc.

Cathy Resmer - Seven Days and http://7d.blogs.com/blurt/

and myself - Rachel Carter PR

I am honored to be among such a stellar cast of marketing and PR professionals and media experts and am excited for the wealth of information that will be flowing through the seminar. Don't miss out - this is a GREAT chance to propel your business forward and gain concrete next steps as to how you can more effectively manage your marketing in sync with how the world really works.

More info is at www.wbon.org - see you next week!

Help A Reporter Out

This morning I bounced out of my springing and budding farmland wonderland into the Burlington metropolis to hear Peter Shankman speak. My awesome PR apprentice, Emily Bellmore, went as well. Hosted by Fuse Marketing - the hip, innovative leader in youth marketing - this event was well attended by many in the VT PR scene - many of whom belong to said Google Group - VTPR.

Peter Shankman is a sort of PR Lord in my opinion because he is so real, says it like it is, and is just plain right. As a fan and active proponent of these qualities, I found it so awesome that he was saying what I have been saying - social media makes PR have to be real, honest, and a true conversation!

And if you don't believe me or want to squabble about the integration of social media into your PR, this guy stood on a NYC street corner in the late 90's with a cardboard resume on and handed out resumes all day in the NYC cold (not the same as VT cold, but still cold when dressed in a suit and cardboard resume). Um, yeah, he got like 400-something phone calls, 70-something job interviews, and 30-something job offers. Kind of reminds me of one of my most fantastic interns who mailed out a pillow case with her resume ironed on it and said, "sleep on this."

Anyway, Peter Shankman, operates the website and media/PR service - Help A Reporter Out (HARO). For those of you who have been getting random media leads from me and wonder where I get them - from Peter Shankman.

His entertaining speech this morning at Burlington's Courtyard Marriott touched on four aspects of what social media is and how it has affected traditional public relations (these are Rachel Carter PR interpretations):

1.) Transparency - There is no more hiding behind the marketing of what you say anymore because it's all about what others say and who hears them. Admit it when you're wrong or you'll be crushed.

2.) Relevance - Stop telling people crap they don't want to hear!

3.) Brevity - The average person moves on from your message in 2.7 seconds so not only will the page long pitch be too long, the paragraph one has runs its course as well. In fact, if you're still reading this blog you are a sought after statistic!

4.) Top Of Mind Presence - I feel much more at ease at the fact that I never seem to have any time because I am always spending so much time networking an chatting and hanging out with peeps online. It's all about being top of mind!

Thanks Peter for liking Vermont and clarifying what seems to me should be obvious, but obviously isn't! You rock!

PS - I had to share this picture I found - the essence of Peter's great personality he displayed today and what great PR for Harrah's Resort.

Lead Times

I am so grateful and thankful for the awesome press I have gotten lately. I guess if a PR person can't do well getting their own press than how can they do well getting others? With all of this great press comes a lot of inquiries which rocks! It is awesome and I am so very thankful for all of the interest.

I feel I must put a note out to those interested in my potential services and as I reiterated at the VT Travel Industry Conference, PR (whether it's traditional or social media) takes time and patience.

Think of it this way, if you are a paying client, and I tell you I need to push one of your deadline driven projects or cannot respond to the media and their lead times and deadlines because I have to go to a bunch of new business meetings, how would that resonate with you as your PR provider? I would imagine not very well.

It is for this exact reason that I work on longer lead times for new business.

I don't know everything and I certainly don't know everything about running a business, but I do know if I neglect my personal life and health so I can fit everyone in, than my reasons for starting this business in the first place are completely in vein. I also know that all of my wonderful paying clients have made a commitment to me and I to them and I must honor and respect that even if that means a new potential client's deadlines do not become number one.

Rachel Carter PR is a one person operation. I have assistance from my fantastic significant other who acts as my mailroom assistant, courier, banking assistant, photographer, and sometimes research assistant, but that can only go so far and I want to make sure our engagement and commitment to each other is not secondary to my business. This is a continuous struggle that I am tackling as my number one priority this spring and summer.

I have had interns in the past and currently am working with an apprentice to be able to take on some of the work load, which is at my discretion, not at the request of a potential client. I do not currently have any openings for interns.

I also do not want to grow into a larger structure, but want to focus my business on being sustainable as a one person operation so I can be true to my values and life goals.

There are many reasons marketing agencies with PR departments exist and one of those reasons is to offer clients with limited wait time because there is the staff structure to support new business opportunities.

To all prospective clients - I want to help you with your PR efforts and I want to be able to work with everyone who wants to work with me. To do so, I need some help on your part. Here are a few guidelines to help me help you:

1.) Do not wait until you are ready to start implementing PR to try to make an appointment. There are two reasons for this - one is so you can get on my schedule and the other is because you should be thinking about PR as you get other marketing efforts coordinated.

2.) Understand I work on a month lead time to schedule new business meetings. This is because I bill monthly and have my scope of work planned out for the month and need to allow for last minute deadlines and issues for my clients as well. Please remember, I do not have mini me's to help out in time crunches. It is never too early to schedule a new business meeting, but it can be too late.

3.) If you would like me to help with event promotion I require at least a six month lead time (a year is preferable). If you bring me on from the beginning, it will be more cost effective and way less headaches for all involved. This is going to be true for anyone you are looking at for PR - events need lots of lead times and they need PR to be integrated with all other marketing efforts. PR is no longer a stand alone marketing effort!!!

4.) Please consider all aspects of potentially working together. A longer term, less-up-front cost relationship is going to be far more beneficial for you in the long run than the hurry-up-and-wait syndrome. This does not necessarily mean I am trying to get you in some long term retainer relationship. I am trying to help you think of other ways to handle your PR. Could I provide longer term consulting to help keep you on track with your PR efforts? Do you have or should you have a marketing assistant I could train to handle your PR and provide a minimal supervisory role with them over the long haul of your PR? Both of these services I offer and both have been very effectively executed with clients.

5.) Are you looking at PR as a cheap alternative to advertising? Are you trying to promote something to get funding first so you can continue? Are you trying to publicize before you have anywhere for the public or media to get any further information? Do you have no idea what your target audience is or what you are trying to say? If you answer yes to any of these questions, than Rachel Carter PR is not a right fit for you.

Thank you for listening and hopefully understanding. Love and Light to All.