"Joe AutoDrill" wrote in message
...
The definition of "press" is kinda vague in my mind. Bloggers could be
press in my book.

Not in theirs, for the most part. Keep in mind their purpose in giving
members of the press free entry: They want publicity coverage to promote
their shows, both before and after. If they think you'll provide that,
they'll give you a pass.

The paradigm of what is effective "press" and what is not has changed. To
be honest, anyone who thinks print media will give their show or business
or whatever more coverage than a long lasting, well woreded blog or
internet post on a web site is probably wrong.

I've yet to see evidence of that, Joe. The print media are taking a beating,
but narrow-interest Internet media don't seem to be replacing them, in terms
of numbers of viewers attracted to an individual source. That's not to say
it won't happen, but the concentration of readership, as of a couple of
years ago, was all in favor of special-interest print media.

Now, *total* readership of Internet media doubtless is higher. But there are
so many voices that there is no effective way to "cover" a market with them,
at least, in industry. There are a lot of reasons for this but the primary
one is that the specialized media depend heavily on their long-developed,
institutionalized ways of internally communicating, and no such thing exists
for metalworking in Internet media. I doubt if any bloggers are getting 300+
press releases before a major trade show, for example. I frequently got
300 - 600 for a show all by myself when I was writing for relatively
large-circulation industrial magazines. The publicity managers only had to
mail to a dozen of us who wrote about the machining trades and they could
cover 65% or a little more of the market. Covering the other 35% is very
difficult, and it might take 100 mailings to cover another 20%. Publicity is
a numbers game.


...At least when you look at the "bang per buck" model of evaluating it.
For the price of a 1/8th page ad in some magazines, I can set up a decent
web site dedicated to the product and host it for two years.

Sure. But you're talking about advertising. Publicity and advertising are
two different animals. And the role that your web site is fulfilling in the
marketing-communications mix is not much like that filled by print
advertising. You may get a similar result, but it's coming to you in a
different way.

For example, a specialized web site for a narrow interest (yours) actually
is an intermediate step in making most industrial sales. It's probably doing
a good and cost-effective job of informing people about your products but a
poor one of building your recognition among the potential market. There are
still at least 120,000 or so commercial metalworking shops and plants in the
US. You can't reach them with a web site for a specialized business, so
you're not priming the pump with that web site. What you're probably doing
is drawing in an audience that already has a high interest in your product.
That's a good thing, but it doesn't get you in touch with a large percentage
of the market that doesn't know you exist.


When I was working for metalworking magazines I'd write multi-page
reports that were sent to roughly 100,000 subscribers. That's what SME
and the other sponsoring organizations are looking for.

I can understand their reasoning but also see that in most cases, this
reasoning is based on 10-20 year old thinking. Have you seen the
metalworking magazines lately? What used to be 100 pages is sometimes 20.
Dying media for the most part.

Every month. I spent an hour talking to Mark Albert at _Modern Machine Shop_
the other day. I have standing orders for articles from three more
magazines. I don't think I'll write them, for several reasons, but I'm in
touch with the industry.

There are few long-experienced pros in that business these days, and even
fewer in industrial advertising. As a business, it's just hanging on.


I wouldn't lie... I'd simply explain the truth from my perspective.

Well, this isn't a government or legal function. The whole thing is
entirely at their discretion. They don't just hand them out because
someone thinks he deserves to be treated like the working press.

Understood.

As for published articles - at least one that I know of but not in a
relevant field I'm afraid unless they consider non-malicious hacking's
historical viewpoint on-topic to their event... And the magazine was
certainly not industrial in nature at all.

No press pass for you, then. d8-)

That's about what I figured.

CLIP

After all, I also write reviews from time to time for a metalworking
forum that is tied into the very backbone and origins of the internet.
The potential readership is HUGE too.... Rec.Crafts.Metalworking. G


No sale. So solly.

Hey... It's a spin dependent upon the listener not being techical enough
to have a clue what this place is.

Enjoy the shows. Covering them for the press is hard work and it eats up
a lot of shoe leather. We did not particularly look forward to IMTS,
because it meant walking miles and miles ten hours every day for over a
week, listening to people promote their products, conduct interviews at
high speed, and try to shoot publication-quality photos on the run. I
used to carry up to 30 pounds of camera gear. It was a workout.

Ick...Does not sound like fun.

I don't think I'd try to get in as press to be honest. It was more of a
"how do I get that on my resume/business card/list of credentials" thing.
If a show is on my schedule to attend and it's business related, I have no
problem paying the entrance fee - but will avoid it for frugality's sake
if possible. If I happen to be local to a show and I just want to make a
lap around the room, then I feel silly paying all that money just to take
a chance on seeing something useful. The packaging show I mentioned in
the OP is a perfect case. I don't need to know anything about packaging
at all. If I go, it's because I'm local and would be open to being
surprised with something useful.

Well, it's a cost of doing business for many people. Trade shows are always
a mixed bag -- like magazines, there are too many of them -- but they're one
way to keep your finger on the pulse of your industry. It's all too easy, as
you doubtless know, to wind up being insulated when you serve a small
market.


In any case, don't expect to see me with camera gear or press credentials.

You're probably a lot better off avoiding it. g For one thing, when people
see your press badge, they want to corner you and talk your ear off. It's
better for you, I'm sure, to be free of that and just to go where you want
and see what you want.

--
Ed Huntress