Martial Arts Professional Magazine

The philosophy of martial arts is ready-made to attract the attention of the public. Few professionals are better qualified than Paul Hartunian to help you learn and use his low-cost public relations formula to create and benefit from a celebrity status in your community and achieve recognition that can translate into a growing, prosperous school.

Dr. Paul Hartunian is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the subject of generating free publicity for businesses of all sizes. After becoming the man who really sold the Brooklyn Bridge, he parlayed his celebrity status and the public relations program he had developed into a multi-millionaire consulting business. Today, he is an author, lecturer and advisor to many large corporations that pay him large fees to review their press releases and publicity programs.

Paul and some of his publicity students have been featured on many TV shows, including The Phil Donahue Show, The Jenny Jones Show, The Regis Philban Show, The Tonight Show and CNN News; in major print media, such as, Smart Money, Forbes, Money Magazine, USA Today,The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times; and more than 1,000 other radio and TV talk shows.

Rob Colasanti: I’ve studied your work, and I know that most of what you teach has been time-tested. It’s invaluable and really works, which is why this interview will be of great benefit to martial arts professionals throughout the world. Using the public relations techniques you teach can certainly help school owners promote their schools and student quality. Paul, what is public relations, or PR, and why is it so important that every martial arts school owner understand how to harness its power?

Paul Hartunian: Let me start by saying that the principles I will present during this interview were just as effective 10 to 20 years ago, and I am convinced that they will be equally effective 20, 30, 40 and 50 years from now.

Public relations, PR or publicity, can be considered the opposite of advertising, but PR also complements your marketing or advertising program. Running an ad, mailing sales letters and distributing coupons are valuable advertising efforts; however, according to most studies, 98 to 99 percent of business owners advertise, but do not have a publicity program. The major reason why every business owner must learn how to use publicity is because we’ve moved from being a credential society, 10 to 20 years ago, to a celebrity-obsessed society, which occurred dramatically during the 1990’s. In a credential society, you judge a businesses or business owners by their education, professional honors and awards and their reputations. In a celebrity-obsessed society, people are judged according to their media coverage and appearances. For better or worse, great credentials are no longer enough to penetrate markets, increase your customer base and generate greater profits.

Rob Colasanti: From your observations, how well does the average martial arts school owner generate PR?

Paul Hartunian: I’ve dealt with many martial arts schools, and they do a terrible job at publicity. Ironically, they have so many great stories that would interest media reporters, but martial artists are not distributing their stories to the media, although they are ready to give school owners thousands of dollars in newspaper space and/or radio and TV airtime. (To make this interview easier, I’ll use the word “reporters” to refer to all journalists, talk show hosts, producers and editors, etc.)

Rob Colasanti: Why do you think that school owners miss this opportunity? Is there a self-limiting mindset or are they putting the “principals of their arts” above their business. Is it a lack of knowledge?

Hartunian: It has very little to do with them being martial arts school owners. In many cases, they don’t think they are qualified. They’ve been told that only professionals can write a powerful press release or that they must have a journalism background or great writing skills. None of that is correct. My purpose is to show all small business owners that they can write a great press release because it has nothing to do with one’s education or skills, except following directions. The secret to write a great press release is to follow a template that has already been tested and tried. This is no different than the many proven templates, formulas and strategies NAPMA provides its members to help them save time and money, so they don’t have to experiment on their own.

Rob Colasanti: What are some of the media outlets that martial arts instructors should consistently target for PR opportunities?

Paul Hartunian: First, I want to make it very clear that a business is a business is a business. They’re all the same when it comes to PR. It makes no difference whether you sell martial arts lessons, pizza, plumbing or roofing; the principles are exactly the same.

There are two groups of reporters to target: one I call the obvious group and the other is not so obvious. Obvious reporters for martial arts schools are those that write athletics, sports, physical fitness and health stories. In most cases, school owners and general business owners overlook the notso-obvious reporters because they don’t spend a little time thinking of creative angles for a story.

For example, you wouldn’t think a martial arts school owner would put a cooking reporter on his press release distribution list, unless he or an instructor at his school happens to be an amateur chef and wins a cooking competition. Another example is the school owner or instructor that travels to Asia to research martial arts. That’s an opportunity to submit a story to a travel reporter.

Sometimes, a story could appeal to two editors. Let’s say an attorney studies martial arts and is a Black Belt. He decides to close his legal practice and open a martial arts school. That generates two great stories, one for a legal reporter and another for a business reporter. You can expand the interest of the media in your school, just by slightly slanting your story, without much effort.

Rob Colasanti: What is another publicity strategy that school owners could easily use?

Paul Hartunian: Because most martial arts schools are housed in commercial properties, the school owners can volunteer their schools to be a focal point of community activities. For example, a school could be a collection site for Toys for Tots or a place to meet the Easter Bunny. You can use your physical location nearly every month of the year as a community outreach site.

Another benefit of this strategy is the halo effect. In other words, the community perceives you as being an “angel” because you’re willing to share and give back to the community.

Another idea is to sponsor a local athletic team: softball, Little League, Pop Warner football, etc. The publicity benefit is that the team is named after your business and displays that name on its jerseys or uniforms. When the local media reports on your sponsored team, they are using your school’s name when they refer to the team: Rob’s Judo School beat Miller Optician, six to four. Of course, there is a game every week throughout the team’s season, which means you receive regular publicity.

You can squeeze even more publicity from the team sponsorship angle by submitting a story every week, profiling one of the team members. The girl who plays second base on your sponsored softball team also plays flute in the community orchestra or is a merit scholar. You can use that kind of information to make a connection to the importance of character development, for instance, which is a primary benefit of martial arts for kids.

Colasanti: I’ve recently seen martial arts schools in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area generate publicity with similar ideas: one distributed candy at a community Halloween event. Another hosted a turkey brigade at Thanksgiving, while a third invited parents to have their children photographed and fingerprinted at the school in co-sponsorship with DARE. There are many opportunities in any community, if you just spend a little time researching and planning. Explain to our readers how writing a book can generate quite a bit of publicity.

Hartunian: I think one of the greatest ideas is to have a book published. Notice, I did not say write a book. You can write a book if you want. I currently have 67 or 68 books on Amazon.com.

Many business owners initial reaction is that they do like to write; in fact, they hate it. No problem; hire a ghostwriter, which is one of the secrets to write, publish and benefit from a book with your name on it.

Learn how to generate tons of free publicity for your school directly from Dr. Paul Harunian at the 2008 NAPMA Extreme Success Academy

Few professionals are better qualifi ed than Paul Hartunian to help you learn and use his low-cost public relations formula to create and benefit from a celebrity status in your community.

After years of working on his formula, Dr. Hartunian was presented with his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in 1983 to test it, and reap the rewards he thought it could produce. He was able to buy cheaply scrape parts of the Brooklyn Bridge that were being replaced. Within days, he became known as the man who really “sold the Brooklyn Bridge” — and earned millions. Read on for the details of his amazing story.

NAPMA President Rob Colasanti conducts another masterly interview, focusing the discussion on those lowcost strategies that you can use to create a celebrity status in your community. That is the key, according to Dr. Hartunian, because we live in a celebrity-obsessed society.

The philosophy, the purpose, of martial arts is readymade to attract the attention of the public. All you must do is apply Dr. Hartunian’s techniques to the unique message and programs of your school – the media and the public will do the rest – resulting in a level of community leadership and recognition that can only translate into a growing, prosperous school.

See Dr. Paul Hartunian* at the Extreme Success Academy in September 26–28. For more information and to register, visit ExtremeSuccessAcademy.com.

Some of the greatest “authors” never wrote a word. They used ghostwriters. Now, you can use a ghostwriter either ethically or unethically.

An ethical example is that you hire a ghostwriter to write a book on martial arts. He or she will interview you, ask if you’ve written any articles or have been interviewed. The ghostwriter will also want to know everything about your style of martial arts, your teaching system, etc. Essentially, he or she is simply presenting your story from factual information you’ve provided. An unethical example is a school owner that hires a ghostwriter to write a book on weight loss. Neither might know much about weight loss, but the strategy is to research weight loss, “create” a new method to lose weight and put the school owner’s name on the book. That would be totally unethical. Of course, martial artists wouldn’t do that because they are very ethical and disciplined; and they (and their readership) would benefit more from a book on how to develop confidence or other character development and self-improvement skills.

Colasanti: How much does it cost to utilize a ghostwriter?

Hartunian: There isn’t one answer. A ghostwriter wrote a 200-page book for me and charged $900 dollars. I am still astonished. In most cases, you can expect to pay in the range of $5,000 for a book of approximately 150 pages. Now, I know many of your members and readers are reacting negatively to the idea of spending $5,000 to have a book written. In reality, that cost is the smallest drop in the bucket compared to the value of the publicity you’ll receive. You are now a published author with a book, which will make that $5,000 laughable.

The publicity opportunities are infinite because once you’re an author you’re considered to be at a different level of society. For whatever reason, the public puts authors on a pedestal.

Colasanti: Being an author opened many doors for me, so I encourage all NAPMA members and school owners to publish a book. Great advice, Paul, but now I want to move to press releases. Our members and readers are excellent martial arts instructors, but they’re clueless when it comes to writing a press release. Give us some tips and steps.

Hartunian: Let me start with the fatal mistakes that business owners make because, as you know, pain generates a better response than pleasure. If I tell you the mistakes that will cause pain, then you will pay attention. The first mistakes I mentioned earlier: thinking that you don’t have the skill to write a powerful press release. That’s total nonsense. Everyone reading this interview has that skill. The second mistake is thinking that if your press release is more than one page, then it’s almost guaranteed to be unwanted by the media. The reason this is mistaken thinking is that reporters are not only looking for information, but also looking for those little clues in your press release that tells them that you know how to play the publicity game. One of the biggest clues is a one-page press release, although that is not an absolute rule.

Another mistake is that business owners think that it takes a long time to learn how to obtain publicity. Plenty of people have learned my system in one day, and started sending press releases, almost immediately. A few hours of your time can result in a lifetime of publicity and tens of thousands of reporters who are willing to do your marketing for you. Another mistake is thinking you need special contacts to be interviewed. You don’t have to know the local editors, TV producers, talk show hosts, etc. to attract their interest. A very common and major mistake is to promote products and businesses in press releases. That is a mortal sin.

Colasanti: Please expand on that for us.

Hartunian: As I mentioned earlier, it’s the difference between advertising and publicity. If you distribute a press release that is a blatant promotion for your school or its lessons, then the reporter will know that you don’t know what you’re doing. Worse yet, the reporter will feel insulted because you’ve tried to fool him with a press release that is really an ad. He knows the difference; so don’t even try this tactic. Your purpose, your goal, as a business owner, seeking publicity, is to be a great source of information about your industry. This is so critical, and so simple. Now, you may ask, “How do I benefit when I provide reporters with general information about martial arts?”

You benefit because reporters know how the game works. If you perform your function as a great source of information on martial arts, then you’re helping the reporters look good to their audiences; and that’s the reporters’ goal. When reporters serve their audiences, the reporters also look good to their employees; they keep their jobs, they receive promotions. The reporters become more popular; in a sense, you help them develop their celebrity status. In return, they will do their jobs, which is to promote your business better than you ever could because they have that relationship with their audiences. You don’t have a relationship with those audiences. If you’re given the opportunity to be interviewed on a local radio station, for example, and spend the entire interview promoting your school or your next karate class lessons, then the listeners will hate you.

Your publicity opportunity has become a tedious, self-serving ad. You’re just talking about you and nothing you have to say benefits the listeners. Instead, you want to answer the call-in questions of listeners with information. If a caller asks, “My son is only five. Is he too young to start martial arts?” Don’t promote your new preschool class starting Tuesday, but explain the benefits of martial arts for preschoolers.

Again, if you do your job and provide good information, then, at some point during the interview, the talk show host will likely ask you if you teach preschoolers. From there, it’s a natural transition to provide information about your preschool program. The talk show host is doing a commercial for you, and he’ll do a great job.

Colasanti: Is there a rule-of-thumb for self-promoting during a radio or TV interview? How much is considered too much?

Hartunian: You’ll find it clearly stated in many of those publicity books at the bookstore that you should mention your business name and/or product every five minutes. They’ll also advise that you always weave in the name of your business or products when answering listener/viewers’ questions.

The exact opposite is true. You should not even consider promoting your business, product or service. Remember, your job is to be a source of great information. People know when they’re being manipulated. If you just answer the
questions, then the reporter, talk show host or editor will do his job.

For example, an interviewer might say, “Rob, you haven’t mentioned your school. Did you know my kids, Jim and Jeff, attend your school? Let me tell you about Rob’s school, and what my kids come home and say.” Now, the interviewer is doing his job, creating a commercial for you. It may seem counter-intuitive, but if you simply give good information, they’ll do their job. Don’t worry about it.

Colasanti: I’ve interviewed Anthony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, Jackie Chan, Billy Blanks, Tom Hopkins and Evander Holyfield, among others, and none of them, as best as I can recall, ever once snuck in their Web site URLs or books that they had just written. I’m confident that many NAPMA members and MAPro readers visited their Web sites, found their books and bought some of their products and services.

Hartunian: That’s why those people are so successful. They know the public doesn’t want to be beaten over the head. People want answers to their questions. If you can prove to the public that you’re trustworthy, then they react in a way that is beneficial to you.

Trust is an important component of publicity and celebrity today. During the 50’s and 60’s, trust wasn’t as critical as it is now. Trust is paramount now because of all the frauds, schemes and rip- offs. People must trust you. If you keep beating them over the head with a commercial, if you pressure them to hire you or enroll at your school for lessons, then they are likely to hate you.

It’s amazing to me that salespeople and marketers still don’t understand this concept. Too many of them are teaching hard-close techniques. A school owner who sits across the desk from a prospect and says, “Would you like to start your lessons on Tuesday, at three o’clock, or Thursday, at seven o’clock? Here’s the pen, just make a choice.” That’s a hard close. That’s pressure.

Colasanti: I would imagine that after the radio or TV interview, you would want to thank the talk show host for the commercial he did for you, maybe give him some guest passes for his family and/or his production staff. That’s much more powerful and classy.

Hartunian: Otherwise, you’re just a pitchman, and people hate pitchmen. If you’re a great source of information, then you’re an expert. You’re an authority, and people want to be around and learn from authorities.

Colasanti: I now want to ask you about social proof, or testimonials. Martial arts must be the easiest business in the world from which to obtain interviews because martial arts changes people’s lives. What are some of the ways that NAPMA members and all school owners could use social proof, or testimonials, to help them gain free PR?

Hartunian: First, I will reverse your question: “How can school owners use PR to increase enrollments and then use those enrollments to obtain and use testimonials?” Then, I’ll answer your question directly.

Let me provide you with a perfect example that happens to be a personal experience; and, although it doesn’t pertain to martial arts, my point should be obvious.
When I bought a house a few years ago, I knew I would have to replace the roof. I researched the Yellow Pages and other sources, as almost anyone would, and selected four roofers to call for estimates. All four roofers were almost identical: they wore overalls with tar stains, carried clipboards and arrived in rickety trucks. Each of them looked at the roof and submitted a written estimate. They were all within a few hundred dollars.

It was almost impossible to choose one of them because there wasn’t much of a difference. Because I was having trouble deciding, I called a fifth roofer. He arrived dressed nicely and said, “I will walk around your house and inspect your roof carefully for at least 15 minutes, so I can prepare an accurate estimate. While I’m doing that, here’s an article that was written about me.”

I forget where the article appeared, but it was a major publication, such as The New York Times. He said the article provided tips about how to pick a good roofer and avoid some of the scams in the roofing business.

Of course, my immediate reaction was that this guy knew his stuff. A major publication published an article about this guy; and I thought he was just a nail banger. He must be someone special to receive that kind of publicity.

Martial arts school owners can use the same strategy during an enrollment conference with parents. When they ask, “Why should I enroll my kid in your school, when there are seven schools in the area?” “Why should I enroll my kids in your school at all?” A school owner can simply answer, “I’ll be happy to explain the benefits of attending my school, but, frankly, that’s just bragging about myself. What I’d prefer you do is take this CD (or DVD) home, and listen to the 12 interviews I did on local radio stations (or local TV stations). It’s very informative because it explains how to choose a martial arts school, how to make sure that your kids are receiving the best training and what to do after they’ve finished their martial arts training.”

Who’s doing the selling now: the martial arts instructor or social proof, testimonials?

Colasanti: That is so powerful. In fact, that is an idea that anyone reading this article should put into effect immediately.

Hartunian: The public expects a business owner to share customer testimonials; but remember the media is dazzling. When you can share stories about your school and you, newspaper clippings or audio and video interviews, then you’re not just a regular martial arts instructor anymore. You are a celebrity martial arts instructor, and that reinforces my earlier point that this is a celebrity-obsessed society.

Remember, we’re no longer a credential society, so, if your interview or story is all about your training or that you went to Japan to study under a great master, then, frankly, nobody cares. If I went into a martial arts school, I couldn’t care less. Tell me about all the media appearances you made, and I now see you as a celebrity martial arts instructor. Since this is a celebrity-obsessed society, I am more likely to believe you.

Colasanti: Because so many school owners have been featured in their local media, they’re sitting on a gold mine of free celebrity PR, but they’re just not doing anything with it.

Hartunian: Another good example is Paris Hilton. I detest Paris Hilton and everything she represents. I am the king of tough love publicity; I pull no punches. I also admire Paris Hilton because she does a better job of attracting publicity than almost anyone.

What has this woman done in her life, aside from being in a sex video (for which I thank her) and going to prison? I can’t think of anything else she has done, but because she can attract the media better than anyone on the planet, she earns $6.5 million a year to be at parties, nightclubs and openings.

With all due respect, Rob, you don’t make $6.5 million a year, and you’re intelligent. That is the power of celebrity status. The media gives you celebrity status automatically when you’re interviewed and receive publicity. You don’t have to do much more than find the opportunity.

Colasanti: That is extremely powerful advice. Paul, let’s create an imaginary, high-ranking Black Belt instructor who has just opened a martial arts school in Orlando Florida. What are some of the things he should do immediately to position himself as the martial arts superstar in that particular town?

Hartunian: I’ll start to answer your question with a question to you. Let’s say that this instructor attended martial arts schools in Asia and studied under great masters. What shouldn’t he do? What kind of publicity should he avoid?

Colasanti: He probably wouldn’t want to publicize the facts that he is a 10th-Degree Black Belt and studied under Inzio Shimibuko in Okinawa; admittedly, a great teacher, but the public doesn’t know who he is. Our imaginary instructor would also want to avoid telling the public about all of his martial arts accomplishments, awards, tournaments, etc. that are only familiar to other martial artists.

Hartunian: Exactly. Many of your readers are scratching their heads because that is what they thought they should do. To them, that’s why they studied so hard. I’m sorry to burst their bubbles, but the world changed from a credential society to a celebrity society during their training. The good news is that they can benefit from that change.

If I were a new instructor, opening a school in Orlando, then my first step on day one would be to write and distribute a press release with the headline and topic, “Six Ways to Pick the Best Martial Arts Schools For Your Kids.” I would also create a “pain” press release, “How to Avoid the Nine Most Common Martial Arts Schools Scams.”

Now, the other martial arts school owners in Orlando may respond, “Hey, wait a minute, we’re not scamming anyone!” Our new school owner should reply, “If you’re not pulling one of these scams, then you and I are great friends. We’re in this together. If you are scamming the public, then I don’t want to know you.”

I would then create some publicity based on the next holiday, for example. You could pick St. Patrick’s Day because it has the reputation for drunken celebrations. Write and distribute a press release entitled, “Great Ways to Defend Yourself From Extreme St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations.” I wouldn’t speak about specific martial arts moves in the press release, but the smart choices to avoid a negative experience on St. Patrick’s Day.

My next publicity step as a new school owner would be to create press releases that address parents’ needs when it comes to raising their children, “The Fastest Way to Boost Your Child’s Self Esteem.”

Once a number of press releases have been published and maybe I’ve been interviewed on local radio and TV stations, I would clip those stories, and frame and display them in my office and throughout the school. Forget about general message posters and art for your walls, even reduce the number of martial arts-oriented poster, so there is space for your framed stories, interviews, etc.

I would then allow those published stories (social proof) to do most of the sales job for me. During an enrollment conference, I would excuse myself from the office and the parents for five minutes. Tell them you must retrieve some literature for them. While they wait, they will start to look at the walls in your office, and they’ll see those framed stories and interviews. By the time you return, do you think you will have to do much of a “sales pitch?”

Colasanti: I think, in most cases, the parents would have been mostly sold.

Hartunian: Because the media did it for you.

Colasanti: Wow. That is absolutely fantastic. Let’s look at a typical event or program in many martial arts schools. During a year’s time, a school owner’s student base performs 100,000 random acts of kindness. Many school owners will write and distribute a press release, which, you and I both know, is a very anemic and insufficient approach, at best. How would you maximize this publicity opportunity, and make it special?

Hartunian: To be specific, let’s say the instructor and his students paint the rectory of a Catholic church.

Colasanti: That is certainly an act of kindness, maybe not so random. Typically, many instructors like to explain that martial arts is not just kicking and punching, but also helping others. A random act of kindness could be holding the door open for someone entering a store. Your brother’s shoes are in the middle of the living room floor and you put them in his closet, without expecting a reward or a pat on the back.

Many schools do plan and participate in larger projects. One NAPMA member leads a team of martial artists that builds houses in Alabama, similar to Habitat for Humanity.

Hartunian: Painting a rectory is still a good example, then. The school owner could generate five different stories from that single act of kindness. The first story is about offering to paint the rectory, with an accompanying photograph of the instructor, his students and the priest standing outside the rectory, with its peeling paint. The second story would focus on the diocese accepting the offer.

The third story is the best because it covers the actual painting of the rectory. You want a photograph of the team painting the rectory - and you want to include a few of the priests on your painting team, working with your students, smiling and enjoying themselves.

The fourth story declares that the job has been completed. Include a photograph with all the students and priests. Everyone is smiling as the school owner and head priest stand in front shaking hands. Of course, the photograph is shot outside in front of the newly painted rectory.

The fifth story is about the nuns who ask you to paint their convent, the diocese asking you to paint another rectory or another church to paint one of its buildings. Now, you’ve created some real social proof from what would have otherwise been an anemic story.

You are certainly not patting yourself on the back. Reporters will ask, “Why are martial arts students painting this building?” This provides you with an opening to explain that the philosophy of martial arts extends beyond physical moves to teaching children character development, community involvement, etc.

Colasanti: The school owner is able to reveal the giving-back aspect of the martial arts philosophy.

Hartunian: That’s right; however, let me tell you why you not only have the opportunity to publicize, but also you have the obligation to publicize.

Colasanti: What do you mean?

Hartunian: If there are no new students enrolling at a martial arts school, then the school closes. If the school closes, then there is a void in the community, one less business, organization or group of people willing to give back to the community. Your purpose for painting that rectory or any other “good works”, and the resulting publicity, is not ego, but so you can stay in business and continue to perform those “good works.” It’s very smart.

Colasanti: That is a great point, because many school owners reading this interview might think, “I did it. People will notice, but I’m not blatantly trying to generate any free publicity for it.” That’s backwards thinking.

Hartunian: That is terrible thinking. Rob, as you know, I speak throughout the U.S., and I’m paid for my appearances. I don’t do it for free. The reason I accept a fee is that I support a dog rescue organization. If I said, “I shouldn’t be taking money for this speech or seminar,” then the dog rescue organization suffers, because I don’t have money to contribute.

Colasanti: Another great point. Some of the strategies that you’ve used to create PR for yourself have been nothing short of brilliant. My personal favorite is how you used the Brooklyn Bridge. Forgive me, I know you’ve probably told this story many times, but could you please tell it to the MAPro audience? At the end, would you explain what this one good idea did for you, financially? How it helped you to embellish your reputation. I think that our audience will learn much from your story.

Hartunian: I am actually thrilled to tell this story because, in so many people’s lives, there was some pivotal moment that changed everything.

From the time I was 15, I’ve always wanted to be rich and famous. I kept working at the goal for 19 years, until I was 34 years old. I wanted to learn about publicity, so I read many different books on publicity, those $20 books you can find at most bookstores today, but doggone if I could make those ideas work. Instead, I developed my own system to obtain publicity, which, for more than 20 years, has been phenomenally successful.

The turning point came in 1983. That’s when I had finally perfected my publicity formula, and ready to test it. I had to determine if it would work. I was watching the TV news, looking for a story that could be a test for my formula. A reporter was interviewing a construction worker and asked him what he was doing. The construction worker pointed behind him to the Brooklyn Bridge. He said, “As a gift for the Bridge’s 100th anniversary, we are replacing the old pedestrian walkway, which is now rotting wood.”

At the time, I lived about 30 minutes from the Brooklyn Bridge, and I didn’t know that any part of it was made from wood. Stacked behind the construction worker was the pile of rotten wood he had removed. The construction worker was standing next to his truck. Either he was a brilliant marketer or he was very lucky because he parked his truck at an angle that allowed me to read his name and phone number painted on the truck.

It was seven o’clock in the morning, and still dark outside; but the reporter and construction were bathed in sunlight, so I knew that it must be a recorded interview. I called the phone number and the person answering the phone confirmed he was the one who had been interviewed at the Brooklyn Bridge.

I asked him what he was planning to do with the old wood he removed. He said, “Well, it’s old scrap. I’ll pay someone to haul it away.” At that moment, my heart was pounding in my chest.

I knew this is my opportunity to be rich and famous, using the publicity formula I invented. I made a deal with the guy on the phone. I said, “Will you sell me the wood for five hundred dollars?” I’m sure the construction worker was thinking, “I have this huckleberry on the phone, who’s willing to buy this junk wood from me.” He said to me, “You got a deal.”

The most exciting adventure of my life started at that moment. I had the wood cut into little one inch squares, real thin slices. I designed a 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ certificate, added some history of the Brooklyn Bridge and attached a little piece of wood to each certificate.

I then put my publicity formula to work. I wrote a press release stating that I was the first person in history really to sell the Brooklyn Bridge. This was in 1983 - no fax machines, computers or e-mails. If I remember correctly I mailed 67 copies of that release to the media. I don’t remember the day of the week, but nothing happened the next day; however, the day after that, it was like an explosion in a fireworks factory in my house.

Reporters from around the world were calling for an interview with the first person literally to sell the Brooklyn Bridge. This continued for six months. Many of your readers may be thinking, “Paul, that’s a cute story. It’s a real ego story. We’re talking about money in the bank.” Every time a reporter would do another story, he or she would add, “If you would like to own a piece of the Brooklyn Bridge, then send Paul Hartunian $14.95;” and then the reporter would include my name, address and phone number. Mail was being delivered to me in huge sacks.

I tasted the cherry on the sundae approximately six months later, when Johnny Carson called. I didn’t send a press release to Carson, but he saw a story about what I was doing in his local Nebraska newspaper, and he was curious. He asked me to send him some of my certificates, which, of course, I did. I then completely forgot about it. Three months later, Carson did seven or eight minutes on his show, showed the Brooklyn Bridge certificate, and the media went nuts again.

Colasanti: Did you sell all of your pieces of the Brooklyn Bridge?

Hartunian: The answer is yes and no. I stopped selling them many years ago. I still have a small quantity of wood left. I give a certificate to each person who becomes a member of my publicity family, when they order my kit and use my system. I’ll donate one every once in a while to a charity auction, and it usually brings in an extravagant amount of money.

The bottom line is I am a multi-millionaire because I took that one step. I live in a home on 25 acres, with a pond, horse corral, barn and stables because of that one publicity opportunity.

Colasanti: What an amazing success story. I almost hate to ask this question, but did someone try to do something similar with the World Trade Center?

Hartunian: They didn’t, and that’s very good. People called me, but I discouraged them. What people miss is the point of the Brooklyn Bridge. People contact me all the time with one idea or another. “I have a seat from a diner that Rita Hayworth visited in 1948, and the diner was demolished last year.” They’re missing the point. The World Trade Center would have been incredibly poor taste.

Someone did follow my lead and gave me credit. He launched the same publicity idea with a very famous cricket stadium in Australia. It’s the equivalent of Yankee Stadium. He is also a millionaire because of that very same idea.

Colasanti: As a consultant, professional speaker, author of more than 60 books and someone who has earned a doctorate, I know you support the idea that every businessperson, including martial arts school owners, must constantly invest in and learn and grow from the many business education resources available to them. Since you are a role model for many business owners, would you explain from your point of view why it is critical that martial arts school owners participate in a continuing education program, and not just focus on the physical nature of martial arts?

Hartunian: If you’re focusing on kicking and punching, then you’re focusing on credentials. If you think your credentials will lead to success, then you’re living in the Dark Ages. You lose. Whoever does the best job attracting the media wins. If you know how to attract the media and receive publicity and your competitors don’t, then you win and they lose. The flip side is also true. If your competitor knows how to become a celebrity in the eyes of the media and public and you don’t, then you lose and they win.

Rob, I don’t know this for a fact, but I assume you, just as I do, invest thousands of dollars in your education every year.

Colasanti: Absolutely. Stephen Oliver and I are part of the Dan Kennedy Platinum Group. Both of us support continuing education because we like to practice what we preach. We would be hypocrites if we didn’t.

Hartunian: I spend tens of thousands of dollars every year. As an example, I want to clarify my résumé. I was not born into affluence or was naturally brilliant. After I graduated from high school, I went to Rutgers University in New Jersey. Don’t be impressed. I was there for one semester. At the end of the semester, my grade point average was 0.9. The dean called me into his office and said, “Thank you for stopping by. Don’t come back next semester.” The reason I have a Ph.D. and written 68 books is because I invest in my education, and I take it seriously. Yes, martial arts instructors achieve a great level of confidence through their training, but if they only focus on that part of their education, then their businesses are very likely to go down the tubes.

Colasanti: Let’s say there’s a tragic event in the community that the media is covering. Examples would be a child abduction, home invasion and violent assault or, perhaps, a mass killing spree as has happened recently on college campuses. How could a PR-savvy individual tastefully capitalize on such a situation, while helping people in the community? Is that doable?

Hartunian: It is absolutely do-able; in fact, it’s mandatory. It is your responsibility. I’ll use 9/11 as an example to which you referred earlier. A friend of mine is a martial arts instructor. He called me September 12th and said, “I want to help people. What should I do?”

His publicity angle was first to express the remorse and outrage that we all felt. He then took a measured approach, instead of spreading panic and fear. He told parents and the public, “We’ve now entered a different world. You must know how to protect yourself. Let me explain some of the simple techniques that will help you be more aware.” He never mentioned his school, training programs and DVDs for sale. If he had sounded the least bit commercial, then people would have hated him.

Where you can go wrong is to blow a tragic incident way out of proportion. I can understand how otherwise well-meaning business owners, public figures and even martial arts school owners will react without thinking, distributing press releases and doing interviews that suggest parents must be responsible for their kids. No, no NO; that’s the wrong approach.

Martial arts professionals should take the opposite tack, just as my friend did. He quietly and calmly reassured parents. “Parents, I know you’ve heard all the stories of kids going to school with guns. They’re being bullied and abducted. First, let me calm you a little bit because, according to statistics, your child only has a one in 38,000 probability of being a victim. Let me help you become more aware and more prepared for these issues and incidents.” That’s the way to approach it.

Colasanti: It’s sounds to me that if you’re aggressive, then you repel people; but if you take a backseat approach, then they’ll find you.

Hartunian: Exactly, and that’s what you want them to do. If you’ve ever seen me speak, then you know I never hard sell. I want people to make their own decisions. If you make a decision and you’re comfortable with it, then I’m right for you.

Colasanti: Here’s an interesting question. One of the most important elements of growing a martial arts school, and I would go so far as to say any membership-driven organization, is retention. It does you little good to attract 10 new students through the front door, if 10 current students are exiting by the back door. Would you agree that becoming a master at generating PR would help you keep many of the students you already have? What are your thoughts?

Hartunian: Generating PR will do even more. Obviously, it will help create a flow of prospects through the front door, but publicity will also start to close the back door because everyone likes to be with celebrities, which refers to our celebrity-obsessed society again.

If Rob’s Karate School - and its students - are in the news and on TV, regularly, and tell the world how great the training is and how much they enjoy it, then not only will current students want to continue to be affiliated with the school, but also more prospects will be attracted.

They want to be able to tell others, “I go to Rob’s Karate School.” In fact, they want to wear a Rob’s Karate School uniform, jacket or T-shirt. If they’re young, then they want to wear that jacket to academic school because all the other kids just saw Rob’s Karate School featured on TV or in the newspaper. If some of the karate school’s students were seen on TV too, then they are very unlikely to leave the school. They now have celebrity status with their peers.

The secret is to learn how to balance your business sense with your community awareness sense. As I stated previously, you don’t simply want to siphon money from your community. You want to be a member of the community, and give back to the community. Sponsor an essay contest, with the topic, “My Favorite Football Team.” It has nothing to do with martial arts, but it’s fun and you’ll be noticed.

I worked with my favorite pizza place in the town where I used to live. The pizza shop was a microscopic, little place in a town with many pizza parlors. The owner asked me, “How can I compete? I’m in trouble.” I said, “Sponsor a contest: ‘Design Your Favorite Pizza.’ The prize is the winning pizza for a free party of ten people; and the pizza becomes part of your menu. It won’t cost much at all.”

He did it and the neighborhood loved the pizza contest. He attracted many new customers. In fact, it was so popular that he had to separate the competition into sub-categories: 10-years-old and younger, 65 and older, the highest-calorie pizza, the low-cal pizza, etc. His business went wild.

Colasanti: What a fantastic idea. Sometimes, you must think out of the box a little bit. Recently, I interviewed a NAPMA member, and this poor woman just had a disaster at her school. One of her instructors was accused of sexual misconduct with a minor. He went to jail, and she lost 250 of her 350 students. Even her grandmaster dismissed her from the association. The incident didn’t occur at the school and was after hours.

Hartunian: Please allow me to interrupt you, Rob, because I think I can guess what she did wrong, in terms of responding to such a crisis. My guess is that she did not immediately go to the media on the very day and hour that the incident and the subsequent arrest were announced and became public knowledge.

Colasanti: You are right. The media came to her.

Hartunian: That’s bad news. You don’t want Mike Wallace coming to your door. Her first mistake was that she wasn’t prepared - and disaster struck. She didn’t know how to use publicity.

Let me explain the correct approach for a school owner in this situation. First, she would have already learned how to use publicity and would have been using it regularly, developing a celebrity status for herself in the community, to help her business thrive.

As soon as her school was linked to such bad news, she would have known, within the minute, to call the various media outlets in her community and tell them that she was the school owner and that she wanted to talk to a reporter or appear on the radio or TV station to explain the entire story. The media will love you for it because they will come to your door, anyway. The school owner was blind-sided.

I imagined she stammered and stuttered, and had no answer. They cornered her. She probably gave terrible answers that made martial arts, in general, look terrible. Of course, I don’t know what questions the reporters asked, but I can make a good guess. “How could we trust these martial arts instructors with our kids? You’re alone with five-, six-and seven-year-old kids. You’re touching them. How can you do this?” I’m sure the school owner wanted to pass out. She didn’t have good answers, and it was completely her fault.

Colasanti: Are you saying that her correct strategy would have been to be the first one to go to the media?

Hartunian: Absolutely. Be first. History is filled with celebrities and leaders making this same mistake. Instead of lying, Bill Clinton should have stepped forward immediately and said, “It was a stupid idea to have sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. We’ve all had lapses in judgment. I’m human. I was so stupid, and I know many people think I’m disgusting; and I don’t blame them.”

Clinton lied, and this school owner was unprepared. At least, she should’ ve said, “I have no comment.” She made it even worse. She talked to them. That’s another disaster added to the first one. Inevitably, one or more of your members will find themselves in a similar situation, whether the accusations are true or not. It may not be a crime. It may be just a lapse of judgment. As human beings, not necessarily NAPMA members or martial art school owners, we’ll make mistakes.

The lesson is to be prepared and learn how to deal with the media. Use publicity for your benefit, and as soon as something happens, call the media, immediately, with the advice of your lawyer, of course. I’m not a lawyer. This isn’t legal advice.

Colasanti: You have shared many tremendous ideas about generating free publicity. Let me ask you, how important is one’s attitude, confidence and overall mindset, when it comes to using your many excellent strategies and tactics successfully?

Hartunian: Proper mindset is obviously important in every phase of life, without exception. There is one aspect of your mindset that relates to publicity that I want to address. Many people tell me they would be nervous during an interview. Some can’t even imagine being on radio or TV.

I tell them, however, that they won’t be nervous because, if you think about it, guests on radio and TV talk shows rarely sound nervous. When you do hear the occasional nervous interviewee, it’s because he or she is being interviewed in a studio, in unfamiliar surroundings, with other people in the room or a production staff on the other side of a large piece of glass.

The vast majority of newspaper, magazine and radio interviews are done over the phone. Various filters and other electronics are used to make it sound like the interviewee is in the studio. Typically, he or she is sitting at home in a familiar chair in familiar surroundings, with no one in the room, or within earshot.

That’s why I suggest that your first radio interviews should be at low-power radio stations, broadcasting at 100 watts or less. You can spit farther than the reach of a 100-watt radio station. In other words, very few listeners will hear you, so, if you make a mistake, don’t worry.

Start with the low-power stations, so you can prove to yourself that you weren’t nervous. It was fun. It was exciting. Then, you’re prepared for bigger radio stations (or newspapers) with bigger audiences; you’ll be more comfortable and not nervous. Radio talk show hosts and reporters are very good at what they do. They know how to make you feel comfortable, like you’re talking to your best friend.

Colasanti: That is great advice, Paul. My final question is what does success mean to you?

Hartunian: The standard definition of success is to be able to do whatever you want, whenever you want; and I certainly subscribe to that definition, as well. I have a more philosophical meaning of success. I know that I’m on this planet for a reason, and the reason is not simply to accumulate money. It was a huge breakthrough, eight or nine years ago, when money was coming to me in enormous quantities.

I was talking to my girlfriend at the time, and I said, “I can’t spend this much money during the rest of my life, so there must be another reason why it is happening.” Sure enough, shortly after that we established a non-profit dog rescue organization Aunt Mary’s Dog House. I’m the primary funding source. I contribute enormous amounts of money, not only into the dog rescue organization, but also to many other animal and human welfare organizations.

My whole philosophy, and I’m convinced that this is correct, is that the world is not changed with good thoughts. You can sit in the corner and chant, do yoga and beam good wishes and white light at people, but nothing will change. A perfect example is a three-month-old puppy that entered my life. It had been thrown from a third-floor window and had broken his leg. Since no one wanted to pay for the expensive surgery, the dog was to be put down.

The authorities called our organization. I could have sat in front of that puppy and chanted or said, “Think positively. Your leg is better and better every day.” Nothing would have happened. When I wrote out a check for a $1,000, however, the puppy was now likely to live a full life. The world is changed with a checkbook.

Of course, you should have good thoughts and positive thinking, but if you think that’s how the world changes, then you’re living in a dream. Mother Teresa was backed by an enormous fortune, so was Mahatma Gandhi. One of my favorite quotes is from one of Mahatma Gandhi’s managers who replied to someone’s comment about how Gandhi lived in poverty, “It’s very expensive keeping Gandhi in poverty.” That is true. Your job is to accumulate as much money as you possibly can, as quickly as you can, and then buy yourself all the toys. Use the rest of your money to change the world.

Colasanti: Spoken like a true entrepreneur and humanitarian. Your organization is The Dog House?

Hartunian: It’s Aunt Mary’s Dog House at auntmarysdoghouse.com. We’ve taken an enormous numbers of dogs into our shelter. They receive veterinary care, training, great food and toys; and then we find them permanent homes. It’s the most rewarding work I’ve ever done in my life.

Colasanti: What is the best way for our readers to learn more about you and your products and services?

Hartunian: A free resource is my blog, which I update constantly with publicity tips and strategies. It’s at paulspublicityblog.com. It’s free; please subscribe and read the enormous amount of information there. You can also register for my freeezine, or electronic newspaper. Visit bestpublicityezine.com. If you want to learn about my publicity kit, which is not free, go to milliondollarpublicity.com. You’re welcome to call my office at 973-857-4142 for the answers to your questions.