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Newstips Bulletin

Newstips Client FYI
Advice, information and clarification for our clients

Thank you again for being a Newstips client through your sponsored items in the Newstips Bulletin or in coming to us to accomplish a project. These points review our expectations about our working relationship.

PLANNING AHEAD: Whenever you can, we urge you to work with us in developing Bulletin items for next several weeks ahead.

WORK DAY: Our official hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, with usual holidays and vacations off.

STRATEGIC COUNSEL: The term "strategic counsel" is often a misnomer or a lie, rarely amounting to more than tactical planning, though usually amounting to major money. We can also offer strategic counsel (the real thing or the usual thing, your choice). Inquire. We promise to either talk you out of it or, if we can't, to help you cost-justify it.

DATABASE: Our database is one of our most valuable proprietary assets. We do not share it.

CIRCULATION: One reason the press responds so well to our Bulletin is that they know that only journalists can get it. So sorry, but unless you're a journalist, we won't add you to its circulation. But we will add your own press familiars; feel free to send us their contact info and if we don't already reach them, we can invite them to join our circulation. Also, please copy us (electronic database or spreadsheet format please) on press lists for any trade shows at which you exhibit.

CLIPPINGS: We offer no clipping service. Ask us about third-party services, but first, we should discuss the reasons you think you want one.

PRESS TOURS: We seldom do press tours; we think most of them are a waste of time and money. There are usually more productive alternatives that you can pursue for about the same cost, sometimes for less. We'll be happy to talk with you about them.

PRESS RELEASES: We seldom do releases. The compelling reasons to do releases have nothing to do with press coverage. For an explanation, ask us; you can also find this discussed, to some extent, on our FAQ page.

RENEWAL: Since we perform our services on a 'till forbid basis, renewal is automatic and your continuing press presence is assured; of course, you can also terminate our services more or less at will (see below). Note specifically: our invoices specify the months of service covered under the stipulated fee payment but the end of a period against which that payment applies does not in and of itself mark the end of our engagement.

WRITTEN CONTRACT: Our invoice represents the only necessary written contract between us; you (corporately) endorse that contract with the payment of our invoice. Why complicate things beyond that?

MINIMUM INITIAL ENGAGEMENT: We do not accept clients for any initial (new or after-hiatus) engagement of less than three full (calendar) months; this does not apply to special services we package as a "Project" (identified by that word in the top line of the specified billable on our invoice). While any client may at any time provide us with a notice of Termination (see below), no termination can become effective until after this period expires.

TERMINATION: (This is on our invoice). We require one full month's notice before any termination can be considered effected, and months will not be prorated. Also:

In any dispute over notice, the effective date will be our date of receipt of notification. (We actually had one guy try to predate a letter by 6 weeks, then he sent it to us via fax, forgetting that the fax machine imprinted the transmission date and time. He was just trying to dodge paying overdue bills; we think they're out of business now).

We believe in no-fault termination. Neither side needs to be in the right or in the wrong to justify a termination. It's enough just to not want to work together any more. Still, we hope that  doesn't happen.

MAJOR PROJECTS: In special circumstances, we can become your surrogate and manage multiple agencies and orchestrate complicated or oversize efforts. It isn't cheap, and we aren't aggressively pitching it, but it is easily within our abilities.