So, Your Celebrity Endorsement Efforts Have Finally Paid Off 

You get a note from Halle Berry or Nicole Kidman thanking you for the spa weekend you treated them to. Or, you find a photo of Salma Hayek wearing the dress you sent her or Kim Kardashian clutching that pretty little handbag you made just for her.

What happens next? Do you stop your celebrity endorsement efforts and rely on these stars talking about you or mentioning you in a media interview? The answer is no. Unless you leverage the celebrity endorsements you receive, they will never give your brand media mileage. They will never help your product get noticed or bring in more sales.

The good news is that leveraging the notes you receive or the photos you find is not hard to do. This is where the e-blast enters the picture. Still considered the fastest and easiest way of notifying the press, the e-blast also happens to be the most effective. It is nothing more than an abbreviated press release in email format.

Here is what a good e-blast contains:

• Subject Line

• Headline

• A few sentences about the celebrity's association with your product

• A few sentences about your company and your product or service

• A photo of the celebrity carrying or wearing your product (if you have it) or a photo of the product (if you don't have any photo of the celebrity and your product together)

• Signature along with your complete contact details

You will do well to keep the subject line concise and be sure to include the celebrity's name. This will immediately grab the media's attention.

As for explaining precisely how the product is associated with a certain star, be prepared to do so in five sentences or less. And make sure you include a photo of the celebrity wearing or using your product, or a photo of the product itself.

If you received a thank you note, it's usually best not to include the note itself. The note, after all, was given confidentially. Using it for your celebrity endorsement campaign may annoy the celebrity who wrote it to you with the best intentions in mind.

As for the photos, do not send them as an attachment. Make them a part of the email body. If the photo is not yours, include the photo as well as the link to the website where you found the photo. Journalists usually have spam blockers on their accounts, so if you send a photo as an attachment, your email will either likely go directly to the spam box or get deleted for fear of an email virus.

Undoubtedly, stars cast a huge influence on consumer behavior. An e-blast is an excellent way to leverage the celebrity endorsements you receive. Once the media cover your celebrity endorsement, it will likely send buyers and consumers directly to your doorstep!

About the Author

Liz Dennery Sanders is the CEO of Dennery Marks Inc., a nationally acclaimed brand strategy and celebrity outreach firm, and SheBrand, a company dedicated to empowering other female entrepreneurs and small business owners to build their buzz and create powerful personal brands that attract more clients.