The next time a builder calls and tries to pitch a story that's bound to strike out, I won't have to take time to explain why his or her form is all wrong.

I'll need only point to a chapter or verse in "The Builder's Publicity Builder" ( Taylor Johnson Associates, $29.95) and send him or her back to the bullpen to read it.

That's what I recommend for all home builders, big and small, new home builders and old home remodelers, most of whom have the mistaken idea that everything they build, reconstruct or gets them an award is front page news.

What builders too often don't realize is that, beyond building homes and keeping them fit, their true value to both the media and consumers is a knowledgeable and credible source of information about the product.

Unfortunately, the opposite is generally true. They spend too much time trying to sell the home, project or work, rather than what they know. But take it from the book written by mom-and-daughter team Deborah Taylor and Emily M. Johnson of Chicago-based Taylor Johnson Associates public relations firm: "Start thinking of yourself not as the subject of the story, but as a source for the story... We're not writing to help the builders. We're writing to benefit customers, the public, the readers. Builders should start thinking about how they can pitch stories that benefit the readers...not themselves. But of course they get the beneficial fallout!"

Those are the now immortal words of Judy Stark, Homes Editor of the St. Petersburg Time, who along with other real estate media types, was interviewed for the book's second rendition, more than a decade in the making.

Why listen to Stark and other talking heads from the media?

Credibility.

If you are an industry source for the media, the book says, if you know your facts and can articulate them without pitching yourself or your product, you are invaluable to the media.

Likewise, when readers see you quoted as a knowledgeable spokesperson, by association, they also view you as credible and -- here's the part you've waited for -- credibility can sell a lot of homes.

Credibility is also the book's hallmark.

"We got a lot of input from the media for tips. We asked clients for tips. We tried to do as much research as we could so this is not just coming from the mouths of Emily and and Deborah Johnson," said Emily Johnson.

Along with media tact, the book is compiled with the latest information on public relations strategy, writing news releases, artwork, distribution, events, crisis management, working with a public relations agency and more, including using Web sites to get the word out.

"The book is addressed to all those different types of builders to tell them how to hire a marketing person, how to do your own public relations or how to hire a public relations agency," Johnson said.

If you can't spring for the book (you probably shouldn't be building homes), try one of its compendium brochures: "230 Real Estate Marketing Ideas," $5.95; "101 Tips for Working With the Media," $3.95; or "101 Real Estate Ad Headlines," $3.95.

While the book offers much marketing and public relations guidance specific to builders, anyone who is public relations-challenged can begin to rehabilitate their marketing skills with it or the brochures.

Published: October 29, 1999

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.