Would you like to expand the volume of your business? You can let thousands know about your service, your store, or your new product without spending a penny. Whether you want to make more sales or get an offer on television, you can broaden the scope of your clients by free publicity.
You don't have to climb a flagpole or hire a dancing bear to get attention. In fact, with just a telephone, flyers, and some follow up letters, you can be making much more money than you are now.
What product or what business are you involved with that needs more customers? You might have a neighborhood store or you may have invented something that is difficult to market. Maybe you've launched a new web site.
How are you presently getting customers? Maybe you're advertising in trade journals, magazines, or newspapers. Perhaps you're doing banner swaps or participating in co-op programs with other ezine publishers.
Perhaps you're an author, trying to market his or her new book. Or maybe you're a young comic or an actor trying to establish his/her career.
Regardless of your business or enterprise, whether it is an online or an offline business, free publicity is available for you. Furthermore, you don't need any special training to do it. Take a look at the variety of options available to you.
What is Publicity? Before we get into the different types of publicity out there, it would help if we knew what we were talking about. Publicity is making something known to the public, spreading information to the general, local, or national market. It is information with a news value used to attract popular opinion or support. Everybody uses publicity. Politicians, manufacturers, celebrities all use publicity to gain attention and further their causes. Publicity isn't limited to large organizations. Small committees and enterprises use the local newspapers to publicize events and endeavors.
Publicity differs from advertising because it is free. Although some organizations trade tickets or services for mention in a particular publication, generally publicity is newsworthy information that a publication produces. Good publicity is one of the best ways of letting people know you have a worthwhile business.
Do your research. Before you begin a publicity campaign, you should know the answer to the following questions:
What is the product or service I am promoting? What is the radius of the market (local, city, state, country, and world)? What do the customers want? Where do the customers go to buy my product? Are my buyers mostly online or offline?
Where to publicize Depending on your product or service, you have a full gamut of possibilities for advertising without paying. Deciding on the type of media is as important as knowing about your product and your customers.
If you want to publicize directly to the general public national publications, metropolitan newspapers and Sunday supplements are the way to tap into the market. For a local enterprise ? a profitable business, a charity, or community service- the local paper is the best source of free advertising. Don't go for the big fish first. Start with the local press and then work your way up.
Make it newsworthy In order to qualify for publication, your story must be newsworthy. Anything published in the newspapers, magazines, and trade journals must be of importance to its readers. You may have a new product or product line that can be featured in the magazines. If not, you need to come up with a unique angle. For example, you may have to come up with fresh ideas for your service. Or maybe an unusual piece of information in the inventor or business owner's biography might make an interesting twist.
Formatting tips Keep the press release to one page. It should be brief and informative. Write the words For Release in full capital letters at the right. Make sure you include your daytime phone number, address, email address, and website address if you have one. Write a personal letter to the editor. Be cordial, but keep it short. If you have a product that you can mail, send the editor a sample if he or she agrees to that. Watch the publication and clip the press release when it is published.
These are just a few ways of getting free publicity for your business. Watch for my next article, More Ways to Free Publicity For your business
or you can send an email to dspencer@pnewsletter.com with the subject line more ways to free publicity.
DeAnna Spencer publishes the weekly ezine Prospecting and Presents. All subscribers get one free ad per week. Subscribe today by visiting dspencer@pnewsletter.com
bmw rental chicago Bath .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareIn competing for a piece of business not too long... Read More
What is the true purpose of public relations and how... Read More
To survive in business, you've got to focus your attention... Read More
Effective Media Relations Tips - What To Do After The... Read More
The reason might be this simple: as a business, non-profit... Read More
WHITE NOISEA client recently told me about a fascinating new... Read More
The Today show? The New York Times? Vanity Fair? What's... Read More
You may remember Forrest Gump's Vietnam pal ? the one... Read More
News releases are not the best way to get major... Read More
More than half of America skips the Super Bowl, the... Read More
There is a process for successfully getting publicity about your... Read More
How do you make a good relationship with a newspaper... Read More
Would you advise clients to buy a stock based on... Read More
Talkback radio offers a fantastic opportunity to access thousands of... Read More
When you should send samples with your press release:1) When... Read More
It's the time of year when calendars crowd out the... Read More
Last month, we told you about "pay for play," a... Read More
Non-news professionals often have a hard time understanding why their... Read More
You are a senior business, non-profit or association manager. So,... Read More
As an owner of an independent record label, I often... Read More
1. Appearing in other types of media is the best... Read More
If you manage a department, division or subsidiary for a... Read More
Being invited to appear on radio and television used to... Read More
Managers ? the business, non-profit and association sort ? really... Read More
The media live by the calendar. Your story pitch might... Read More
limousine service Ava ..You know, where you do something positive about the behaviors... Read More
There are a lot of things that make a business... Read More
Every reporter, from the cub at the small town paper... Read More
The practice of public relations is often misunderstood, thus overlooked... Read More
Maybe you've seen another financial planner on TV, and thought,... Read More
Receiving free advertising is the dream of most business people.... Read More
You never want to inundate a reporter with information, but... Read More
They say that image is everything and some of us... Read More
When your book is mentioned on television, sales go up.... Read More
Sometimes a phone call isn't intimate or long enough to... Read More
You bet! And in three ways vital to you as... Read More
PR, that is public-relations, leads the way to effective advertising;... Read More
What do you do with junk mail? Are you like... Read More
Some folks see the word "strategic" as a needlessly tiresome... Read More
As small businesses we have an opportunity and an obligation... Read More
From time to time, people ask me how public relations... Read More
If you manage a department, division or subsidiary for a... Read More
Publicity is obtaining editorial coverage or features for your business.... Read More
Most people consider getting publicity the most important part of... Read More
The real public relations geniuses might be managers. You know,... Read More
I mean public relations that presumes from the get-go that... Read More
You may remember Forrest Gump's Vietnam pal ? the one... Read More
Do you have a great idea for a story, but... Read More
During my career as the head of media relations for... Read More
This is the ending to my previous article, How to... Read More
Public Relations |