Most business owners have heard of public relations, or PR but little understand or know how to make it work for them.
PR is a great way to build your business and brand and a very effective method to creating positive relationships with your target market and customers.
Why it’s good to use publicity
When you place an ad in a newspaper or magazine or on a radio or TV station you are seen as an advertiser who is trying to sell something. When you’re featured or quoted in the media you, your company and brand is perceived very differently. You automatically become credible, a specialist in your field and an authority in your niche.
When people see you in the media you become a celebrity. Regardless of whether you love or hate the whole celebrity obsession that’s rife in society today the bottom line is…
Your bottom line will grow tremendously if people see you as a celebrity.
When your potential customers read your feature in the newspaper or hear you on radio or TV they feel they know you and that you are honest, trustworthy and knowledgeable. Just by you appearing in the media implies that the media channel is endorsing you.
There are so many benefits for getting publicity including the fact that it’s free and is something you can do yourself. If you don’t like ‘selling’ then appearing in the media is the best way to get your ideal clients wanting to do business with you rather than you needing to overcome numerous objections.
There’s an old saying: ”Advertising is what you pay for, publicity is what you pray for” with all the benefits you get from publicity I’m sure you understand why!
Reporters, Journalists and producers are looking for your stories right now…
Journalists are NOT experts in all areas which is why they love finding people who specialize in different topics. They are busy people trying to fill slots with the right people. They are constantly looking for people with information that they can pass on to their audience.
Your job is to be a fantastic source of information in your niche and get in their ‘little black book’. It’s not about blatantly advertising your product or service but providing great content, interesting news and entertaining their audience.
The secret to getting journalists’ attention and being featured time and time again in the media is to create eye catching press releases that you send at the right time to the right journalist and right media outlet.
Like any news story or announcement, a press release must have a particular angle that is interesting to journalists and their audience.
The opening of a new office might mean big things for your company, but it’s of little interest to the rest of the community if you don’t tell them how it benefits them and why they should care.
In order to help you create attention grabbing press releases here are 4 vital points for you to consider:
RELEVANCE: This is the most basic concern you need to address; how is your news relevant to the publication’s demographic? Are you providing jobs or new services? Is a prominent community figure involved? Does it relate somehow to a recent hot topic? Always know your release’s relevance before writing.
TIMELINESS: A journalist is unlikely to pay attention to a release if it isn’t timely. Does your release relate specifically to a holiday or event? Did it happen recently or will it happen soon?
DISTINCTIVENESS: What makes your news unique? Is it something interesting, or different enough that people outside your company or organization would want to read about it? Would you?
LACK OF COMPETITION: Think carefully about other news or events taking place at the time of your release. Are you competing with holiday news when your release isn’t at all holiday related? Will publications have bigger stories with which to concern themselves? If so, hold off on releasing your story until there’s a bigger gap in the news cycle.
In order to download my free report called ‘How to Write an Attention Grabbing Press Release’ go to www.getfreepublicitytoday.com
About the author
Sharon Bolt is a publicity expert and founder of Get Free Publicity Today. She has contributed to more than 40 different local and national newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations and has received over £1 million ($1.5 million) in free publicity and free advertising. She is the co-author of 2 highly acclaimed books called ‘Successful Women in Business’ and ‘Every Entrepreneurs Guide: Running Your Own Business.’
Sharon was featured in the BBC Documentary “Britain’s Most Embarrassing Pets.” and has had a regular slot on BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey since 2008 where she answers the listeners’ dog dilemmas.
Although she maintains her regular dog training slot on BBC Radio and media commitments, her focus nowadays is on teaching business owners and entrepreneurs how to build a brand, increase visibility and generate sales by cleverly using free publicity.
Sharon has a free report called ‘How to write an attention grabbing press release that creates win-win situations with the media’ which can be downloaded on her website: www.getfreepublicitytoday.com
Sharon’s YouTube Channel has numerous videos about how to get free publicity and can be found at www.getfreepublicitytoday.com/youtube