A Successful Publicity Campaign...

The famous and most successful businesses get known through publicity.  Fame and success is not automatic, you create it through strategic campaigning.  Implementing techniques for increasing and expanding exposure are a easy and effective.  A great publicity campaign starts with courage and creativity, and then planning.  It succeeds through persistence. 

Publicity will bring your business into the forefront of your target audience quicker than any advertising campaign can hope to do.  And besides it costs less.  Publicity and good press releases will solidify you as an expert.   Good press reflects a solid reputation and creates a deep, abiding confidence in the consumer.   There is nothing wrong with being a shining star with infinite possibilities.   Even the best and most spectacular website will not attract visitors if no one knows about it.  Search engines will do only so much.  

Fame comes from creativity, planning, hard work and persistence.  It also means that what you are selling, or who you are, and what you do is important also. Publicity has its rejection; become skilled at not taking it personally, it will eventually work.  Be positive!

Creating a Positive Image for your Business or Practice with Print Media

 Timeliness

In promoting your business or practice - timing is everything!  Start planning your marketing campaign now.  Procrastination never accomplishes anything.  Pay close attention to the calendar and holidays, national days, regional events and seasons to direct your marketing efforts.   Spend time investigating and create a publicity calendar containing school opening dates, public holidays, National “what-ever” weeks and tie these in with your releases.  As always a good source are advertising departments of local papers and the Internet.

Press releases (examples to follow) offer a free means of print media promotion. A first-class press release answers the fundamental questions of who, what, when, where, how and why. 

1.       The title and lead sentence written to catch the attention of the reader.

2.       The first section with the basic information you want to communicate.

3.       The last paragraph contains the details of the business, practice or event.

4.        Included at the end are contact methods for the reader for additional information.

"  A press release should be only one page long.

"  Edit and Proof-read .

"  Send out the press release 10 to 14 days before an event for a daily paper.

"  Call weekly or monthly community publications to find their specific time frame for press releases and send the release in a timely manner.

"  Follow up your release with a phone call to see if it was received.

"  If your release is used - always follow up with a thank you note to the reporter and include your business card!

1.       A Press Release: A valuable tool to increase awareness.  Create a very dynamic one-page press release.  Target publications that would be most interested in you and your business.  Don't whine out the details; make that press release sing your praises.  Send the release to a real live editor and follow up with a phone call.  Let the press release be the invitation to the follow up phone call.  Make connections with the media.  Be polite, be excited, and be patient.   It may take several press releases to get the point across.   Keep with it! 

 2.    Create A Press Kit: This is a strong tool!  A Press kit is basically an embellished and enhanced press release turned into a package. It's a more complex but attractive tool.  It will tell more about you and your company, and should be pulled together into a nice neat folder.  This folder of information about you or your business should contain:

Send your press kit when an editor, publisher, or producer wants to know more about you or the business.

3.       Newsletters Offline.  A whole world still exists offline.  Locate newsletters or smaller print publications offline and submit articles.  This can be a very dynamic way to increase your exposure as well as add to your press kit.  Have professional photos of yourself or the products.  You can locate newsletters in your subject area by visiting the local university library reference section.   Ask for a directory of trade newsletters - do your research.  Once you have been published, it's easier to step up to the larger publications.  The process starts small and grows.

4.       Speak Up!  That's right. Start giving talks or demonstrations on your area of expertise.  Start locally at civic clubs and local educational programs.   Find a local talk radio show and make your case to the producer.  It's surprising how many local talk radio shows are actively looking for new speakers.  Once you have achieved Talk Radio, the opportunities will start coming to you.  Do all you can to network!

5.   Publicity Pitches: Put together several dynamic article ideas. Just the ideas and brief concepts, not the actual article.  This is called a Publicity Pitch.  Take those ideas and then pitch them to editors of targeted publications.  This process saves Editors time and puts the outline right into their hands.   Editor's love ideas, especially ideas that are completely outlined and correct for their readership.