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 Many entrepreneurs believe that they understand what public
relations is, but very few do. Publicity and public
relations can be used to boost your business by thousands of
dollars a week or kill it; the trouble is using it to your
advantage.
I'm going to cover a few of the basics for getting good
publicity and why you need to do them. If you do, you can be
assured that you will be increasing your business at a rapid
speed. Publicity, if used correctly, can be many times more
valuable than advertising, and best of all, its free.
1. always be honest- when you are talking with a journalist,
either through email or the phone, you must always be
honest. Journalists have a sort of BS detector and can see
what is truthful, what is hype and what is outright lies. If
your new, they'll probably excuse some hype for the first
time but they will never forgive you if you outright lie to
them.
2. know what is news- if you are launching a new web page
about your cats, that is not news. Honestly, no one cares. I
really shouldn't be saying this, but you would be amazed at
the number of people who put out news releases on subjects
that no one in their right mind would consider news.
However, many entrepreneurs don't realize when they are
sitting on a publicity goldmine. For example, if a celebrity
is a happy user of your product, if your company is putting
out an interesting or unusual product or service or your
company has come up with an extremely innovative product,
then you probably have some news on your hands!
3. know whom to target- when you are releasing a new
hairdryer that increases efficiency by 40%, you can call the
product sections of the news organizations near you.
however, you would be ill advised to call an organization
that has nothing to do with your products, cat monthly, for
example. pr spam is a much-feared problem for journalists
and pr practitioners alike. My rule is that you can send a
release to a journalist you don't know if you believe that
it is very well targeted. I'm not like a few people who
believe that you need their express permission; simply by
being journalists and posting their information, they are
inviting news. However, this being said, don't spam them.
Try to keep these rules in mind the next time you are
looking to get some major publicity to skyrocket your
business. Keep to common sense and use old fashioned
networking, and you too will be sitting on a publicity
goldmine!
About the author:
Bryan Thompson is a young entrepreneur and founder of Press
Release Writing Online ( Http://www.prwritingonline.com). In
his experience as a freelance publicist, writer and
entrepreneur, he has worked with dozens of small, medium and
large companies. He is also writing a book on the basics of
Publicity for small businesses and managing several other
businesses at the same time. You may contact him at info@prwritingonline.com
Written By: Bryan Thompson
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