Have You Started Your Press Release Campaign Yet?

You’ve probably heard people talk about how press releases are a great way to get publicity for your business. Online press releases build incoming links and publicity. Press release sent to traditional media can bring even more exposure and credibility to your business.

But if you haven’t started your first press release campaign yet, it may be because of these common obstacles:

• You aren’t sure how to get started and the task of writing your own press releases seems daunting.
• You’ve thought about hiring someone to do your press releases, but the hefty price tag has held you back.

Well neither is a good excuse anymore because you can have your press releases prepared by a 15-year publicity veteran for less than $5 per release. Yep, you read that right – LESS than $5 per release. Plus, you’ll even get tips on distributing your release and making the most of your publicity.

You can find out more at AllPressContent.com

…and discover the easy way to start you next press release campaign.

Easy PR - Letters to the Editor

When you think about attracting media coverage, you likely think of press releases and developing personal (yet professional) relationships with reporters, editors and producers. That’s as it should be, since these efforts are what yield the most significant results when it comes to actual leads and sales. However, there’s another way of raising awareness through local media that you should consider adding to the mix- letters to the editor.

Don’t get me wrong - getting your thoughts published through a letter to the editor isn’t going to have the same affect as getting covered in an article.

In a lot of ways writing a letter to the editor is not much different than commenting on a blog. Commenting on a blog doesn’t have the same impact as being mentioned and linked to in a blog post, but it still raises awareness and creates backlinks to your site. Letters to the editor raise awareness in a similar way. It gets your name out there in the community.

In some cases, only your name and location will be published. In others, your title and company name may be included. Even if only your name appears, it still builds recognition and can be counted as a marketing impression. Not only that it establishes you as a caring and concerned about community issues, which only adds to your credibility in business.

I wrote one to my local paper recently on a personal soapbox issue of mine. After it was published, several people I know commented that they’d read it.  That gave me an opportunity to expand upon the points I’d made in the letter. It didn’t directly impact sales, but it did raise awareness about my business and an issue near and dear to my heart.

All it cost was a few minutes of time to draft a quick email to the editor.

As a business owner interested in raising public awareness of your company, you should be scanning newspapers and magazines as part of your media plan anyway. As you do, be sure to note anything that catches your eye that you’re passionate enough about or have expertise on that you can comment on. It doesn’t necessarily have to be related to your business as long as you have something valuable to contribute to the conversation.

It’s best to stay away from hot topics that can be divisive. Politics is an area where you’ll want to tread very carefully, for example. You don’t want to offend prospective customers that don’t share your political viewpoints. Other than that - the field is pretty much wide open if you use common sense.

To increase your chances of seeing your name in print:

1. Keep it short

Letters to the editor are brief. Many publications limit them to 100-150 words. In some cases, editors will revise letters, but they may just pitch them if they go over.  Avoid the editor altering your words (or tossing your letter altogether) by adhering to the guidelines.

2. Eliminate guessing games

Don’t be coy about what you are responding to. help the editors connect your letter to their paper by mentioning the title of the article you are responding to and the date it was published.

3. Be constructive.

Don’t pick on a problem without offering a viable solution. After all, even if you aren’t responding to a topic that directly impacts your business you are still using this to establish your credibility and expertise. A straight complaint or angry diatribe isn’t likely to do either.

4. Enjoy the Experience

The chances of getting published every time you write a letter are slim, but the satisfaction of sharing an opinion on a topic you’re passionate about can be a reward in and of itself. Try and savor that feeling of empowerment you will get from experience.

Press Releases and Charity

You’re no doubt aware that one great technique to increase the newsworthiness of your press releases is to tie your business to a charitable organization or event. Editors and producers tend to be more willing to promote a worthy cause over straight business news in many cases, especially on a local level. There are a variety of viable options for pulling this off successfully from arranging for proceeds from sales in a specific time period to got to a specific fundraiser to hosting an awareness event to offering to be a spokesperson for a non-profit group.

Here are a few guidelines to promote a charitable partnership with publicity:

Choose the right cause

There are thousands of sensational non-profit groups you can choose as your charity of choice, but if you are using your charitable acts to gain publicity it’s best to be choosy.

• If your goal is raising local awareness then choosing a local charity will be your best choice.
• For maximum impact, choose a cause that your target market is likely to get excited about supporting. For instance, if you sell an information product on dogs than a shelter or rescue organization is a better choice than cancer awareness.
• If you are a small business then you’ll likely want to avoid organizations that have massive fundraising and sponsorship programs already in place, as you may get lost in the shuffle
• Avoid organizations with political ties and hot button issues.

Choose the right time

Tie your promotion to a logical reason or season. The more relevant and timely you make your promotion, the more publicity you can attract.

• For example, if you’re passionate about supporting battered women then supporting a local shelter through a promotion in November - which is National Family Violence Awareness month will go further than running the same promotion any other month of the year.

• Avoid promotions in October and December unless you have a killer angle. October has gone totally pink with Breast Cancer Awareness promotions and December tends to be overrun with Christmas fundraisers ranging from Toys for Tots programs to United Way Campaigns to Food Bank Drives. It’s harder to get noticed when there is so much going on.

Keep the Charity on Center Stage

When choosing charity as an angle, make sure you keep that front and center. Your business will not be the star of the promotion - the cause you are promoting is! Keep this in mind as you write your releases and communicate with the media. You must avoid the impression that you are doing this to promote yourself.

• Do mention why this charity is near and dear to your heart. Personal stories make great publicity.
• Use the charity as the contact rather than your business, if possible.

Using your publicity efforts to support a cause that is important to you can be beneficial to your business, but more than that - it feels good! Some might say that the practice of charitable press releases is tasteless. It might be if you were to do the same thing month after month with a different charity. However, if you truly stick with causes that you believe in and that resonate with your target market and use the technique sparingly - then there’s nothing unseemly about it at all. Most non-profit organizations (especially small local or grassroots efforts) will appreciate your efforts and the boost it brings in awareness and dollars.

No Excuses for No Press Releases

When it comes to public relations, I’ve heard just about every excuse you’ve got for why you aren’t actively seeking publicity.

Unless, of course, you are - in which case Congratulations! You’re part of an elite minority who is taking positive action that will eventually result in increased sales.

You might be thinking of using the excuse “I’ve got no money for PR”

That one doesn’t wash with me. There is no reason that PR has to cost you more than a couple of hours of time each month.

Sure, if you have the available funds then it’s certainly worth the price to have someone else to put your business in the spotlight with an interesting angle or slant, but it’s not necessary. You don’t need a professional to get started. Thousands of businesses have started their PR with the help of online guides and library books.

All you need is a story and I’m willing to bet your story will do just fine. There are plenty of resources to put together a press release that will get you backlinks at the very least and genuine media attention at best.

Of course, you may try the “I’m to small for PR” excuse.

There’s no such thing. Unless you are at a full workload capacity with no plan in place to scale your business forward, being small is no reason to hesitate. You can be operating out of a tiny corner of your kitchen and still send out a press release. The size of your business doesn’t matter, the size of your story does.

Of course, the next excuse is almost invariably “I don’t have anything going on that is newsworthy.”

That’s almost a valid concern. But not quite.

While you certainly don’t want to send out a release that doesn’t deliver genuine news that is likely to be of interest, unless you have no unique selling proposition (in which case you should be on a full-blown mission to discover and define it) - you have news that will be of interest.

I’ve yet to meet a business that doesn’t. Even without a solid, stated USP - there’s likely a newsworthy angle to tap into.

Now admittedly, I’ve had a diverse range of experience in finding newsworthy nuggets. But while my friends might like to pull out this talent and put it on display as some sort of party trick, it’s really not that unique or difficult to accomplish. You’ve just got to allow yourself to step away from your projects and take a look at your business from a different perspective. There’s no magic here - just a little time with your thinking cap on and you’re bound to turn up several ideas that can be used to promote your business.

Here’s three quick sources you can tap into if you’re stuck:

1. National Trends - The media loves when they can take a national story and add a local twist. So when a story comes along about your industry or business, you’re in prime position to grab the publicity.
2. Holidays and Observations - Each and every day of each and every month of the year, someone is celebrating something. Whether it’s “Talk Like a Pirate Day” or Mother’s Day is around the corner - there’s bound to be more than one occasion that you can adapt to your business. Riding on coattails is a good thing in Public Relations.
3. Look to your heart - You likely have a few pet interests beyond your business that can lead to press coverage. Whether it’s a charity drive fundraiser or a hobby group, stepping up to the plate and seeking publicity can pay off for both you and the organization you represent.

Still stumped?

Leave a comment and a brief description of your business (or send PK Marketing Solutions an email with the information) and I’ll give you at least one option to get you started.

Training Center Update: PR Web & Media Post

We’ve added two more two tutorials on Press Releases & Publicity to the Training Center. But before we get into that, don’t forget that Alice, Mila & Shannon are offering a 40% off coupon on their Customizable Press Release Packs.

Coupon Code: A40CE
Expiry: April 16, 2008

Here are the new tutorial details:

Submitting Your Press Release to PRWeb: One of the foremost online news wires (remember, for best results also build your own distribution list and submit offline too), PRWeb can give your release extra online exposure and backlinks => PRWeb Submission Tutorial.

Building Your Distribution List with Media Post: If you’re looking for media contacts from various areas in TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, etc., MediaPost can be a useful tool => MediaPost Tutorial.

Three Thoughts on Why Press Releases Rock

Last week, I passed on a Training Center Update that let you know that several press release tutorials had been added. It seems you hear a lot about writing press releases and how it’s a great way to get exposure for your business, but WHY?

Here are just three little thoughts why:

1. Exposure You Receive is Essentially an Endorsement for Your Business: You can buy all the ads you want and run successful campaigns, but when the media features or talks about your business it’s just like a real-live endorsement…and it’s free. Ads are looked upon with suspicion, but interestingly enough, generally people more willingly accept a message coming directly from the media.

2. Link Building: Aside from exposure, a well-crafted campaign also becomes a link building campaign. With online newswires, targeted websites that accept press releases and big online media outlets that might write about your website…there are many, many opportunities to build some serious links.

3. Coverage Leads to More Coverage: As your media exposure grows online and offline, it often leads to even more exposure. Your experience with the media makes you more attractive as an interview prospect. In addition, reporters conduct online research and if they see your name, they may just approach you all on their own (it’s really cool when this happens and how I ended up in this CNN article).

But what if you’re stumped or just don’t want to write your own releases? Hey, that’s understandable and you have plenty of options. You can hire a pricey press release writer or you can simply get a headstart with our press release template packs.

These packs were put together by Shannon Cherry, a PR specialist with over 15 years media experience…so you know they’re good stuff.

To make it even easier for you to get started, here’s a little Sweetie Perk. Enter coupon code: A40CE on the order page and you’ll receive 40% off as many press release packs you want to buy.

Coupon valid until: April 16, 2008.

Training Center Update: Press Releases, Distribution & Follow Up

Three more tutorials have been added to the Internet Based Family Training Center. This time, they are on the topic of writing and distributing press releases for added exposure for your business.

Check Them Out Here:

- How to Write a Press Release: This tutorial includes a sample and takes you through the process step-by-step.

- Distributing Your Press Release: How to build your media list for best results. The tutorial includes online research tools and more.

- Following-up with the Media: To get the best results, you have to follow-up. Here’s how to do it.

We will have more tutorials for you soon. Also, if you want more in-depth help with your press release campaign, Alice has a comprehensive press release course, made just for online and home business owners.

3 Thoughts: Getting Publicity for Your Business with Press Releases

Press really is easy exposure for your business, but you’ve got to do it right in order to reap the benefits. Many people write a press release, submit it to PR Web or other online newswires and nothing happens. This leaves them wondering what went wrong.

Here are today’s 3 thoughts to help get the most from your press releases.

1. Submit your press release locally.
Just because your business is done online, doesn’t mean you should limit yourself to only online press. Local newspapers and television stations love to learn about businesses in there area - start there for quicker results. NOTE: My very first press release ever was accepted by my local TV station and in a few days I was on the 6 o’clock news. Pretty cool!

2. Submit to highly-targeted online publishers.
When you do publish your press release online, in addition to submitting to the online newswires, be sure to do your research and find sites that fit your target market and reach a decent-sized audience.

3. When you get press from a source be certain that you follow up.
Once a media source knows you and your business, they are more likely to want to include you in stories in the future. Stay in touch!

Yeah, you guess it…this topic is on my mind because of mine and Mila’s new project (along with the AWESOME Shannon Cherry) - All Press Content. Grab a press release template pack or two…and we’ll show you the right way to get the ball rolling!

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