Alex Rodriguez, Diversity Consulting Group
(805) 277-7750
alex@dcgco.com

As a marketer I am often asked by clients if press releases really work. My response to them is “yes, and no.” The reason for the vagueness of my answer is that in today’s fast-paced business world many times we try to take shortcuts in order to get something done, and this means trying to save a dollar as well. I remind my clients that when they hire someone they do not typically hire them after only seeing their resume, and that said resume is there only to open the door. The same is true with a press release.

A press release, if written properly, may open a door with your local media. Many people, me included, have sent news releases to the press thinking that what we are announcing is the greatest thing since sliced bread, only to not receive a call and much less a story. This does not have to be the case, and I will tell you how to be an effective source of news to the media, on your business as well as your industry. Today’s media outlets are in the business of reporting news. They need press releases and constant interaction to identify what is newsworthy to their audience. Businesses like yours and mine should be supplying the news they need. Coverage in the media is free publicity for your business and you are providing a needed service to the media. Coverage in the press is far different from paid advertising because your audience knows that you paid for the commercial on television, and they also know that when the same television station has a news story about you they are providing independent third party verification that you service or product is good.

There are various methods of press release distribution. It can be done via email, postal mail or fax. Unless you are sending additional press materials like product photographs or head shots of key executives avoid using the mail. Depending on the media outlet you are communicating with you can send high resolution digital photos via email, but many media companies have policies restricting attachments because of serious security and virus threats. Email is a great method to distribute a press release because you can reach a larger number of press contacts by drafting and sending only one release. One tip: do not put all of your media contacts’ email addresses in the “To” line of the message when addressing it; instead address the message to yourself and blind copy your contacts.

Always spell check, proof, spell check again, and proof one more time, then have another set of eyes look at your release. You are sending it to journalists that write for a living. You do not want typos! I have seen some poorly written and edited releases distributed to the press, and it usually winds up in the recycle bin.

The press release is a way of getting your news to assignment desk editors, news directors and editors at the press. A press release is typically one to two pages, double spaced, and carrying your message. It is critical that your release be concise and on point in the smallest space possible.

Are You Newsworthy?
Whatever you send out has to be newsworthy and something that a reporter will see as important to his or her readers. Your press release cannot be an ad for your business. It will not be covered. The only response that you will receive, if you are lucky, is a phone call from the ad sales department. Your message has to be newsworthy.

Once you review your message and if you feel that it sounds too much like a commercial send it off to trade publications. These are the magazines you receive at the office, many time free of charge, from various business groups or associations that you may belong to. They, like traditional media, are always in need of stories and news to cover.

If you want to gain media attention you have to think like the media. It is that simple. If you have a great new technology that you are going to bring into the market to assist people with disabilities you probably do not want to send a press release to a fashion magazine. Be one with the media, and you are one with their audience. Do not be disappointed if your release gets no attention. It may take a couple, or more, for the media to recognize that you are indeed a viable business and may want to cover you then. The last thing that a reporter wants to do is cover the launch of a new business that happens to be more of an idea in someone’s kitchen only to have the business close a few weeks later because it was a hobby, and nothing else.

What if you are not a good writer? Or do not have the time to draft and send out press releases? You can hire someone, either internally or externally, to handle this for your business. Keep in mind that you will have to make certain decisions that will impact your business. First, consider this an investment, not an expense. I tell my clients that if they are looking at their attorney or CPA as an expense they need to take a step back and look at this differently. These people provide a very valuable service, and yes, it can be expensive, but it is an investment into the future financial and legal health of the business. Publicity should be looked at the same way.

If you hire someone internally, unless you are a larger
business, you may not want to spend a lot of money. However, this is an important function within a growing business if money is an issue. Consider hiring a consultant or small agency. Certainly on an hourly basis you will pay more, probably much more, but there are no employment tax implications as the firm or consultant is a vendor. Also, there is no overhead because you do not need to purchaser a computer, provide telephone line or office space; nor do you have to deal with sick days or vacation days. A professional, whether hired in-house or externally, also brings with him or her a list of media contacts. This can be worth its weight in gold!

So you’ve drafted a press release and sent it to the media. What next? Follow up. If you wait for the press to write about your business you may be waiting a long time. It is important to follow up with the media as you would with a client. Once you send a prospect a proposal do you wait to hear back from them? I would certainly hope not. The same is true with the media. Many times calling beforehand to see what they are looking to cover is important.

Establishing a relationship is also important. Why? Because if you have a relationship with a reporter and he is covering something and needs an “expert” to quote for his story he may chose to reach out to you. For example, if you own a construction company that specializes in the installation of solar panels and there is a new tax credit being discussed in congress a reporter may need to speak with someone on the frontline. That someone can be you. Because of this relationship it is easy for said reporter to reach out to you instead of a competitor he finds in the yellow pages. Reporters are busy, and many times because they are on deadlines are not able to spend a lot of time researching certain things, so they rely on their contacts.

One last piece of advice: be accessible. Reporters should have your office number, mobile number and home number. Become an expert, and be accessible. Tell reporters to feel free to call you at all of your numbers. This serves two purposes. The first is that you are easily accessible and easy to reach when they are one deadline. Be sure to let your receptionist or assistant know to put calls through from the press. The second purpose it serves is that you will receive the benefit of the doubt should something less than positive happen regarding you, your company or your industry. Prior to something that can be perceived as negative appearing in the paper you are likely to receive a call and an opportunity to explain yourself if you have a solid relationship with the press. We do not want to control the press, but we do want to have the opportunity to share our point of view.

In closing, there is nothing wrong with seeking publicity for yourself or your company. If people do not know who you are they cannot find you. I tell friends that I am not afraid to take on controversial projects on behalf of a client, at times going against the beliefs of friends. The reason is that I feel that the service that I provide is similar to that of an attorney in that I have a client to represent. An attorney represents her clients in court; I represent my clients in the court of public opinion. I do this because I understand the media, and can strategically work to increase, or decrease, a client’s profile. Publicity, used properly, can help raise the perception of a product. In a recent survey three out of four Fortune 500 CEOs agreed that a brand is established through public relations, then maintained through advertising. Brand yourself; brand your company.

Alex Rodriguez
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/getting-inexpensive-publicity-for-your-business-75469.html

A free publicity idea is another thing that business people or those who handle events and promotions must be able to generate when fabricating an excellent marketing program for a certain, business, event, product or service. There are many free publicity ideas that we can think of for every particular businesses, events, products or services. Of you happen to deal with things like promoting businesses, events, products or services this article is perfect for you. Let me share with you some ideas that you can start with and what benefits things like an excellent free publicity idea can do to ease your job and make your mission a total success.

If for instance you are going to grace an event like a concert or an exhibit, you can actually e-mail everyone in your contact list about the event you are gracing. Provide a catchy headline, a brief and concise information about the event. This may contain, the date the event will take place, where it is going to happen, who are the people involved, how much will it cost if there will be any payment required, what to wear if it’s a formal event and how much fun to be there and how much they would miss in case they have decided to snob the event you are pulling together. Aside from an e-mail marathon, posting a blog about it is also pretty much helpful. You can also post announcements to your social network sites like FaceBook, MySpace, Bebo or Multiply. You may leave your contact information in your announcements and blogs so that if somebody got interested they will be able to reach you where ever you may be. Just make sure that you always dash at least a pinch of creativity to your compositions. You also must not forget that people are as extremely busy as you. So always make your articles brief, catchy yet concise. Give it a little punch that will make your readers go really excited. They have to end up looking forward to your event after reading your article. If you are selling products and services, you might want to try inviting some people to try the services you offer for free or for a discounted price. You have to make sure that they end up satisfied with what you have just offered them so that it wont be too much of you to ask a simple review that they may upload over the internet through a blog or by asking them to let their friends know about you.

The good things that you will be getting from these simple steps are really remarkable and most likely longer lasting than an expensive marketing program. Imagine the low cost that it needs compared to getting an ad published in a newspaper. It is even much less effort for you. In free publicity ideas mentioned you can even create ties to people who are listened to and are credible enough. You can also generate new costumers because through the power of the word of mouth. This can establish your credibility and will produce higher demands and good association with the right people.

Paul Hartunian
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/the-benefits-of-a-free-publicity-idea-706900.html

One of the most misunderstood and most underutilized promotional
tools available to small businesses is FREE PUBLICITY.

Every business, no matter how large or small, can effectively
use free publicity to enhance its image, increase sales and
profits, generate sales leads, expand distribution, and promote
customer goodwill. All of these benefits can be gained for
nothing more than a small investment ot time, paper, envelopes,
and postage.

And…with the addition of new e-mail based media release
services…even the paper, envelopes and postage can be
eliminated.

Most new businesses start out on the proverbial shoestring
budget. There never seems to be enough money available to do
needed advertising.

Professional marketing assistance seems like an unaffordable
dream, and there is always “one more piece of equipment” that
needs to be purchased.

Add in other concerns, and it’s no surprise that marketing and
promotion end up last on the long list of perceived needs. They
should be among the first!

A well-executed and on-going publicity program can dramatically
improve your chances of success in the marketplace. Whatever you
want to achieve promotionally… you’ll accomplish it faster and
less expensively with a knowledge of the publicity game.

You can generate high volumes of traffic to your web site,
increase direct sales, generate qualified sales leads, shorten
your selling cycle, enhance your image, and boost your cash
flow, with free publicity!

Free publicty is the perfect promotional tool for start-up
companies. Why? Because it’s cheap…and it’s available.

While I can’t make an expert publicist out of you in one short
article, I will give you the basic tools you need to get started
with your own publicity program and a resource list to enable
you to expand your success and build your knowledge base. Let’s
get started…

WHAT IS PUBLICITY?

Publicity is NEWS. News about your company, its products or
services, its personnel, etc. Anything that has a legitimate
news angle will probably find a number of editors eager to
publish it for you…free.

Why are editors willing to do this? It’s their job! Editors are
charged with the responsibility of filling up page after page of
space (or, in the case of radio or television, minutes of time)
with information that is timely and useful to their readers or
listening/viewing audience. Theirs is a formidable task,
performed under the constant pressure of deadlines. Your news
release helps editors do their job.

It’s important, however, to differentiate a legitimate news
story from what should be paid advertising.

To acomplish this, editors typically ask themselves two
questions when reading your press release:

Who cares?

Who already knows?

If the answer to the first question is “a large number of my
readers or listeners”, and the answer to the second question is
“very few”, then your release stands an excellent chance of
publication.

Remembering the old axiom of “Nothing is older than yesterdays
news”, it also becomes obvious that your news release must be
timely. In other words, the news must be new.

THE TOOLS OF PUBLICITY…

The principle tools of publicity are: News Release

Press Kit

Press Conference

Feature Story

Letters to the Editor

Media Lists/Selection

The news release is the most useful (and most used) form of
communicating news to the media. When coupled with a
well-selected media list, the simple news release is a very
powerful tool that you can start using today.

THE NEWS RELEASE…

Your release (news story) should typed, double-spaced, with wide
margins on one side of 81/2″ x 11″ plain white paper (or
letterhead). Never hand-write a news release.

Keep it simple. Follow the standard news story format of Who,
What, Where, When, Why, and How, and you can’t go wrong. Use
simple sentences (seven words or less). Use short paragraphs
(seven sentences or less).

Use as many simple single-syllable words as possible. Remember,
you’re trying to convey news…not impress William F. Buckley.
Omit the superlatives. Words such as best, greatest, finest,
unique, one-of-a-kind, and highest quality don’t belong in news
releases.

Don’t say anything you can’t back up with facts.

your news release will generally fit on one sheet of
paper…rarely more than two. If you have more than 400 to 500
words (roughly two pages of double-spaced copy), you should
probably rewrite the release.

If necessary, editors will cut your release to fit available
space. Your story will be cut from the bottom up, so make sure
you tell the most important details in the first paragraph or
two.

The editor has no obligation to run your news release. Your
release will be judged on it’s own merits. If it meets the
standards of publication…(Who Cares?–Who Knows?), and space
is available, your release will probably be published.

You should keep in mind that one of your long-term goals is good
media relations. Accordingly, you should never complain to an
editor if he or she does not use a particular release. Keep
submitting good releases, and you’ll get your share of free
space.

FORMAT IS IMPORTANT…

Savvy publicity seekers make sure that their news releases look
professional. The following layout formula will serve you well:

Make a special form with the heading “NEWS RELEASE” prominently
printed at the top, along with your company name and address.

In the upper left corner print “FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:”.
Fill in the appropriate contact information and telephone, fax,
e-mail, url, etc.

Drop down three lines and print “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” next to
the right hand margin.

Drop down two inches and type your story headline in all capital
letters.

Drop down three spaces and begin the body copy of your release
at the left-hand margin as follows: “(Your Town,
State–Date)”xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx…”

End your release by centering “(—–30—–)” or
“(—-end—-)” three or four lines after the last line of the
story.

MEDIA SELECTION…

The slant of your news story will dictate the media selection.
If you are a local retailer serving a limited goegraphical area,
your media list will include all of the appropriate newspapers,
radio stations, television stations, magazines, community web
sites, etc. serving your market area. Your release would be
written to a general consumer audience.

On the other hand, if you are a small manufacturer selling
specialized equipment nationally, your media list would be
targeted to industry trade publications, newsletters, trade
associations, and other relevant trade outlets and business
media. Your release would be written for a more focused audience
of end users and trade press editors (in the hope of a possible
feature article).

In all cases, releases should be customized to the target
audience so that the editor will quickly see the news value to
his or her readers or listeners.

DISTRIBUTION OF YOUR RELEASE…

There are now three means of distribution of your news release:
(1) Regular Mail, and (2) Electronic Mail (e-mail), (3)Fax
transmission.

Always mail your news releases by first class mail. Address
them, whenever possible, to the editor…by name. If you don’t
know the editor’s name, check the publications masthead or call
the publication and ask.

You may also want to check current media guides online or at
your local library…usually found in the reference section.

A word of caution. Media people change jobs often, and media
guides may not be up-to-date.

If you are unable to identify the proper person, you can simply
mail to “Editor”, but this is the least desirable alternative.

DO IT NOW…AND DO IT OFTEN…

What is the key to being effective with a publicity program?
Start using the skills you have just learned… right NOW! Don’t
worry if you feel a certain lack of confidence. You’ll only gain
confidence by writing a few news releases an distributing them.
You’ll be amazed at how easy it becomes once you’ve written a
few.

If you consistently turn out at least one good news story each
and every week, you’ll probably have to double your trips to the
bank to deposit the increases in sales and profits that come
your way through FREE PUBLICITY!

© Copyright 2005 Thom Reece All Rights Reserve

Thom Reece
http://www.articlesbase.com/copywriting-articles/how-to-generate-free-publicity-for-your-product-service-or-cause-791.html

As the year 2007 starts to wind down, many businesses and entrepreneurs are making plans and budgets for the year 2008. Those plans could include anything from setting up goals for new products to preparing marketing, sales and PR/publicity campaigns. When it comes to your publicity plan, WHEN you launch your campaign can be just as important to what and how you launch.

HOLIDAY PUBLICITY OPPORTUNITIES:

If your product/business lends itself to increased holiday sales, the next few weeks are a perfect time to get a publicity campaign launched – given the right media targets. Many holiday issues are already been laid out for magazines, and many other media outlets are feverishly seeking information/pitches on innovative stories for the holidays. Some media outlets even reorganize or beef up staff around the holidays to allow for an increase in stories on products. Have your publicist help you take advantage of this increased media opportunity.

PLANTING PUBLICITY SEEDS NOW FOR 1ST QUARTER RESULTS:

Some business owners may be of the mindset: “I think we’ll wait to launch a publicity campaign until after January 1st.” The problem is—if you wait to launch your publicity campaign until the first of the year hoping for a quick media interest blast in January, you may be in for a quiet month. Keep in mind most media outlets have editorial lead-times of a few weeks to 6 months. Also what some entrepreneurs don’t realize is this. Because of the increasing number of publicity pitches media outlets receive, anything you send out is subjected to what I call the “media digestion period” – simply put – that is a period of time (sometimes weeks, sometimes months) that it takes media outlets to:

#1) see/understand your release and decide if they are interested;

#2) find space/time in their editorial calendar to place the article/news story/show segment.

The potential placement is also directly dependent upon how quickly and efficiently your publicist or PR agency can help the media secure the placement. Media relations is crucial. Your publicist’s job is to make the reporter/editor/producer’s job as easy and as effortless as possible – which will lead to quicker and more numerous placements for your business.

When it comes to publicity pitches, the facts are: placement is totally up to the discretion of the particular media outlet; and very few media responses are immediate. I have in fact had media outlets respond even before the media release seemed to settle in the fax machine tray. Conversely, I also had one media outlet that responded 17 months after a pitch. (I had to ask the reporter what the YEAR was on the release!) NO placement is guaranteed, but you can definitely increase the odds. Even if your product/business if a dead-on perfect match for a media outlet’s editorial profile, you are not guaranteed placement without some hard work and media relations. That’s why timing of your publicity pitch is so critical. Have your publicist get your pitch to the media, allow the editorial staff to digest it a bit, and strategically and professionally “rattle the cage” over the next several weeks to generate as many placements as possible.

What we are trying to do is plant seeds in media outlets’ editorial garden so they will bear fruit—in the form of articles/show placements—continuously over the next several weeks and months. Like the plant that comes from a seed, publicity placements can also grow roots and lead to other arterial media placements in other media outlets. Given the right tending, the publicity seeds you plant over the next few weeks/months will indeed germinate and you’ll reap a wonderful harvest for your business well past the first quarter of next year.

Todd Brabender
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/ensuring-business-success-4th-quarter-publicity-1st-quarter-prosperity-68779.html

If you happen to have a business, an event, services to offer or a product to sell, there’s nothing better than getting a free publicity. A free publicity can get you the chance to be noticed and have your services or products be availed by the public or your event or business be known to the public. In order to get free publicity, you need first to understand what makes it. A free publicity starts with a published press release. You’ll be surprised to get the good things in your advantage that follows a successful press release. You might end up being interviewed in a noon time talk show over the radio or by one of the most famous TV show hosts in your local TV. This is how free publicity goes. You get invited to events and programs to talk about what you know and what you can offer. The next thing you need to know is how to get free publicity?

As I have mentioned, a successful press release is the first step on getting a free publicity. And a successful press release is basically a published press release. You need to create a really good and catchy press release to get things started. There are a lot of sites in the World Wide Web that can provide you tips on how to write press releases that gets published. When you have made your press release published, the next thing that you need to do is to get interviewed. It may be on TV, radio or print. Whichever you may be interviewed you have to make sure that you are able to spill your information in a credible and marketable manner.

Another effective tool that can be used in order to get free publicity is the internet. You can take advantage of the social networks out there by being active in forums and online discussions. Making your own blog and promoting your blog through e-mails and social network forums will be really of great help. You can also make your own audio-visual presentation and have it uploaded to video streaming sites like youtube.com. You can also try making an eBook that tackles the things that you wish people to know and or use and eventually advertise your products or services in that material. You should maximize the utilization these features in order to make things like free publicity happen. It just takes an effort and time but when good results get to accumulate, all your efforts will be all worth it.

It will also be helpful to speak to groups and make them see and value your credibility when it regards to the subject matter you wish to ponder. There are groups out there which provide seminars and workshops that will surely need speakers and someone like you might be the right person that they actually need. Another thing that you can work on is to offer discounted or free samples of your services or your products. Getting clients satisfied with your services and products will generate another form of free publicity which happens to be the word of mouth.

Paul Hartunian
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/how-to-get-free-publicity-706896.html

Publicity is a component of promotion, speaking from the marketing point of view the other components being advertising, sales promotion, and personal selling. Publicity is how you manage your product, service, or brand, vis-a-vis communication between your business and the public. Publicity is informative; where as the other components of marketing, such as advertising and sales promotion, are persuasive.

Home businesses, by their very nature are low profile, hidden behind your plain doors, with no lighting or signs to draw anyone’s attention to it. Being a small home venture, you obviously, do not have a large advertising budget, but you do need people to know about your business. You do need to tell them what you do. The question is: How to go about it?

Effectiveness Of Publicity

There is an old saying that any publicity good or bad is good publicity. This may be true in most cases, where bad publicity could result in increased sales and positive results. But not in the case of home businesses, where you work behind doors, on a suburban street or in a secluded neighborhood. Here, any kind of bad publicity will make your business go for a toss, not to mention dirty looks from your neighbors!

* Try For A Media Release – This is one sure shot way to get free publicity. You get a free profile of your business into a newspaper, even if it a local one. As a matter of fact, if your home business is catering to a particular locality, it is better if you aim to have profile done up in a local paper.

If you are in catering business, it will be fruitful to get your profile into a publication that deals in catering only. Get the editor’s name and contact details, and send your profile to him/her. Remember, your media release must not look like a thinly disguised form of free advertising. Editors have a nose to smell such things out. What will interest them is if your release has any news angle may be a new product, or a new service that is something of interest.

Your media release should have a short headline, interesting enough to grab the editor. Your copy must be clear and to the point, with short sentences, and no grammatical errors. Your contact details must be at the end of the copy. You may email your write up, not as an attachment, but in the body of the email. You can attach a couple of photographs, etc, to provide a link to them to your website if you have one.

* Other Ways – Other ways of generating free publicity could be writing articles for an appropriate local publication or even by having a regular guest column in it. This is another excellent way to profile your home business, with your contact details mentioned briefly at the end of the articles or the columns. Your articles need not be specific about your business, but could be general and informative on the subject. This is a great way to generate free publicity for your home business, and at the same time position yourself as an expert in the field.

If your business allows you to, you could sponsor local community events, or donate prizes in such events. If you happen to sponsor events, remember to invite the local press, and send them a press release. Such coverage is sure to generate free publicity for your home business.

Before you try all the above, you need to have a viable publicity plan in position, which is aimed at generating a favorable media response, providing your home business with free and adequate publicity.

Anthony Samuel
http://www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/tips-on-generating-publicity-for-your-work-at-home-business-84885.html