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Blog posts tagged press releases
The five unbreakable rules of free publicity
March 17, 2010
Getting free publicity can be simple. In fact, the reason many businesses get it wrong is they try to overcomplicate things. Ever heard of KISS? It stands for ‘Keep It Simple Stupid’. No offence! It’s a phrase that could almost have been invented for PR (press or public relations). When trying to get free publicity, here are my five tips which I hope will prove useful:
1 Tailor your story to the audience
Journalists are focused on their audience. If the people for whom they are creating content want to know about a specific subject, that’s what they will write about. If you seek publicity for something else, they won’t be interested. You need to understand exactly what your target audience is interested in and make your story fit. Get that right and it becomes much easier to persuade journalists to write about you.
2 Be different
It’s the best way to capture a journalist’s attention. Your story must be packed with ‘standoutability’ (a made-up word that sums it up perfectly). Journalists get hundreds of press releases and story suggestions every day. If yours are the same as the rest, they’ll go the same way – in the bin.
3 Become an expert
If journalists recognise you as an expert in your field, they’ll turn to you first for comment, time and time again. And that means your customers will know you’re an expert, too. Incidentally, it doesn’t necessarily matter if you are a true expert; what matters more is who positions themselves that way first to journalists and their audience.
4 Make journalists’ jobs easier
Most press releases sent to journalists go straight in the bin (these days they simply hit the delete key, often without even opening an emailed release). Largely, it’s because the people who write them don’t understand what journalists are looking for. Once a journalist becomes interested in your business/story, make sure you give them what they ask for – information, quotes, photographs, etc – and do it quickly. You can lose media attention as quickly as you attracted it if you don’t make the journalist’s job as easy as you can.
5 Generate creative ideas for stories
If all you’ve got is a run-of-the-mill story, forget it – why would a journalist want to write about you? You’ve got to use your imagination. You must be creative and seek to generate stories that inspire and sustain interest. Find interesting angles where possible.
Journalists are desperate for great stories. This presents nothing but opportunity for you and your business. I look forward to reading about your business soon.
- The first 500 Start Up Donut Blog readers can get a free copy of Paul Green’s book – PR Success Made Easy – here.
Business owners’ three biggest PR blunders
February 01, 2010
While I was a journalist, I saw many business owners make the same three basic PR mistakes time and time again. When it comes to trying to secure free publicity for your new business, the following mistakes should be avoided…
1 Trying to push dull, irrelevant or non-stories
Sorry, in truth, journalists don’t really care about you or your business. They only care about stories that are of interest to their audience. It can be very dull being a journalist, having to wade through the same old marketing guff being sent to you day in, day out. So when something special comes along, naturally, you jump on it. As a business owner, that’s your opportunity. If you are to engage journalists and their readers, you must have a compelling story to tell.
2 Giving up after one failed press release
If you send out 100 direct mail letters and then stop because “direct mail doesn’t work for you”, you could be missing out on a huge opportunity. It’s not necessarily that direct mail doesn’t work for you, you might not be sending your communications to the right people, you might not be writing about the right product or service or you might simply not be communicating your key messages effectively. Sometimes the timing isn’t right or your success is hampered by external factors.
The same can be said about PR. There is no way that each and every press release you ever send will lead to coverage, no matter how good your story, media release or how well you know the journalist. Effective PR requires a long-term commitment.
3 Having unrealistic expectations
PR is not really meant as a direct lead-generation tool (although it can work that way if you are fortunate). It can certainly be used to raise awareness and enhance the credibility of your business and support the rest of your marketing activity.
Your goal should be to encourage and make it really easy for interested readers, listeners or viewers to find you (or more usually, find out from your website how your products or services can benefit them). Don’t expect overnight success either, raising awareness, securing sales and ensuring customer loyalty usually takes a lot of time, effort and investment.
- The first 500 Start Up Donut Blog readers can get a free copy of Paul Green’s book – PR Success Made Easy – here.
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