Publicity and Press Releases - What Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know

I was recently lucky enough to be part of a brainstorming session conducted by a professional and very successful Public Relations Expert. I want to share some of the information that came out of that session - tips used by the experts themselves to get their clients' media releases read, and published.

Spread the News

Make your press release say something. No one wants to read boring articles, so make sure your media release is actually newsworthy. Simply stating that your business is open, won't cut it. (Unless of course the place that publishes it have no readership and nothing else to report on!) Have an event such as a grand opening. Many companies have a grand opening or a special day where they use a gimmick of some sort and invite the media to come along. Some places invite radio stations to broadcast from their place of business for a certain amount of time.
You can also sponsor a sporting event, partner with a charity or tie your media release into a particular event at the time. For example, as I write this, interest rates are about to be cut for the first time in 7 years. If you can use this to your advantage in your business, then send out a media release. Chances are, it will be picked up pretty quickly! If you have a fashion business for example, run a media release close to the Melbourne Cup talking about this year's fashion.

Send it on up

Most media releases are sent by email these days. Be sure however, not to send your media release as an attachment. Many a reporter has been stung by a virus this way and no will not open anything with an attachment. Ensure your press release goes to the appropriate journalist as a full email.

Contact me please!

Believe it or not, many people forget to put their contact details on a press release! Ensure you have full contact details either at the top of the release or at the bottom. This includes any addresses and full contact numbers - not just a mobile phone number.

Try to keep your press release to one page and ensure that no blatant advertising is included. Follow up with each journalist that received your media release until you receive an answer from them.

Using publicity as part of your marketing strategy and your marketing mix can bring in plenty of free business - so ensure you get the basics right the first time!