How to Get Free Super Powerful Publicity for Your Business

Having worked with a large number of small business owners, one common mistake I see over and over again is the obscene amounts of money they throw away on advertising. Many of them believe the more money they spend, the more business it will bring. WRONG!!! WRONG!!! WRONG!!!

So what's a new entrepreneur to do?

It's simple! Write articles.

Writing articles is an excellent way for you to get free publicity. Getting an article published is free and some publications even pay for your contributions. The publicity you receive by having your article published in a newspaper, magazine or website can be worth thousands of dollars in equivalent advertising space. Well written articles yield better results than advertisements and earn you respect from customers, who see you as an expert in your field.

So what exactly is an article?

An article is a short piece of information that aims to educate and inform people about something, which they may be interested in. They are usually between 500 and 3,500 words long and guess what....... you are reading one right now. That's right, I have written this article because of my passion to share the idea that expensive advertising is probably not the best way to market yourself and get more business. 

By writing and distributing these articles you are sharing information, which displays your expertise and gains you trust and credibility. No amount of advertising can gain you either trust or credibility.

So let's look at this concept of writing and distributing articles as a form of free publicity.

The best articles are 'tips' or expert pieces. People are looking for guidance and will purchase from experts who show them how to solve their problems.

Structuring Your Article

Your article should include the following elements:

(a) The Headline

This should be attention grabbing and use power words and phrases, such as "How to ..." "10 Ways that ...", "Do you want to ...?"

(b) Lead Paragraph

The first couple of sentences tell your readers why they should read the whole article. Show them the benefits they will gain, or the pain that they will avoid, by reading the article.

(c) Body Copy

This is where you inform the reader how to do something that will enrich their business or personal lives. Use short sentences and provide step-by-step directions that they can easily follow.

(d) Conclusion

At the end you want to summarise the topics you've covered and briefly review the main points. Since you have helped your readers they will most likely want to know more. This is your chance to make your sell by making them an offer with a 'call to action' such as 'mention this article and receive a 10% discount off orders placed before June 30th.".

(e) Resource Box

A resource box provides the reader with information on your company and includes the following information:

- Your Name

- Company name

- Contact information

- Website details

- How to order your product, etc

Journalist, marketer and public relations specialist Belinda Crosbie has three top tips for clients writing their own articles:

1. What are the questions you hear most often from customers? Write an article to address these queries. Remember to provide valuable information; articles that sound like one big ad for your company rarely get published.

2. Write with the 'st' factor in mind. Tell readers about the latest, greatest, first, most, newest, quickest, best etc. Publications want fresh, new information, so where possible show them the 'st' factor with the 'latest technique', 'newest technology' or '10 best solutions for...'.

3. Edit, edit and edit again. As a professional writer, Belinda constantly re-writes and re-works her words. Ask someone to read your article and they'll often spot errors you miss because they're reading from a new perspective. If you want to double-check that your sentences make sense - read your article, sentence-by-sentence, from the bottom up. You'll be amazed what you pick up when you're not caught up in the flow of the story.

Topics to Target

There are thousands of problems people need solved, so the number of solution-focused topics is endless. If you're stuck, here are some ideas to get you started.:

Florist

Flower Care Tips, Choosing Anniversary Flowers, Best Way To Buy Your Wedding Flowers, Choosing Centrepiece Flowers For Your Dinner Party, How to Press Fresh Flowers, How to Pick Perfect Flowers According to Occasions, etc.

Baby Related Products/Services

How To Settle Your Baby, Baby Shower Themes & Games, How to Baby Proof Your Home, Baby Sleep Routine, Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep All Night, Age Appropriate Toys, Gifts for 1/2/3/4 Year Olds, 20 Fun Silly Games to Play, etc.

Accountant

Tips For Getting The Best Home Loan, 10 Tips For Financing Your Business, Tips To Save You Money, Choosing Accounting Software, Bookkeeping Basics, How To Save Money On Bookkeeping, Setting Up Budgets, etc.

Hairdresser

Hair Care and Treatment, Hair Loss Prevention, Hair Drying Mistakes, Celebrity Hair Styles, What Hairstyle to Choose For Your Lifestyle, New Hair Trends, etc.

Restaurant

How To Make Restaurant Quality Coffee At Home, 10 Ways to Attract New Customers to Your Restaurant, Restaurant Décor Ideas, 5 Secret Recipes, 7 Publicity Tips for Restaurants, Choosing Restaurant Equipment, Making Healthy Food Choices when Dining In a Restaurant, etc.

Customer Service

How To Stay in Touch With Your Customers, How To Build Good Client Relationship, 7 Tips For Creating Customer Loyalty, Common Customer Service Mistakes, How To Get Back Lost Clients, Looking After Your Customer Service Staff, etc.

Getting Your Articles Published

Once your article is written you will need to submit it to various publications on-line and in printed publications. For a listing of Australian printed publications, including the editor's details, you may wish to buy "The Australian Writer's Marketplace", available from most bookshops.

If you don't have a lot of time to submit your articles manually, you may wish to consider using article submission services by companies such as:

Submit Your Article - www.submityourarticle.com or
The Phantom Writers - www.thephantomwriters.com

For a small fee they will submit your article to thousands of on-line publications, also known as ezines.

Remember, article writing is far more powerful than any advertising you will do. It will prove to your customers you know your business and best of all, it won't cost you a cent! So don't be afraid to try it ... what have you got to lose?

Ivana Katz is the owner of Websites 4 Small Business, a company specialising in the design and promotion of small and growing business websites. She believes that every business deserves to have a successful website, no matter what its budget is. For more information visit http://www.web4business.com.au. To download your Website Plan go to: http://www.web4business.com.au/WebsitePlanRequest.htm

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How to Make Publicity Work for Your Business: Six P.R. Strategies to Use Right Now

Public Relations (or P.R.) is a wonderful, yet often overlooked marketing tool. P.R. is an intangible - making it a tough sell for many P.R. professionals. It is our job to sell the concept and show the client how it will enhance marketing efforts and, in many cases, replace costly or one-off advertising. 

Public relations is just that - relating to the public. Every outward communication should be carefully executed and the mission of the company should never be compromised. How do your customers find you? How does the public perceive your business? These points can be incorporated into a P.R. strategy that maintains consistent messages to your customers, thereby keeping your company top of mind and, in turn, growing your business.

Below are six P.R. strategies that can be implemented today. Whether you hire an outside professional or keep your publicity in-house, these strategies should be a part of your marketing plan.

1. Brand Building: It is very common for businesses to use advertising in brand-building strategies, however publicity can be less expensive and much more effective in establishing a brand's identity. 

One complimentary news piece in a publication read by your target consumer can produce significant results. Publicity, whether performed by an external company or executed in-house, can also be cost-effective.

Several online distribution services are available making the cost to send out a press release affordable, and sometimes even free depending on desired reach. It is important that any news release is informative and factual. Many of the online distribution services even offer templates to assist in the development of a release for a small fee. Before paying for such a service, however, be sure to identify hidden talent in your organization - there may be a great writer in your midst.

2. Generate Press Releases: Press releases are for announcing newsworthy information to the media only. If the information is not news, it should not be announced. In addition to news, a press release should contain only facts - not hype. Business as usual is not news. Celebrating a milestone such as a ten-year anniversary, one-millionth sale, or appointing a new CEO is newsworthy. In many cases, a newsworthy story can be developed with some creativity.

For example, if your company manufactures comfortable walking shoes you can create a "Walk to Work" day. Provide fun facts about the health benefits of walking and why the right walking shoes are so important. This can be pitched to your local media outlets and may get picked up nationally. 

Many times current events will also create an opportunity for a press release (see #3.) Remember to always include your company's website at least once and be sure accurate contact information is listed.

3. Tap Into Media Trends: Many times businesses can tie into current events and trends in the media. For example, if the evening news is covering storm damage to an area in your town and your company sells a product or service that would benefit people living in those areas, you have a topical news announcement. Call, fax or email the news desk and tell them about your product and why their viewers need to know about it. 

Be sure to mention that your story idea is time-sensitive. Watch your local news for one week and take notes. Identify what types of stories the local reporters are covering. Chances are at least one of the subjects covered was a direct result of a recent news story. Listen and learn how one led to the other then be ready to pitch your service or product when future opportunities arise.

4. Increase Awareness by Increasing Search Engine Listings: Each time a release is distributed over the Internet or a story is written and posted online, be sure your company's web address is included. The more links to your site, the better the exposure your site will receive in search engines. In addition to press releases, link swapping, article postings, quotes, and endorsements are great ways to generate links online. Google your company and your competitor's company daily. If your company is not as prominent as your competitor's, read their results listings and learn what they are doing to generate links.

5. Website Improvements Produce More Traffic: Optimize your company's website often. Be sure keywords on the website are targeted toward your consumers. Ask customers what words they would enter in a search engine when looking for your products or services and add those to your keywords. 

Small adjustments can mean a big difference in traffic to the site and subsequently increased business. Constantly updating web content is an easy and effective way to generate better search engine results. Be sure to update news and information at least once a month. Always add press release announcements to your website press area - and be sure your press area is easy to find, easy to read, and easy to print.

6. Highlight Expertise: One of the best ways to generate publicity is to establish expert credibility with the media. Do competitors continually get quoted in industry trade publications and you don't? They've probably done a good job of alerting the media about their expertise in your field. Don't worry, however, all journalists want to have more than one expert in any field. Begin to define yourself as an expert by writing articles, including the word expert in press releases, biographies, announcements, and descriptions. 

If you make a living doing what you do, you are an expert. If you are having trouble determining your area of expertise: ask friends, family, and colleagues to help identify your strengths and start spreading the word. Update the company description on your website right now by including your newly identified expertise and you've accomplished #5 and #6 already!

Angela Garcia is a founding partner in Starfish Public Relations, a Los Angeles based public relations and marketing company specializing in personality driven strategies. Garcia has held several positions in the entertainment industry including HITS Magazine, Warner Bros. Records, Maverick Records, MCA Records, and House of Blues Entertainment. She credits her success to her creative and enthusiastic approach to work and life. For more information about Angela Garcia and Starfish P.R. please visit: http://www.starfish-pr.com

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Publicity Campaigns for Beginners

Lately I've been receiving phone calls and emails pertaining to publicity campaigns.

The key questions asked: how do I launch an effective campaign and how do I get media attention? The truth is every campaign can have some sort of effectiveness and gain media attention but you'll need to determine what your publicity campaign goals are first.

You can start by answering these following questions:

What's my immediate need for publicity?
Do I need publicity for one project or a long-term publicity campaign?
How will publicity benefit my business? Aside from the obvious: gaining exposure, determine how publicity can serve a long term goal like enhancing a media kit or EPK.

After years of going through the trial and error phase of maintaining publicity campaigns for my own company I've found a few things to be effective - you can check them out in the tips below. And, aside from my own experiences these two things are equally important: one, making sure your company or product is "publicity ready" and two, providing the media with pieces of news that they can get a story from.

Getting publicity now is easier than it was five years ago - you can thank social media and online marketing on your own time. Results are not likely to happen over night but they will happen, with your hard work and patience.

Here are three tips on how to get started:

1. Make sure your project, event or service is ready to go. It makes no sense to start asking media personnel to cover your story when things are tentative and still in the planning phases. Things need to be definite now, you can make changes later.

2. Compile a list of media outlets that would be likely to feature your product. This doesn't necessary mean since you're an music artist you should start mass mailing BillBoard Magazine to review your debut album, although it'd be great if they did. Face it, you have to crawl before you walk. Likely media targets for new artists without a load of previous publicity or accolades would be media outlets who feature upcoming artists.

3. Building an online press room for your company or product that features latest press releases, media kit, events or previous media. This of course, gives prospective media targets a place to check out your company's track record.

All of the above will help you with creating a publicity plan suited to fit your project. You'll also want to keep in mind that publicity campaigns are a process and take time. You may not see immediate results but starting with something as simple as a press release are steps in the right direction.

For more articles on publicity and marketing for beginners visit: http://www.keetria.com/topics/marketing-and-publicity

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