Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Golden Rule of PR 4
Local Media Outlets 5
Guidelines for Press Releases 6
Contacting the Press 6
Radio 7
Public Service Projects 8
Internet Opportunities 9
Pinterest 10
Video Marketing 12
Social Media Networks 13
Email Lists 13
YouTube 13
How To Get Over $100,000 Worth Of Free Publicity and Advertising Using PR
No matter the size of your business, before you spend an exorbitant amount of money on publicity and advertising, you should explore the free promotional tools available to you. In fact, many experts recommend that you pursue free public relation and advertising strategies BEFORE you actually spend any money on media advertising. The end result of greater sales and the expansion of your business can be achieved by using these free tools efficiently and effectively. You’ll get more bang for your buck and you’ll experience a great deal of satisfaction at how you generated this success by investing your time and talents to promote your business dream. Before you invest money to make money, try the alternative and non-traditional form of promoting your business. Before you spend any money on media advertising, consider the points below. These tips can help you better plan your strategy and take advantage of benefits that many entrepreneurs are missing.
A story that you submit to any media outlet will be much more influential than a paid advertisement. Many consumers believe advertisements to be false and misleading; they also perceive a biased approach in an advertisement. A story will lend credibility to you, your product and your business. You will obtain instant credibility from a news story and trustworthiness will be apparent to the shopper. If a journalist has taken the time to review your offer, his audience will see you through his recommendation and your reputation as an expert will flourish. News stories and features can help you to reach and get newer and larger clients. People who read about you and your business in the news will want to work with you and promote your business by their patronage. This can be a win-win situation for all parties involved. News stories will also be seen by banking and lender representatives who will be more willing to work with you to obtain financing. In a recent survey, companies who engaged in PR campaigns were 30% more successful in getting financing and funding than companies who did not have a public relations campaign. If your business is to be the success of which you dream, additional funding must be available to you as your plans grow and expand and new costs arise. The lifeblood of your success depends on the number of potential customers who are driven to your business or website to shop. You must attract these visitors with a dynamic, creative, and proven method that will allow your business to stand out above all of the rest. Competition in the marketplace is fierce and your strategies must be on the cutting edge to capture the attention you want for your business.
Using free PR as a catalyst for your publicity and advertising campaigns is easy if you use a few tried and true methods and organize your plan and purpose. It’s a powerful tool that you have at your disposal and the good news is that you won’t have a lot of competition! Research shows that not many companies are trying free PR instead of the costly traditional venues of advertising. They prefer to hire PR agencies who will write costly and boring press releases that will not motivate enough energy for your business to reap the reward dollars from this investment. If you think that free PR is a struggle and only for a certain niche of business, you are incorrect in your assumptions. The best attitude to have is the one that supports that with PR there is always a way and you must discover that method for your individual business.
One of the guiding principles or the golden rule of PR is to understand that with your PR plan, you must meet the need of the journalist or producer that you are contacting. He is searching, sometimes frantically, for stories and news clips to fill those valuable slots in his publication or on his program. Journalists are not inundated with stories, as many businessmen believe, but instead, are seeking interesting topics for discussion for their viewers or readers.
One of the biggest mistakes that you as a businessman pursuing your own PR can make is to focus on you and your business exclusively in your contact with a journalist. You need to show in your story a real interest in the journalist’s audience. It’s not about you when you are approaching a professional media representative with your business story or press release. It’s about helping their job to be easier and more interesting to their readers or viewers. Businesses are NOT using this rule of marketing to their advantages so you can be assured that if you are sincerely interested in what makes that journalist appear more appealing, your story will be readily featured.
As you prepare your press releases or stories, stress the expertise and knowledge you have on a particular topic. If you establish yourself as an expert with valuable information, you will find it much easier to obtain this free PR with media outlets. Remember to cut through the mediocrity and place your press release or story above the competition. Maybe you know how to manage people, stress, or uncooperative people. Perhaps, you know all about how to or steps to a specific procedure. Use this as a tool to lead attention to your business.
Begin by contacting your local media outlets to obtain free PR. This is one of the most valuable forms of advertising and it’s within your reach immediately. They are looking for authenticity and someone who can speak articulately about a product or business. Many advertising experts say that the trading area for most businesses is within a 10 minute drive of the business location therefore featuring your business on a local radio talk show, television show, or in the local print media will reach this segment of your target market. It will not be difficult to make your business newsworthy for those people living within a short distance of your business.
Write a feature story about some activity going on at your workplace, a community interest project, or a promotional event that the consumer won’t want to miss. Whether the article is about a grand opening, an expansion, a plan to hire new employees, or a human interest topic, develop a story that will frame your business in a positive, appealing light. Attract customers to your door to see what all the excitement is about. The best rule of thumb to follow is to get off the business page of the publication. You want to create a buzz about your business that causes people to think about your business as a story. It’s like window shopping versus high pressure sales. If you are being pressured to make a purchase, most likely you will not reciprocate with a purchase. On the other hand, if you are window shopping, you can casually view the available product, gather information, and then make an educated purchase. If your business is featured in a human interest story, the reader views what you are about, how you are standing for what you believe, and how you can help improve their lives. There is no high pressure, just solid and valuable information.
Another method of appealing to your local media is with an excellent photo of the event or activity in which your employees and you participated. A picture is worth a thousand words and a lot of advertising dollars for you. Make sure your image is high quality and speaks volumes about the story. You must have a direct connection between the image and the story to make it credible and interesting. As any professional photographer will instruct you, keep the background to a minimum and instead focus on the activity itself or the people in the photo. Submit a carefully taken picture who will represent your business in a professional and positive way. Screen the photo for any unacceptable gestures or background graffiti that would be offensive to the reader or viewer. Leave no stone unturned in editing your photo; you can even ask a friend or co-worker to look it over before it is submitted. If there is not a photo opportunity available at the event, create one that you can use. Don’t let any moment pass you by as you continually seek photos that will portray the message of your company. A good image can help you turn a straightforward news story into a media event that will promote your business in a unique way.
The workhorse of a free PR campaign is the press release. Many companies pay expensive prices for companies to write press releases which many times are boring and uninviting. If it is carefully written and the proper procedures are followed, the press release will save the journalist time and effort and be well-received. Remember, media outlets are searching for interesting and solid topics to fill time slots that create opportunity and profits.
There are some basic rules you should follow when creating your press release.
Keep it simple. You should have no more than a one page article whose purpose is to entice a journalist to call you about this press release. This is the hook that will peak their interest and cause them to want to know more about you.
Create a great headline. You have only three seconds to capture the interest of the journalist so your headline has to be catchy and unique. The purpose of the press release, remember, is to get immediate interest so you should strive to make it creative and imaginative. Think outside the box in your approach. Avoid boring, mundane wording that will send your press release to the garbage can.
Feature ideas not news stories. Write a few paragraphs of simple wording that will tell in a succinct way what you are about, what you are offering, and how this can help the audience. All of this is woven in and around your feature story.
Present a strong and clear call to action. In big bold letters supply the information for the viewer or reader to obtain more information about your business. Be concise, to the point, and confident in your presentation.
Once your press release is ready, you will contact the press with your document. You can perform internet researches to locate the contact information for media outlets. Keep records of the numbers you use so that future contacts can be made more easily. You can also use Media Guides or PR Planners that will provide you with contact information. You will then do the two steps below to distribute your press release and check to see if you successfully made contact.
Mail or email your press release to the media outlets you selected from the list you compiled while doing your research.
Make a follow-up telephone call to the outlet. You will check to learn if they have seen your press release and how they have processed the information that they received.
If your press release is to target a radio or television program, be very deliberate in your communication skills as you speak with the journalist or producer. They will be checking to see if you can speak clearly and concisely about your business and product. They will get to hear your voice and since radio is an auditory medium, the want to hear what you sound like before they book you on their program. A couple of questions will probably be asked of you to ascertain the knowledge you have about your product but more importantly will be the passion you show about your subject. They will want to examine your communication skills, your “thinking-on-your-feet” capability, and how you can relate to their audience. You should be quick with your answers and credible as you present your information to the journalist. You are selling the idea of using your feature story in their programming; you must present the facts accurately, with confidence, and as the expert you are. Speak as if you have done this many times before and that you are thinking of them and how their audience will perceive your presentation. Your job is to make them look good; promoting your business will take a back seat but the profits you will gain from this free publicity will put you in the driver’s seat when it comes to your marketing plan.
If you have an established working relationship with a journalist, the job of press releases and getting the attention that you want will be much easier. Currently send them stories about your business featuring a unique glimpse into the life of your business. Don’t just send out press releases to them; create stories for them which reduces their work loads and provides them with ideas for ways to fill those never-ending time slots that haunt even the most strategic producer. Once you have this working relationship with the journalist, they will be more receptive to your ideas and will work to help you impart your knowledge to their audience.
Radio is another one of the most powerful media outlets available to you at no cost. It is easy to use and the format is structured to reach the captive audience listening in their vehicles during the long commune. Millions of people commute to work on a daily basis. This on-the-go crowd is always in search of faster, more efficient and reliable ways to improve their lives. You can provide them with information to make their lives easier and more time efficient. Radio stations need more than 10,000 guests a day to fill the available time slots in their programming. They want interesting and enlightening information that will keep their audience tuned in to their station. This method is one of the easiest you can use. You can call in from anywhere at any time to participate in an informative interview that will fill the need any particular audience might be experiencing. This puts a targeted audience right on the telephone in your hand! Frequently, you can have an hour long program of free airtime to answer call-in questions and give the expert information that you have. Knowledge is power and this is a power that can work extremely easily and efficiently for you. You will be recognized as an expert in your field which will foster additional interviews for you. You can develop a daily or weekly following of listeners who want and demand your advice. These fans can begin to help you build an email list or create a membership site for which you can charge a fee for information. This method of free PR can quickly expand your business into a very lucrative venture.
If you have information that they need you can tap into the free flowing fountain of free radio publicity. It’s a win-win situation that provides great programming for the radio station and a great promotional tool for you. People pay more attention to a radio talk show guest than they do to advertisements that cost a lot of money. The time you spend in an interview is worth far more than an advertisement and costs nothing! The audience is also more likely to believe a guest than they are a commercial. Just use yourself as an example. Do you listen more closely to commercials or a guest on a talk radio show? Studies show that 96% of people listen to the radio at least once a week and more than 75% listen on a daily basis. Look at the scope of the radio audience available at no cost to your advertising campaign. More than 10,000 people per day are reaching out to stressed listeners who are searching for the quick solution to their problems and concerns. You can use this endless supply of listeners to expand your bottom line exponentially.
Keep in mind as you select the radio stations you contact that the 80/20 rule is in effect in radio just as in everything else. 20% of the stations reach about 80% of all people. You must choose that 20% of the top programs that will help you reach the 80% looking for valuable information. These are the shows that you want to be on.
Public service projects provide free publicity and boost the image of your business simultaneously. Community service is an excellent public relations tool that gives you free publicity and provides you with a type of satisfaction that is hard to duplicate. The adage “you have to give to receive” is especially true in the business community. There are many opportunities for community service projects at any given time in your community. The commitments for these projects may require only a few hours and some careful planning to optimize the results you desire.
You can sponsor youth sports teams and have your business name and contact on the back of the uniforms. Friends and family members of these young athletes will be loyal to your company. You will get to know and become friends with a lot of people you would not have met otherwise and you’ll gain support from people you could not have reached any other way. Every fan is a potential customer; your business will be visible in arenas and even other business locations by large numbers of team players and their family members. This spreads the word about your business in a personal and very touching way. Helping others achieve their dreams has long been a goal of the business community.
You can also donate your talents, skills and even your product when your community would benefit from them. You will be repaid over and over as people become accustomed to using or benefitting from your product. Join civic organizations and speak at community events to share the knowledge you have with others. Being a guest speaker will boost your credibility and establish you as an expert in your community on the topic with which you are familiar.
You can very effectively donate your products to be used as raffle prizes or silent auction items. Whenever possible, link your business to charity drives and events that draw attention to your business. You will receive thousands of dollars in benefits by simply donating to your community. These efforts will not go unnoticed by the people involved in the events.
Closely related to community service, is hosting your own special event or participating in the event of another community association. Set up and use public service announcements to promote events at your business or events that you have selected to host. By using these PSAs you can also keep current with community associations and clubs that you can visit and to which you can contribute. The members of these organizations will become some of your most loyal clients. This is a positive approach that is effective in keeping aware of all the possibilities that are available to you to promote your company. This will take very little time and costs nothing but the profits and benefits are astounding.
One of the most effective tools to get publicity free is the internet. One of the most important benefits of internet marketing is that it is primarily free. With the explosion of the internet into the global business environment, entrepreneurs from all sizes of businesses are tapping into the high volume traffic and lucrative profits driven by internet marketing. People are shopping 24-7 and savvy business professionals are modifying their marketing strategies to accommodate the ever-changing demands of the calculating consumer. If you want to have a successful business today, you must use the benefits of free internet marketing and make them work for you. When considering cost, convenience, and clients, the benefits of internet market become apparent.
With the changing economy, consumers scan the internet at a convenient time for them and can compare goods and services in the comfort of their own home. They are free from a sales pitch or pressured persuasion and can avoid battling crowds of people searching for the same product at the best price. Through internet marketing, you can connect with these customers and entice them to buy from you. Your online store will be open around the clock and you won’t have to worry with opening, closing, and employee attendance and pay.
Free online marketing will allow you to reach customers in areas that otherwise would not be able to make purchases from your business. Boundaries will be eliminated as you invite people from all over the world to do business with you. This will cause your business to expand and produce additional profits. You will also have the ability to handle a heavier customer load simultaneously which is also a better strategy for your business. By setting up social media accounts, you can make comments about your business activities and products and invite your contacts to visit your business or website. If you can incorporate testimonials from happy clients, this word-of-mouth advertising will reap excellent rewards for you.
Another valuable tool that is free advertising on the internet is video marketing. As the information superhighway becomes more crowded with words, idea, and thoughts, you must seek a way to present your product to the consumer in an exciting and alluring method. Since much of the information on the web is in text format, you can offer a quality experience by using video marketing.
The major goal of the video used to market your product is to inform a customer about the product in which they are interested. 90% of all buyers research a product online before they make a purchase. This new and powerful marketing tool will educate the customer quickly and answer questions they may have.
Many online businesses are tapping into the power of video marketing to keep their business ahead of the competition and increase their bottom lines. This is a more personal way of doing business and will more effectively attract the customer’s attention and purchasing power.
Video marketing is an economical way to showcase your product to potential customers. You can make the video yourself, edit it very easily, and upload it to your website in a masterful way. This can prevent you from spending investment dollars as you initially develop your marketing strategy.
With video marketing, you can connect easily with prospects that are in an on-the-go mode as they navigate their busy schedules. This type of marketing is easy to view from a cell phone and removes the barrier of a customer carrying a laptop with them when they want to shop online. You can provide targeted guidance with your video and inspire shoppers to buy faster and with ease from you. You can present the latest trends or advantages of your product and make announcements about special offers you are providing. The customer, in turn, can pass the message of your product on to their network of family and friends.
Engaging the customer in an exciting way is one of the most important benefits of video marketing. Online business is expanding at such a rapid rate that you as a savvy entrepreneur will want to use the latest technology to outperform your competition.
You can also take advantage of social media networks to obtain free publicity and advertising for your company. Participate in forums and discussions online. By answering someone’s question, you can provide useful information about your business or product that would alleviate their problem or concern. Give authentic and solid advice and also mention that they can get additional information on your website. Provide your URL on every comment so there will be no doubt where you are located. By writing your own blog, you can establish yourself as an expert as you offer authentic and trustworthy advice on your particular area of expertise. You will find that people who are participating in these websites are searching for solutions to problems; your knowledge can help them and create business for your company.
With the knowledge that you have on a particular topic, you can offer a class or seminar in your local area or online to do a presentation that finds a need and fills it. During the class or seminar, you can freely advertise your business or product to the audience who has paid to learn more about the topic. Be sure to place your URL on the master slide of your Power Point presentation so attendees can easily jot down your contact information. Also, make sure your contact information and URL are located on any business cards or printed information that you distribute.
Attend conferences and conventions that are directly related to your field of knowledge. Here you can network by exchanging your contact with potential customers who have already expressed an interest in the subject by attending this conference. Never let a chance to network get past you.
You should also build an exceptional email list that will work for you. This is a cost efficient way to reach a multitude of people free for your company. Remember that email lists should focus on quality and not quantity. A name is not worthy of your time and attention if there is never any response to your emails. There are many ways to build your email list without spending any money. You can attend conferences and workshops, hold your own seminars, frequent social media sites and network with family, friends, and co-workers to obtain names to add to your list.
Engage the YouTube crowd. It is the second biggest search engine in the world and here, you can show a video that tells about your product and business. Watermark a link that will drive customers to your business website. You can simply tell people at the end of the video to visit your website for additional information. You can also give an interview with a satisfied client that will influence others to come and purchase from you. It is important to orally give and visually provide your URL address in your video.
Develop a Facebook page for your business. You can get “likes” on this page that will directly link people to your business website. Facebook has become one of the most popular websites that visitors frequent. This is a huge source of free publicity and a never-ending network of people who are already online and probably already used to ordering goods and services from online businesses.
Create a twitter account and network with people who show an interest in your business or related products in their profiles. You can expand your network by becoming followers of THEIR followers and on and on. It’s a never-ending list of people who spend time on the internet.
Find other marketers with an interest in your business and cross-promote your links by using ad swap. You can build your email list quickly and efficiently this way and drive initial traffic to your site. This can also drive repeat traffic to your website as well.
Write articles for e-zines. Submit as many articles as you can and to as many e-zines as you can so that you can reach all of those people who are researching the product you provide. Studies show 90% of people do internet research on a product before they buy it. Include an invitation for everyone to visit your website for further information.
Use the questions segment of Yahoo to promote your knowledge and expertise in your line of business. Online shoppers are asking thousands of questions each day and you can make a powerful presence as you solve issues. Instead of advertising, become an authority that is helpful and compassionate in attacking the problems of others. You can increase your website’s publicity with your professional concern for others and their dilemmas.
Make social bookmarking work for your business. Create valuable content that people can use or enjoy and you have a found a way to increase traffic to your website. These sites let people bookmark favorite websites that others can view and share. It will only take 30 seconds or less to bookmark your site but the traffic flow can increase dramatically. Digg, Delicious, and Reddit are three of the most visited bookmarking sites that receive over 8 million visitors per month. Be creative and thoughtful as you develop your page. Top Ten Lists and how to lists are the most popular content articles on these sites.
Use directories and classified submissions to advertise your business free. An example is Craigslist.org. This site will allow you to post your URL link in not only your local market but also in national markets and global markets in a variety of categories. This is an excellent tool for getting millions of people to your website. You must list your website in the appropriate niche to lure interested buyers.
One of the best free ways to publicize your website is to use the viral content method. When your customers like your rock-solid content, they will post it on their favorite sites and send it to their friends. These friends forward this information; it moves like a tidal wave across the internet. You just create the content or choose the photo or image to send to a few loyal customers.
Develop a tell-a-friend forum on your website. Give your loyal customers a platform to share their experiences while doing business on your website with others. They can mention customer service policies and adherence to that policy and the ease of navigation of your website. They can positively promote your business with others while you watch the profits come in.
Use your personalized squeeze page. This page will instruct the visitor to leave their email address on a form that they submit to you. With some focused work, you can design this page yourself to save money. After you complete this task, this is a “how-to” that you can include as some valuable information in an article you write for a blog or other outlet.
Hold a contest on your website that will encourage everyone to participate and to tell all their contacts about the excitement on your site. Everyone loves a challenge and if a visitor thinks they can win a prize or impress others, they will be inclined to jump in and take part. Word spreads very quickly and can generate traffic that will be impressive to your bottom line.
Conduct and publish some pertinent surveys on your website. If you can get opinions of others and discuss them with the proper techniques and applications currently trending, you can create a lot of interest in your product and increase traffic to your website.
Create and list a free ebook on a free site. Everyone wants to know how to better use their time and skills; reading an ebook provided free by an expert will foster interest in obtaining additional information from this professional. This can be a way for you to build confidence in your business and your own skills as you market your business economically. It is very satisfying to know that you have done the ground work yourself that drives copious amounts of business to your website.
Create topical contents on Squidoo and Hubpages. They are highly trusted by search engines so you can anticipate a lot of traffic from this free method. These websites have their own readers and visitors who visit regularly to satisfy their hunger for interesting information. You’ll create lenses on Squidoo and hugs on Hubpges that will draw an enormous amount of traffic for your website.
Use standard link building activities. You’ll need excellent content to compete with this method. Follow standard link building practices for the best results. Remember to stay niche-specific and the visitors coming to your website will have a valid interest in your business and will be more prepared to buy a product.
An interesting way to drive free traffic to your website is by using joint ventures. Connect with a marketer who has a large email list and ask him if you can send an email to his subscribers as a partner with him. If any of his clients buy a product from you, you will pay him a commission. This is a method many new entrepreneurs use to begin to network in their ecommerce venture.
Use Linkedin. This is another popular business networking site that connects the business community with other professionals. You can promote your products to clients who will be expecting you to do so. Many businesses overlook this outlet so your competition may be lower on this site. Make sure you complete your profile as much as possible and optimize your profile for the keywords you want to rank. This is not a time to be shy; connect with as many friends of friends on this social site as you possibly can.
Post bulletins on your email list. When there are new developments within your business or a new product, send a bulletin to your email list to draw clients in to revisit your website to look at the new information. Keeping on your toes by informing a responsive list of clients will drive more business to your website on a regular basis.
Create an Amazon profile and comment on books and products that are in line with the business that you are promoting online. By appearing as an authority, others will view your comments and reviews and visit your website. They will already be interested in your product if they have purchased an item that correlates with yours.
It is to your advantage to build a Google+page that can showcase your business. You will follow businesses that are like yours and here you can share information and feature content that is valuable and solid.
Set up partnerships with businesses in your local area to share links that will attract customers who scan scaffold businesses that build on each other’s services. Networking is still alive and well and thriving on the internet as well as in your local business community.
Using free advertising will develop a more loyal client base that trusts your product and your business more than paid advertising could ever produce. You won’t have to spend your valuable capital on print, radio, and television advertising; the free methods that you easily use can bring more satisfaction of a business from the ground up as you personally handle all aspects of marketing yourself.
The lifeblood of any online business is the amount advertising and publicity generated about the website. You must carefully target and captivate a motivated audience that will respond to and purchase from your business. You must be authentic in your approach and articulate in your presentation. Be professional and project compassion and caring with your clients that you would want to experience yourself if you were buying online. Without publicity, your business will not succeed but by using creative and unique methods of advertising and free PR, your business will expand and you will attain the goals that you set out in your business plans and strategies. Stick with it, persevere and modify accordingly.
To build a successful online money-making business, you will have to work daily, and document your strategies, plans, and earnings. You will have to spend quality time in the preparation of your plans and modify them when a change needs to be made. You won’t be able to send out one press release or write one article and sit back for the profits to roll in. Publicity and advertising are on-going facets of your business that will require weekly attention.