Free Publicity For Your Business

Statistics tell us that over 60% of small businesses fail within the first two years of operation. Yet it doesn't seem to deter us from starting them.  And there are many reasons small businesses fail: poor product placement, lack of quality control, poor or undisiciplined accounting practices, and poor marketing, among others. As an owner, you can increase your business' chance at success by incorporating some solid public relations practices that don't require a big budget, a degree, or an abundance of creative skills. Just a little committment to making it happen and a willingness to seek help when you need it.

Getting publicity for your business is different than paying for advertising. Publicity is getting someone else to tell your story. This adds an element of credibility to your business which can be worth ten times more than paid advertising, when done properly. We'll discuss the how-to's of publicity in a minute.

First, it helps to do a little prudent and fruitful market research. Hopefully you've done some of this prior to starting your business, but if not, this is a good time. Who is your competition? And how is your business DIFFERENT from the competition? What do you offer that the other guy doesn't? How do you make it better? Faster? Cheaper? Better-looking? Once you've done your research and determined your products' strengths, write it down. This becomes your marketing mission statement.

Next, where do your current or potential customers get their information? If your product or service caters to a younger audience, then using a social media outlet would be a good way to get the message out. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are free ways to reach a large number of people. Join one or all of these sites and provide regular updates on what's going on with your business or product. Young people especially like to be 'in the know' and, preferably, the 'first to know', and they check these sites multiple times daily.

Community papers are another great way to get the word out. By and large, most communities are supportive of their locally-owned businesses. Word-of-mouth advertising is really the most effective and you can use your fellow citizens as ambassadors of your company by providing them with GREAT service at a fair price. If you can string a coherent sentence together, you can mold your message and create a press release that your local or community paper, especially the free publications, are eager to use. Free newspapers depend on the community to feed it news to print. So, a well-written press release or story about your product, business, and YOU, might not only be mentioned in the next issue, it might be printed VERBATIM as editors of small papers often wear many hats in their own jobs and don't have time to send a reporter (if they even have one) to interview you, or rewrite the story themselves. So if they need filler material, publishing press releases as you've written it are standard operating procedure. For tips on how to write killer press releases, go to http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp.

Photos of your product, business location, or someone using your service are always welcome at the community papers. If you are having a grand opening or special event at your location, always take your own photos, or have someone do it for you. Even if you've invited every paper in town, don't rely on someone else to get photos of the event. Invest in a good digital camera and have a friend take some pictures, so that if the photographers don't show up (they are at the mercy of 'hard news', ie: car crashes, sports events, local dignitaries) you can still provide photos of your event and likely get a mention in the next issue, even if it's just a sentence or two. Those two sentences will more likely be published if you provide a good photo to go with it. Visit http://www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/digital_photography/take_better_photos/ for tips on digital photography.

Get to know the staff of the free and local papers. Start by keeping an updated file of editors' and writers' names, and their 'beats' - what kind of news they cover. If you own a restaurant, learn who the food writers are, and keep them updated on what new menu items you are offering. If you are a consultant, learn the names of the writers who cover the industry that you are consulting in. If you own a clothing boutique, get to know the style writers. DON'T FORGET THE BLOGGERS, either. Create a file of blogs pertaining to your industry. Familiarize yourself with the blogging process and feed the bloggers story ideas as they come up. Always send a short email or note saying 'thanks for the coverage about...' to the editor (not the writer) after a story about your company has been published. It shows you're reading the paper, and is just good manners.

How do you get this information? Spend a weekend morning driving around to places where you see the free paper vending machines and pick up a copy of everything. You'll find these machines at places like Wal-Mart, grocery stores, community centers, gas stations, donut shops, etc. Look inside for the publishing information. The editor's name, and any other staff names will be nearby.

Lastly, if you want to do some paid advertising, but don't have any design skills, you can go to these same local papers and ask how much their ad design costs. Often if you are advertising in their paper, the graphic design staff will create an ad for you. Once you've paid for the design, the ad is YOURS and you can use it as you wish. You can re-format it to use in local magazines, or direct mail pieces or whatever.

You CAN have an effective marketing program for your small business, even if your budget is limited, or non-existent. With a little effort you can use free publicity to increase sales and grow your company. Good luck!

Copyright 2009 Plus One Marketing Solutions. www.plusonemarketingsolutions.media.officelive.com