FOCUS ON MARKETING: Read All About It!

Besides building goodwill and maintaining your good reputation, one of the best ways to promote your small business is through free publicity in a newspaper or magazine.

But don’t expect your business to escalate just because your story appears in the paper. Like all marketing activities, the value of publicity is cumulative over time and over repeated efforts. The underlying value of publicity, however, is increasing your credibility in your community.

GETTING STARTED. Nearly anything going on in your company that impacts the community can be spun into a story. Who is doing what? Are you expanding services into other areas? When, where and why is this taking place? How is this being accomplished? What are the expected results? The industry as a whole benefits from positive stories of what individual companies are doing for and in their own communities.

Informational stories that are tied into solving a community problem, like donated pest management services to a historical building in the community, are viewed positively by editors.

Keep in mind that although you would like any press release to actively promote your services, the focus of the press release must be on the event or activity and how it impacts the community. If you are lucky enough to get a small mention, congratulations! All in all, this type of publicity enhances your reputation and your credibility.

To facilitate the ease of distributing press releases, keep a file of addresses, contact names and e-mail addresses of all your local papers. Always send a press release to a specific individual, not to the paper in general.

Carry this information-gathering activity one step further and drop by to meet the contact person. That way, when you need the press or want a press release printed in the local paper, you will have actually met the contact person. Keep your contact person aware of activities and events in your company and invite the press to any special events you hold.

“TRADITIONAL” PRESS RELEASE TIPS. Following these 10 tips will help your press release get read, not tossed!

1. Release date. In the upper left hand area of the page, put “For Immediate Release” or if the release has time value, “Hold until (date)” so the editor knows when you want the information published.

2. Identify your company. If you’re mailing or faxing your press release, print it on your letterhead.

3. Identify yourself (or whoever is writing the release). After the release date, tell the editors whom they can contact for more information, such as “For more information, contact (name and phone number).”

4. Summary statement. Write a one-sentence summary of your press release and place it in a box above the headline. This helps attract attention and tells the editor immediately what the release is about.

5. Write a compelling headline. The best way to make your press release stand out to an editor who receives stacks every day is to write a headline that grabs their attention and entices them to keep reading. Keep your headline short, interesting and clear.

6. Use the five Ws and one H. Your press release should answer the questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?

7. Write critical information first. The first paragraph should contain critical information so the reader learns the main point of your release early. Information of the next highest importance should go into the second paragraph, etc. Sometimes the editor will print a press release “as is” and putting the most important information first allows them to cut the end of the release without sacrificing important information.

8. Kill the hype. One reason that many press releases don’t get published is that they’re basically ads disguised as news. Be sure your press release contains real news.

9. Submit press releases frequently. As often as there is news from your company, send press releases to the local media to increase your chances of getting published.

10. The little things. Use an easy-to-read font such as Times Roman, size 12 points; keep your press release to one page if possible; and lead your first paragraph with the city and state. Keep in mind it isn’t necessary to include a cover letter with your release.

PICTURES TELL THE STORY. Including a photo will increase the probability of your release being printed, but be sure to submit high- quality photos that show your subject close up. Be original in setting up your photos and avoid cliched photos like a ribbon cutting, handshake, plaque pass, etc. On the back of the photo, on a typed sticker, list the names of people in the photo, left to right using full names and titles along with your name, address, and phone numbers. Include brief information in the caption about what’s going on in the photo. Unless you send a self-addressed stamped envelope, your photos will probably not be returned to you.
As with all marketing efforts, the rewards of publicity are not immediate. Frequently submitting well-written press releases and photos to your local press following the guidelines in this article should demonstrate the true benefits of public relations — increased credibility and an enhanced reputation.

The author is owner of Compelling Communications, Inc. She can be reached at 800/779-0067 or via e-mail at jvanklaveren@pctonline.com.