10/ 11/ 2006
by Marcia Passos Duffy
You're running your business on limited budget. As the owner, you wear more hats than you can even remember on a given day. But we're going to ask you to put on one more, one that is often overlooked but can be the key to bringing you more customers and growing your business: publicity.
Why publicity? After all, aren't you already spending money on advertising?
Publicity and advertising are not the same thing. The one remarkable difference is this: Advertising is seen as you tooting your own horn. Publicity is seen as someone else doing the tooting for you. Which do you think carries more weight with your potential customers?
You may have often thought about the advantages of getting more publicity for your business by sending out a press release (also called news releases). After all, many other businesses have briefs or notices in newspapers. But, understandably, many small business people are intimidated by the process and don't know where to begin.
Here's a place to begin: Before you put pen to paper to write your stellar press release, you first need a plan.
Write a publicity plan
Creating a publicity plan need not be long or involved. But it will help you do one thing: focus on what's important––and help you stay on track––when you write your press releases.
Your publicity plan needs to answer three questions: Where are you now in terms of publicity (your situation analysis)? Where do you want to be (your goals and objectives)? And, what can you do to get there from here (your strategies & tactics)?
1. Where are you now? Taking stock.
Assess your publicity/public relations materials up to now and make a list. Have you ever sent out a press release about your business? Do you have a Web site? Do you have a brochure? A newsletter? How are you getting the word out about your business other than advertising? Are you considered an expert in your field? Have you had any publicity ––entire articles or small briefs––written up in any newspapers or magazine? Make an inventory of everything you have at the moment, however small. Get a three-ring binder (and buy some stick-on pages and place any newspaper clips you have there. If you don't have any clips, get a binder anyway. Once you go through these steps, you may have many clips to add!)
2. Where do you want to be? Goals and messages.
Goals: Focus on creating three objectives for generating publicity. Think about why you want publicity. Simply "getting more customers" is too general. You may, for example, want more corporate customers or more visibility in your community, or you may want to create public awareness about a topic in your field. Write down your three objectives.
Messages: This is the message that sets you apart from your competition. Again, be specific and focus on what is unique about your business ("I have best customer service around" is too general). Messages can include that you are an expert on a particular area of your business, offer free consultation or have special pricing packages that no one else in your field has. Write down three messages.
3. How do you get there from here? Strategies and tactics.
These messages and goals form the basis of your publicity plan. With every press release you write, think about your messages and goals. Your press releases ought to get you closer to these goals using the messages you listed. For example, if you want to create awareness in your community about what you do (one of your goals), and you are the only one in your community to have special pricing for elderly customers (one of your messages), you may want to offer a free seminar about your area of expertise to a local senior center. You can then publicize the event via a press release. Brainstorm some ways you can get the message out to your target audience and write down your ideas.
Now that you have several ideas, you will need a press list. What publications do you want included? (You can do some research on the Web for lists of magazines and newspapers relevant to you). Your list should include your local newspapers (both daily and weekly), business publications (regional or local) and any trade publications. Once you have the name of the publication, you need the business editor's (or managing editor's) name. You can easily do this research by calling the publication––don't rely on mastheads or Web sites since editors can come and go. Start a database on your computer of these names, e-mails and publications.
In Part II tomorrow, we will look at the secret to getting publicity.
