How To Master Your Public Relations Reality

Dear Friend,

Happy January 2017!

And to celebrate, I'm laboring away cooking up some ribs, veggies over the hot coals on the grill and cool brews by my side. It's all good!

Hey, speaking of delectable grill treats, you want some icing to go with your cake? Whelp... almighty then... grab a cold one and follow me to the PR factory and let's see what we can spin up, OK?

Before we dig in, however, let me clear up a few myths about using public relations in your marketing mix.

A popular myth is that "any ink is good ink." Yeah right. I really hate to burst your bubble, but sorry Jo Jo, just getting your name out there or a 'big break' is NOT always an advantage that over-shadows negative stories. Bad press can kill your otherwise good image. Not to mention it's irreversible.

Another common myth is that publicity is easy and free. Hold on there bucko... it seems as though PR is free... and it's easy... if you understand how to write PR materials and you know how to pitch editors.

Yeah, most of us use computers. But that doesn't mean you should take your PC to the next door neighbor to fix the damn thing when it breaks.

Smart business owners hire full time PR professionals or invest the time to study up on the subject before jumping in.

On the other hand you need to hire an expensive PR firm. This may not be an option for you if you're just starting out. You do have other options-lots of them. We'll explore a few in this article.

There's more myths I could bust, but heck it's a cold day in January and I don't really feel like it. Besides, there's some cool stuff I want to dish out for ya so you can master your PR like a pro.

Ready? OK.

Starting a PR campaign doesn't have to be expensive or overly complicated. In fact you can get started with a simple press release. And I'll explain how to put together a simple but effective press release that's sure to get picked up by your local editor.

Side Note. As with any targeted market effort, decide upfront who you are targeting. You'll have plenty of media to go after. So a little skull sweat in defining your target market beforehand goes a long way. Then you'll know exactly what publications to approach. Also spend some time getting to know the publication, what type of articles are published, style, etc.

Step one is to understand that editors want and need your PR materials. These guys work under the gun of a tight deadline each and every day... talk about real stress-there you go. They cannot possibly all the news by themselves.

Another great piece of advice is to understand editors are bombarded with PR materials. With this in mind, you will be constantly be facing a lot of competition at any given time.

So, what gives?

The goal is simple: Become a reliable source of information the editor can use. This is easiest done by following the rules of content and format. Do this and you'll be a hero-it makes the editor's job easier and you'll get free press more often. It's what we call a "win-win" situation.

How to get your press release published? I was hoping you'd ask.

First you need a hook. You know something that gains the editor's attention. And one of the best ways to do this is by putting news in your press release.

Maybe your company has developed a new product or added a new service-this would certainly qualify as news.

Since I'm a writer, it's fairly easy for me to come up with newsworthy items. My basic strategy is to come up with free reports dealing with marketing, sales, or advertising.

I have found editors find these reports useful to their readers and I am able to get free coverage. There is no reason you couldn't do the same. I cannot think of a single industry that couldn't come up with a "new report benefits readers of target media." Put on your thinking apparatus and see what you can come up with.

Let me give you an example...

Several years ago I wrote a book about real estate investing. My basic marketing strategy included publicity. I devised a "mini course" containing various reports all taken from the book and offered to give them away to readers of publications I targeted. This worked very well. I received favorable write-ups from nearly every editor I targeted.

Another hook is to provide advice. Here again you could write a short booklet, preferably something related to your business, and offer this to your target market. Send your releases to editors of local newspapers plus send them to magazines your prospects are most likely to read. A trip to the library will help you locate target publications.

It's worth mentioning again that editors respond well to these types of press releases. Again, it is a win-win situation for both you and the editor.

Here are a few headlines to give you booklet ideas:

·         Free yourself from clutter-20 No-Brainer Ideas That Organize You Fast!

·         7 Ways To Increase Your Advertising Response

·         Free Report For Direct Marketers Presents 12 New Ways To Collect Old Bills

·         New Magalog Offers Small Business Owners Tips For Better Marketing

The beauty of this type of publicity is you position yourself as an expert in the field. We will more about this later.

The last hook I'll discuss is human interest. It's fair to say these are not the only appeals you can use to hook the editor; rather these I talk about in this report demonstrate the greatest appeal.

If you doubt the power of the human-interest appeal just consider magazines such as People or take a good look in your daily newspaper. You'll find numerous articles about people who have overcome huge personal obstacles. Whether these people have overcome illness, poverty, invented something to help save the world or whatever, we all love to read these stories.

The reason these stories are so often read is they are about regular, everyday people like you and me. Sure we like to read about celebrities but the stories about locals doing something spectacular are even more appealing. Along these same lines are individuals that do good deeds or take up a good cause.

Here's a Press Release Example You Can Use

This comes from a few years back when I published a magalog offering various, books and manuals of which I published and resources I sold from other suppliers. The magalog was designed to promote my own products and services plus offer timely articles that would benefit my market. In case you are not familiar with a magalog, it's basically a combination magazine and catalog rolled together

To publicize my new magalog I developed a list of local and regional newspapers to test the waters. My media reception went over very well. But unfortunately I received very few requests for the guide so I decided to stop publishing it.

Despite my lack of success in generating leads, the media apparently thought my press release was newsworthy. This doesn't mean you couldn't adapt this press release you're your own use.

Here is the release:

Contact: Your Name Here, 828-270-9438

For Immediate Release

NEW MAGALOG REVEALS FIVE REASONS YOUR ADVERTISING DOESN'T PAY

A new magalog called Entrepreneur's Opportunity Press, published by independent copywriter and small business consultant Joe Doe, reveals 5 reasons most small business advertising doesn't pay.

The magalog is published for entrepreneurs, small business owners, advertising manager and individual wanting to start a business.

"Many small businesses spend thousands of dollars each year on advertising that produces poor or no results," says Doe. "Money is always a concern and cash flow is important. You shouldn't have to lose money on advertising. Many small business owners can't afford the luxury of having a full time advertising firm handling their advertising, so they are forced to do it themselves. I designed Entrepreneur's Opportunity Press to provide business owner and managers with an affordable alternative."

A few of the reasons your ads do not pay included in the magalog are:

·         Your copy in not specific. Provide as much detail as possible. The old saying "the more you tell, the more you sell" rings true.

·         Your offer is not right. The basic key is to test, test, and test. You should be testing all components of your ad.

·         Your copy is deadly dull. You will not bore your prospects into buying. Make your copy interesting. Tell your story in a news fashion.

·         Your copy contains too many big words. Do not use jargon of any kind in your copy.

·         You talk about features but not about benefits. Benefits sell. Your prospects want to know how your product or service will solve their problems.

Says Doe, "By using the tips outlined in this new magalog, business owners can increase their ad response from 25-100 percent, without changing their theme or message. The business owner will also appreciate the many other helpful resources inside EOP."

To receive a free copy of EOP, send your name and address to: John Doe, Dept. 24, 5633 Charlie Little Road, Granite Falls, NC 28630.

Jon Doe is a freelance copywriter specializing in direct response and business-to-business advertising.

###

A few items to note.

First, notice that this press release follows the proven industry standard style. It's properly formatted and is one page long, and should be double spaced (although our example is not double spaced). Remember Editors are very busy folks-so a one or two page release is ample.

The basic parts to a traditionally accepted format press release are the header, headline and body copy.

As you can see in the above example, the header information is located at the top of the release. The header should include the contact information including name and phone number. Obviously you'd put in the contact's name and phone.

The release is written in a newsy, journalistic style of who, what, when, where and how. Remember you are not writing an ad. If your release sounds too much like an ad or requires rewriting then the editor trashes it... quickly!

You'll also notice there is a headline at the top of the page. Write a brief, catchy headline describing your product (or service). Put your biggest benefit and the name of your product in the headline. For example: "New book helps real estate investors sell more property." Or "New car care product keeps windshields clear in bad weather." You get the idea.

Body copy should be crisp keeping with the facts. The biggest, most important facts are presented first, then explained and the second biggest facts and so on.

At the end of the body copy put your company name, address and phone number. Traditionally the press release will end with the number sign typed three times (###). This is standard format and editors will appreciate this courtesy. If you release goes beyond one page type "MORE" at the bottom right so editors will know to look for another page.

I hope this article whets your appetite on how you can use PR to help get the good word out about your biz. Use these basic guidelines to get more free press. Keep in mind this article just scrapes the surface on using the media to promote your products and services.