You can publicize your service or product with a pamphlet or booklet. Topical subjects such as saving energy or cutting costs are always newsworthy. Naming new trends or buying habits can equally be publicized. Take a look at the magazines and trade journals in your area of endeavor. Are there special sections for interesting tidbits of the industry? Maybe there's a section for new products, or even a section that compares products. Does your product or service have something special that competitors don't? Maybe yours is the best - and -best' is newsworthy. Does yours have the longest resiliency, or is it made from the best materials? Maybe your service is noted for complete satisfaction or reliability. These aspects are especially important for the big manufacturers. Trade journals cater to the special industries, and those in the trade always want to consider the best product investment - especially when spending thousands of dollars. An oil company sends out free booklets on maintaining your car; a travel agent prints a brochure on the most beautiful vacation spots; a dry cleaners gives out a flyer on getting out stains as soon as they happen. What promotional literature can you tie into your business? And it doesn't need to be product oriented. Some large companies produce tips on employee relations or benefits. Many print their own newsworthy in-house publications. Any special message booklet is a public service and is worthy of free publicity. Some interesting information can make a good feature if followed up by a reporter. Or you may write your own feature for magazines. You can get your literature designed and printed by a local printer at minimum cost. Don't go for an elaborate four-color booklet unless you can afford to. Consider what you can get at the least expense and then work from there. >From a small investment, you may get thousands of dollars worth of free publicity. Always include the name and address business number of your enterprise on the brochure, and offer copies for the general public as a free give-away or as a bonus for services. When you don't have a specific news release or a special booklet to publicize your enterprise, you may solicit publicity with a letter to the editor of the section that suits your endeavor. Rather than providing complete information, suggest the practicality and timeliness of a feature or article on your business or the owner of the business. Some people or organizations are famous in their own right and start side businesses or enterprises. For example, celebrities open restaurants or community theaters; financiers donate art collections; a local orphanage may raise a phenomenal amount of money for a special cause. A pitch letter is a highly motivating letter to get the editor interested in the topic that will benefit your cause. Type it on letterhead and send it personally to the editor. You might call in advance and use it as a follow up. Get right to the point. Present the topic and the angle immediately. Then, support the worthiness with some poignant information concerning the topic. Send copies of local publicity if you're building to a national level, or send copies of other news features that relate directly to your person or product. Don't deluge the editor with too many clippings or an overload of information. A few choice tidbits will suffice to get that person's interest in doing a feature. Close your letter with a mention of calling that person and then follow up with a telephone call a few days later. Copyright 2006 |
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