• 57Getting free PR
• 58Writing and delivering press releases
• 59Using banners, posters and signs
• 60Exhibiting at conferences
• 61Becoming a well known expert in your field
• 62Sponsoring for maximum return
• 63Giving something back to society

85
inspiring ways
to market
your small business

57 Getting free PR

What is PR?

PR (short for Public Relations) is what you do to promote your business directly with the general public. You can do this through channels such as publishing articles on and off line, getting TV and Radio interviews, publishing press releases, giving talks, participating in charity events, getting involved with sponsorship and more. PR is about adding something to people’s lives and in return you get good publicity.

There are many ways in which you can develop your own PR machine and in doing so get a lot of FREE positive publicity for your business.

There are publications, broadcast media, newsletters, newswires and websites within your marketplace that are always hungry for information and ideas.

Getting free PR is much easier than you think.

Why is PR important?

PR is a vital piece of the marketing mix and especially powerful as it provides a natural third party endorsement for you personally and your products and services. It is your opportunity to position yourself as the industry expert, and get your name in the public eye. There are so many good opportunities out there that becoming good at getting PR can save you a lot in advertising spend.

Your challenge

You will need to be selective. It could be very easy to spend all your time at it. The best PR for you will be that which targets your potential customers and gives you the chance to promote your business alongside it. You will need to build strong relationships with the editors and journalists of all publications and media channels relevant to your industry and marketplace. You will need to sell your ideas just as you would your products and services to a customer. Editors and journalists are interested in their readers and what they might find interesting and of value. Your challenge will be to present your ideas in a way that will appeal to their interests, not yours. PR is non-commercial. It is a softer way of communicating the great value you have to offer.

How to be successful at getting free PR

Articles

The first thing that you can do is find out what the editors of all the industry press and websites are looking for.

They all produce regular feature lists and article writing guidance notes that explain exactly what you need to write in order to fulfil their criteria. It is then just a matter of adhering to their deadlines and sending in your articles. It always helps to have built up a relationship with the editor beforehand, so have a conversation about the article and angle you are planning, if possible. Offering an article series is a good way to build a continuous relationship with both editors and readers. An article series will really give you the chance to build a strong profile over time.

Suggesting an idea that is not in a feature plan is also a good approach. Find out what is a hot topic at the moment and then check out the publication article archives to see what has already been written on the subject to date. You then need to come up with a unique angle or something that will inspire readers.

Many magazines are interested in information that is backed up by some solid research data. If you are interested in generating some PR about a subject that you want the market to pay attention to, running a research survey and then offering the results as an article of interest is a very good way of achieving your goal.

TV

It is also possible to get opportunities to promote yourself on TV. Producers are always looking for new angles and ideas to boost audiences. Breakfast shows, national quizzes, central or local news, specialist shows and interviews could all be interested in your input and ideas. If you can provide something creative that would be of interest to the general public, and you can position yourself as the expert, then you would have a very good chance of getting an opportunity.

Think about the programmes on television recently where they have used an expert coach, consultant, trainer, or psychologist. The National Quiz shows, Life Laundry, Fame Academy, Ten Years Younger, a host of reality shows, The Apprentice, breakfast TV and more. Making contact with programme researchers will enable you to get inside information about the various shows which are being planned and, potentially, where the opportunities might be for you to help.

Radio

Radio interviews or call-in shows can provide another good PR opportunity. Contact the producers and find out what they have planned and if they are looking to interview any experts. You could suggest a call-in programme where listeners call in with questions that you answer live on air. Have a listen to some of the different radio stations and some of their live shows. This exercise might stimulate some ideas.

People care about what’s important to them – things that will improve their life, improve their business, make money, save money, entertain them, fulfil them and protect them. Public relations will work for you as long as you keep your focus on what will benefit people’s lives or businesses the most.

Attract the press yourself

If you are creative you can think about a high profile stunt or competition you could run in your local market area that would attract some press attention.

CREATE YOUR OWN PR MACHINE – SPECIAL RESPONSE CHECKLIST

• Consider your PR goals – what do you want to achieve?
• Consider the resources you have to manage your PR. Who can research the opportunities? Who can write articles? Who can take responsibility for placing them?
• What are the publications that your target audience read?
• What are the websites that they use?
• Where do they go to find out about potential suppliers in your marketplace?
• Where would you like to see your articles published?
• Consider what you could write about that would offer value to your target audience.
• How could you title or angle your articles to gain the attention of your target audience? ‘How to’ titles or lists of tips are popular ways to get readers’attention with the promise of value.
• How could you package the articles in a series?
• How could you position yourself as the expert? Make sure that you promote yourself well as the author of the article or participant in the PR exercise. Mention your position, organisation, qualifications (if relevant) and say something that refers to your expertise in the subject that you are referring to.
• How could you capitalise on any PR opportunity you get?
• Have you got any good ideas for an effective PR stunt?

How to use this information

To make this work, you will need to take some time out to plan properly and investigate your PR campaign. You will also need to measure and monitor your return on investment: this will be the value you place on your own time. To do this well takes as much focus and thought as any other element of your business marketing plan. Once you have got the PR machine running and are happily generating a good return you will be glad that you took action.

58 Writing and delivering press releases

What is a press release?

A press release is a short, concise description of a potentially newsworthy story about your business. This is sent out to a selection of newspapers, magazines, and TV or radio stations to stimulate the interest of an editor or journalist in writing a full piece about it. The goal of a press release is to ‘sell’ your story. A press release can contain information about products, services, events, trends or almost anything.

Why are press releases important?

Getting your press releases regularly accepted by all types of media outlets will give your business a free and very powerful marketing opportunity. Your potential customers, who read the press, watch TV and listen to their local radio stations could be influenced by your presence and your story. As a press release is read as someone else writing about your business, it will have more power than an advertisement which is produced internally. Press releases will certainly, over time, build your profile within your marketplace. If you can get into the national press you will benefit from the high coverage, as well as building credibility through association with the publication that publishes you.

Your challenge

The bad news is that 99% of press releases are thrown in the bin, and a lot of those are written by PR agencies. So a lot of money is wasted. Your challenge is to get your press releases noticed and published. You can do this yourself once you know what to do and can follow a simple formula.

What are the ingredients of a successful press release?

The good news is that those press releases that lead to a story or interview have certain qualities in common.

• The best press releases step into the shoes of the journalist reading it, knowing that they are always searching for stories that are newsworthy and of reader interest.
• They are targeted towards the needs or interests of the audience.
• They are creative and offer something a bit different and original.
• They are well written. Your release needs to be written in proper journalistic style, with short sentences and short paragraphs. Many journalists are looking for quick and easy stories that do not take up valuable time to prepare. A properly written press release can be published with little or no editing.
• You must get it into the hands of the right journalists and editors. So do your research and know the correct name of the person to send it to.
• Make sure you send the right release to the right publication.

What kinds of press releases are likely to be newsworthy?

• Announcements – new products, new management, merger, changes in corporate structure, partnerships, product changes, new equipment.
• Statements – issue statements on topics that have an impact on your business. New legislation, for example.
• Events – you can create a story about every event your company participates in. These may be events you send your team to, or ones that your company hosts. Speaking engagements, trade shows, special presentations or awards and community events that show you care are also of interest.
• Promote your customers – write case studies showing how a particular customer accomplished a major goal because of your product or service.
• Accomplishments – write about milestones that you have reached such as significant numbers of customers, years in business, expansions, new funding, new sales levels reached or awards won.
• Employees – write about any good deeds your employees have done, achievements, community service.
• Charity – if you get involved in charity events, promote the fact.

WRITING A PRESS RELEASE – SPECIAL RESPONSE CHECKLIST Type="Bold">

• What is happening in your business right now that is newsworthy?
• Read the newspapers that you aspire to get into. See what kind of stories are getting in and notice the headlines they are using. Learn from them and angle yours in a similar way.
• Create a standard template for your press releases. Find out the names of all the journalists you need to send them out to, and then start a system of creating one newsworthy story every quarter and communicating it to them.
• When you have got an idea for a story you could test it out by calling one of the local newspaper journalists and asking whether it would be of interest and if so what kind of angle would get the best chance of publication.
• Generally speaking, journalists prefer not to get dozens of phone calls as their time is at a premium, however, at a local level it can work to your advantage if you can create the opportunity for a short conversation.
• Ensure that your press release headline is attention grabbing. Test some different headlines and their impact on getting accepted or not.
• Measure the results you get; notice what is getting in where.

How to write a press release

• Your press release can be sent by letter, email or fax. Make sure that your name, full address and company details including full contact details are clear and obvious either up front or at the end.
• You also need to make sure that the editor is in no doubt what the communication is all about. So the words Press Release need to be in bold at the top of the page.
• If the release is for immediate release it needs to indicate that.
• Next will be the subject. You will need an attention-grabbing one-line headline.
• The summary should be one or two sentences that explain what the release is all about. Build your release with the most important information at the top. The release should not be the complete story, it is just the story idea that the journalist will develop.
• Keep the entire press release to one page only.
• End your press release with the basic information you want known about your company. This information can be used again in future releases.
• Mention any relevant pictures in the attachments section and then provide full contact details at the end.

Here is a sample structure for a press release:

How to use this information

Try it out. Create your first press release and send it out to your local newspaper and see how you get on. Taking action immediately is the only way you are going to find out if press releases are going to work for you.

59 Using banners, posters and signs

Your marketing messages can be promoted in many different situations by using a variety of banners, posters and signs.

Depending on whether you want to enhance your window display, make the most of your vehicles on the road, create a new look shopfront, provide direction inside and outside of your business, promote special offers or simply catch people’s attention and communicate, good signage can help you do that. There are so many different types of promotional signage available to you on the market today. These are just some of the products available: vinyl banners, vinyl lettering, rotating banners, vehicle graphics, poster displays, builders’ boards, rigid boards, swinging signs and more.

What value do they offer?

Good business signage is important wherever you are located. Signs make it easy for people to see clearly where you are, what you do and what you are selling. A sign can be your business advertisement in the street. Signs, posters and banners can help you to increase your profile in your local area of business operation.

Vinyl banners can be used to communicate with visitors at both indoor and outdoor events, conferences, exhibitions or trade fairs. If you operate a service or trade business and are working on site, you can let people know who you are by putting up a banner or board. Passers-by could be looking for the service you are working on.

There are many relatively inexpensive places to put your banners and posters. Bus stops, roundabouts, billboards, notice boards and mobile advertising are just some of the many opportunities you can explore. You can rent field space from farmers with land near busy roads. Banner and poster advertising when positioned with care can capture the attention of passers-by.

Billboard, poster or mobile advertising in the same place for a defined period of time will capture the attention of regular passers-by or commuters. The more people see your message bold and bright in the same place, the more likely they will be to recall your name when they or someone they know needs your service.

Your challenge

There are so many opportunities to use signs, posters and banners that you will need to make sure you choose what is right for your business. Too many can be as bad as too few. Everything you use to communicate your marketing message to your audience will influence their perception of you. If you use banners, posters and signs they will need to represent your brand and be designed to co-ordinate with your corporate theme. You will also need to be careful where you put them, being mindful of the image you wish to maintain. When it comes to signs with impact it is all about location.

What makes a good one?

• Clear and easy to read.
• Well designed.
• Clean and colourful.
• Representative of your brand.
• Reflective of your corporate image.
• Strong visual impact.
• Attention grabbing headline.
• Strategically positioned to maximise impact on passers-by.

YOUR USE OF BANNERS, POSTERS AND SIGNS – SPECIAL RESPONSE CHECKLIST

• How easy is it for your customers to find their way to and around your business?
• Could better signage improve this?
• What about the vehiclesyou have on the road – are you maximising your advertising opportunity?
• Are there any roundabouts close to your premises that have a high throughput of traffic? Could you sponsor them?
• Which busy bus stops have poster slots available?
• Consider local mobile advertising. What is available and where?
• Are there any good billboard or poster opportunities locally?
• Look at your exhibition signage from the customers’ point of view – does it really sell your business?
• Walk outside your premises and ask yourself if any space could be used to host banners or signage promoting your business.
• Think about your special offers or promotions and whether a swing sign, poster or banners could help you attract more attention.
• How could you make more use of banners, posters and signs?

How to use this information

Banners, posters and signs could be a very useful way for you to build your profile, communicate with your customers and attract more attention to promotions. Consider the ideas presented and opportunities that exist for you to repeat your marketing messages until people really do remember you.