Get the
Most Out of Your Online & Offline Publicity written
by
Bill Stoller of PublicityInsider.com
You worked hard
to get a story on your business in a popular website or your local
paper. Don't let your efforts end there - here are seven tips to
help you maximize your online and offline publicity:
1) Reprint,
Reprint, Reprint!
A favorable
article on your company or products is marketing gold - it implies
that the publication or website has given its endorsement. The best
part is that you can enjoy the benefits of this "third party endorsement"
long after the article has appeared.
If you want
to re-print an article from an offline publication in its entirety,
you must get permission from the publication. Most publications have
special re-print departments to help you.
The same rules
apply for stories appearing on websites. To re- print, take a screenshot
- make sure to include the logo of the media outlet. If there is
a particularly juicy section of the article that you'd like to highlight,
make sure to use a "blow-up" quote to enlarge and separate it from
the rest of the article.
2) Add it to
Your Website
What better
place to drumbeat your newly acquired media placement than your website.
If you get a lot of publicity, set up a special area (for example,
"As Seen In") to display your placements. For
a great story, highlight it on your homepage. Susan
Blair does a nice job of displaying her publicity successes in her
"Articles" section at http://www.blairenterprises.net
Note: if a publication
displays your article on its website, make sure to link to it. Remember
to check your link often - media websites constantly change. Better
yet, take a screenshot of your article including the publication's
logo, and place it permanently in your "As Seen In" area.
3) Stop the
Presses - Mention Your Placement in Your Ezine
If your business
has a regular ezine, by all means let your subscribers in on your
publicity success. It's human nature to be attracted to a popular,
successful business or a famous person. "Celebrity" status is very
valuable in and of itself.
4) Email Existing
or Potential Clients
Impress your
existing or potential clients by tooting your own horn with an email
alerting them that you've been published or seen on TV! Use the power
of PR to your advantage. Advertising is clearly understood as coming
directly from the sponsoring business and, as a result, is usually
taken with a grain of salt. An article initiated (or "placed") by
publicity efforts is viewed as the product of the reporter who wrote
it - an objective, third party observer whose positive comments about
your business will carry great weight. For more information on PR
versus advertising, go to http://www.publicityinsider.com/questions.asp
5) Pitch it
Again, Sam!
Take your story
angle to a different publication or website - make sure to bend the
angle to match the publication's editorial slant or specific reporter's
column. DO NOT mention that the story appeared in another publication.
Why let a reporter know your angle has already been reported? If
it's newsworthy, the story will stand on its own. To learn how to
make a story newsworthy, go to: http://www.publicityinsider.com/freesecret.asp
6) "Internal"
PR
Place your article
in a handsome frame and hang it in a visible area of your office's
waiting area. The story adds legitimacy to your business and provides
entertainment for your waiting customers. If you don't have a waiting
area, put the article behind your desk facing your visitors or in
your meeting room. Make sure to distribute the story to your employees
and suppliers to build loyalty and company pride.
7) Other Suggestions
* Sales Brochures,
Direct Marketing Materials & Trade Show Handouts - Like advertising,
claims in self-produced brochures & mailings are taken with a grain
of salt. But, if a credible publication makes those same claims on
your behalf, make sure it gets "front page" placement in your sales
materials.
* Speech handout:
- One way to keep your speech working for you long after the chairs
are folded up is to distribute your article with your business card
and company information to all attendees.
* Business card:
- Place an important quote from your article on your business card.
About the
Author:
Bill Stoller,
the "Publicity Insider", has spent two decades as one of America's
top publicists. Now, through his website, eZine and subscription
newsletter, Free Publicity: The Newsletter for PR-Hungry Businesses
http://www.PublicityInsider.com/freepub.asp,
he's sharing -- for the very first time -- his secrets of scoring
big publicity. For free articles, killer publicity tips and much,
much more, visit Bill's exclusive new site: http://www.PublicityInsider.com/
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