A musician spends years honing his craft. He writes world-class
songs and performs them in a manner that moves his listeners to
tears. He records a demo tape and sends it to record labels. He
gets a contract and becomes rich, famous and adored.

The lesson: demo tapes are the secret of becoming a famous
musician.

Wait, you say, the demo tape was just a tool, just his way of
conveying his talent. It’s his ability as a musician that got
him the contract and made him famous.

You’re right, of course. He could have become just as famous if
a record executive saw him in person, or heard about him from a
friend, or as a result of a variety of other events.

Which brings us to the press release.

Somehow, the press release has taken on a magical reputation as
the alpha and omega of publicity. Wanna become rich? Send out a
press release. Wanna become famous? Press release. Wanna get
on the cover of Newsweek? Press release.

Publicity “gurus” are springing up all over the Internet touting
the press release as the answer to all marketing ills. Just
knock out a release, mass e-mail it to journalists, sit back and
wait for Oprah to call.

It’s a cruel joke.

Here’s the reality: the press release is no more important to
your potential of scoring free publicity than the demo tape was
to our musician friend. If he had no talent, if his songs
sounded like garbage, the best recorded demo tape in the world
wouldn’t get him signed. Ditto for the publicity seeker. If you
don’t have a story to tell, your press release is utterly
worthless.

I’m not knocking the press release — it’s an important tool. But
it’s just that: a tool. It’s not the first thing you need to
think about when it comes time to seek publicity. In fact, it’s
one of the last. And it’s not even absolutely necessary (I’ve
gotten plenty of publicity with just a pitch letter, a quick e-
mail or a phone call).

If you worship at the shrine of the press release, it’s time to
rearrange your priorities. Here, then, are the things that are
MORE important than a press release in generating publicity:

1. A newsworthy story. This is the equivalent of our musician’s
talent. It’s the very basis for your publicity efforts. Without
it, your press release means nothing. To learn about how to
develop a newsworthy story, take a look at
http://publicityinsider.com/questions.asp and scroll down to “Is
my company/website/life really newsworthy?”

2. Learning to think like an editor. Oh, what an edge you’ll
have in scoring publicity over all those press release
worshippers once you learn how to get inside the head of an
editor. Give an editor what he wants in the way he wants it and
you’ll do great. I’ve got an entire article on the subject at
http://publicityinsider.com/freesecret.asp Go there now and
absorb it all. Trust me, it will make a world of difference.

3. Relevance. Tie in with a news event, make yourself part of a
trend, piggyback on a larger competitor’s story, but, by all
means, make your story part of a picture that’s bigger than just
your company. Stories that exist in a vacuum quickly run out of
oxygen.

4. Persistence. Sending out a press release and waiting for
results is lazy and ineffective. If you really believe in your
story, and you believe that it’s right for a particular media
outlet, you need to fight to make it happen. Call or e-mail the
editor to pitch your story BEFORE sending the release. If one
editor says no, try somebody else. If they all say no, come back
at them with a different story angle.

Getting publicity involves so much more than just sending out a
press release. Treat it as seriously and with as much respect as
our newly minted rock star treats his craft and you’ll be well on
your way to success.

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 :>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

Would you like to expand the volume of your business? You can let thousands know about your service, your store, or your new product without spending a penny. Whether you want to make more sales or get an offer on television, you can broaden the scope of your clients by free
publicity.

You don’t have to climb a flagpole or hire a dancing bear to get attention.
In fact, with just a telephone, flyers, and some follow up letters, you can be making much more money than you are now.

What product or what business are you involved with that needs more customers? You might have a neighborhood store or you may have
invented something that is difficult to market. Maybe you’ve launched a new web site.

How are you presently getting customers? Maybe you’re advertising in trade journals, magazines, or newspapers. Perhaps you’re doing banner swaps or participating in co-op programs with other ezine publishers.

Perhaps you’re an author, trying to market his or her new book. Or maybe you’re a young comic or an actor trying to establish his/her career.

Regardless of your business or enterprise, whether it is an online or an offline business, free publicity is available for you. Furthermore, you don’t need any special training to do it. Take a look at the variety of options available to you.

What is Publicity?

Before we get into the different types of publicity out there, it would help if we knew what we were talking about. Publicity is making something known to the public, spreading information to the general, local, or national market. It is information with a news value used to attract popular opinion or support. Everybody uses publicity. Politicians, manufacturers, celebrities all use publicity to gain attention and further their causes. Publicity isn’t limited to large organizations. Small committees and enterprises use the local newspapers to publicize events
and endeavors.

Publicity differs from advertising because it is free. Although some organizations trade tickets or services for mention in a particular publication, generally publicity is newsworthy information that a publication produces. Good publicity is one of the best ways of letting people know you have a worthwhile business.

Do your research. Before you begin a publicity campaign, you should know the answer to the following questions:

What is the product or service I am promoting?

What is the radius of the market (local, city, state, country, and world)?

What do the customers want?

Where do the customers go to buy my product?

Are my buyers mostly online or offline?

Where to publicize

Depending on your product or service, you have a full gamut of
possibilities for advertising without paying. Deciding on the type of media is as important as knowing about your product and your customers.

If you want to publicize directly to the general public national
publications, metropolitan newspapers and Sunday supplements are the way to tap into the market.

For a local enterprise – a profitable business, a charity, or community service- the local paper is the best source of free advertising. Don’t go for the big fish first. Start with the local press and then work your way up.

Make it newsworthy

In order to qualify for publication, your story must be newsworthy.

Anything published in the newspapers, magazines, and trade journals must be of importance to its readers.

You may have a new product or product line that can be featured in the magazines.

If not, you need to come up with a unique angle. For example, you may have to come up with fresh ideas for your service.

Or maybe an unusual piece of information in the inventor or business owner’s biography might make an interesting twist.

Formatting tips

Keep the press release to one page. It should be brief and informative.
Write the words For Release in full capital letters at the right. Make sure you include your daytime phone number, address, email address, and website address if you have one. Write a personal letter to the editor.
Be cordial, but keep it short. If you have a product that you can mail, send the editor a sample if he or she agrees to that. Watch the publication and clip the press release when it is published.

DeAnna Spencer is a virtual assistant that helps entrepreneurs run a successful business by providing affordable administrative help. She also publishes a blog for small business owners. Visit this small business resource today.

This is the ending to my previous article, How to get no cost publicity for your business. Some other options include signature files, joint ventures, free for all links, informational articles, webrings, and giveaways.

Signature files are great ways to get free publicity for your business. It’s just a short blurb at the end of your email. It’s not considered spam. Of course, you shouldn’t just send blank emails to people, just so they’ll see your signature file. That might be considered spam to some people.

Joint ventures are also great ways to get free publicity for your business.
Joint ventures are fairly easy to set up. Just find someone who is not in direct competition with you that may benefit from your book, product or service. Ask them if they will promote your product to their list in exchange for a link on your website or an announcement to your list.
Most business owners will agree to such an arrangement as this is a win-win for everyone.

Another way to get free publicity for your business is to join as many webrings related to your business that you can find. Once again, this costs you nothing, and you get new traffic. A good place to find webrings is http://www.webring.com I also host a webring for people that are in the online marketing and advertising business.
You can join it by visiting
http://f.webring.com/hub?ring=marketingandadve .

Also, you can gain free publicity by writing informational articles. My suggestion is that you post these for free and include a resource box at the end of your article with your contact information and a short blurb about the product or service you are trying to promote.

Another source of free publicity is free for all links. A free for all links page is just what it sounds like. Anyone can list their url on this person’s page. The only catch is that some pages may collect an email address from you and send you a lot of emails. I would just put in an email address that I didn’t mind getting a lot of emails at.

Finally, giveaways are an excellent way to get free publicity for your business. You could give away a report, an e-book, or even a coupon for discounted services. These are just a few of the ways that you can get free
publicity for your business. I’m sure your creative minds will come up with some additional ways.

DeAnna Spencer is a virtual assistant that helps entrepreneurs run a successful business by providing affordable administrative help. She also publishes a blog for small business owners. Visit this small business resource today.