Another year has rolled in, and I hope one of your business goals is to get more PR for your business.
PR doesn’t have to cost you thousands of dollars or hundreds of hours to achieve. In fact, with a few well-ingrained, PR-attracting habits, you can easily become a virtual PR magnet.
Below are five resolutions that will help you get more PR in 2011:
Quick question…what’s the best way to stand out in your market with no marketing budget?
Answer…get free publicity.
Once you figure out the system (and there is a system) to what YOUR unique stories are, and how to get those stories in the hands of media, bloggers and other key influencers who hold the key to your clients – you’ll realize there’s a TON of publicity opportunities you’ve been stepping over all these years.
What’s that costing your business? Read More→
I once interviewed a reporter and asked her how many emails and voicemails she gets on a daily basis. The answer is…a lot. Traditional media – reporters, TV and radio producers – are deluged with inquiries, press releases and story pitches. Many of them thrive on being busy, work on more than one story at a time, and are often on deadline.
That’s not to say they don’t want to hear from you. Here are 5 things you should know:
1. Journalists need a reason to do a story NOW (not tomorrow) – if you can answer the questions, “why you?” and “why now?” you’ll get their attention. Do you have a good story or product for Father’s Day? That was one of our big holiday pitches when we had our socks by subscription company. Are you a coach who can offer tips on How to Survive Valentine’s day without having a partner in your life? Read More→
Year after year, the same holidays come up that the media are obligated to cover.
New Year’s, Valentines, Mother’s Day, Back to School and Christmas are just a few examples we are all familiar with that reporters and bloggers are looking for stories.
By tying your story, service or product into these times, you may have a better chance of getting some coverage. Don’t forget about deadlines though, many magazines really are working on their Christmas issue in July!
And don’t limit yourself to the major holidays. As an example, besides Father’s Day, coming up in June are observances such as:
For my Canadian entrepreneur friends…
Fresh off the highest-rated season yet, CBC Television’s DRAGONS’ DEN is embarking on an epic audition tour. The show gives aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of wealthy Canadian moguls who are entrepreneurs themselves. The prize is real cash and real investment – from the Dragons’ own pockets!
This is a fantastic opportunity for entrepreneurs and small business owners to come down and pitch their business concept for the chance to appear on national television.
As extra incentive this year — entrepreneurs with an eco-friendly business, invention or idea could qualify for a $100,000 Greenvention prize from Sun Chips.
Our socks by mail company actually appeared in a sister show called Fortune Hunters back in 2007, shortly before we got bought out 
There are over 40 stops in the audition tour. Visit www.cbc.ca/dragonsden for more information.
If you’re new to PR, public relations for small businesses is all about building your reputation. It’s the result of what you do and say, and what others say about you. PR establishes credibility and generates awareness outside your limited inner circle so that people can’t wait to come in droves to your site or store to evaluate the information for themselves, join your company, invite you as a potential partner, invest as a stakeholder or buy your product or service.
It’s crucial to include PR in a small business marketing plan as a way to differentiate yourself from the competition.
PR pros can use many different tactics for a product launch, or to sustain longer-term public relations goals such as brand building or local community relations.
Offline PR uses tactics like Read More→
A while back I wrote about How to Build Your Own Media List. Whether you build your own or buy a list, here are three tips that will help you maximize your chances of getting PR and avoiding media pet peeves.
1. DO A BIT OF RESEARCH – even if a paid media list is customized to your product or service, it’s usually based on keywords only – the more generic your key words, the more possible contacts you will pull. Which is why an unqualified media list can have hundreds or a thousand names that you pay for, with only a handful of reporters actually appropriate to you. If a magazine or media outlet sounds interesting, check out their website to see if there is an appropriate section or column where your company could be covered.
As you scan the print or online publication, think about:
• Are they interested in product reviews, book reviews, fashion or trends?
• Is there a giveaway/contest, guest articles, a CEO profile, inclusion in their gift guide that you can contribute to?
• Are they a Print publication or Online website? Often there is a way to get included in their newsletter for subscribers. Read More→
I think the theme for me in January was “creating” and “cleaning up”. I spent a lot of time creating systems, teams, content and starting a couple of PR campaigns for high-profile entrepreneurs. I also got to look at my business with fresh eyes and decided a bit of clean up was in order – so a few products are getting retired.
Since February is the love month, if you have a Mom-related business, product or expertise, you’re going to love this sale.
http://prinyourpajamas.com/mom-media-list/
Until February 28th, you can buy the Mom’s PR Media Lists at 50% off. You’ll also get a bonus “How to Be a PR Maven” tip book to help you maximize using the media list.
I’m doing this because these lists were compiled in 2009, and I don’t want to update them anymore. Of course, you could compile your own list of journalists who are interested in Mommy matters. But why spend your precious time doing that when you can get a Mom’s PR Media List right now at this incredible deal?If you’re at all interested, do grab the list of your choice now, because I’m pulling these lists off the market — forever.
If you’re new to the term, an editorial calendar is a listing of the major themes or features planned for upcoming issues of a magazine. An editorial calendar is often in the Media Kit created by magazines (and sometimes newspapers) to attract advertisers. In theory, an editorial calendar tells you in January, what the magazine will write about all the way till December.
Sometimes a good photo can illustrate a story more than words. I guess that’s why they say “a photo is worth a thousand words.”
When we had our men’s socks company (which due to a ton of media coverage, attracted a buyer less than a year after we started it), one of the things we struggled with was, “how on earth do we show photos of boring men’s socks?”
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 Elena
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