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Many entrepreneurs believe that they understand what public relations is, but very few do. Publicity and public relations can be used to boost your business by thousands of dollars a week or kill it; the trouble is using it to your advantage.

I’m going to cover a few of the basics for getting good publicity and why you need to do them. If you do, you can be assured that you will be increasing your business at a rapid speed. Publicity, if used correctly, can be many times more valuable than advertising, and best of all, it’s free.

1. Always be honest- when you are talking with a journalist, either through email or the phone, you must always be honest. Journalists have a sort of BS detector and can see what is truthful, what is hype and what is outright lies. If your new, they’ll probably excuse some hype for the first time but they will never forgive you if you outright lie to them.

2. Know what is news - if you are launching a new web page about your cats, that is not news. Honestly, no one cares. I really shouldn’t be saying this, but you would be amazed at the number of people who put out news releases on subjects that no one in their right mind would consider news. However, many entrepreneurs don’t realize when they are sitting on a publicity goldmine. For example, if a celebrity is a happy user of your product, if your company is putting out an interesting or unusual product or service or your company has come up with an extremely innovative product, then you probably have some news on your hands!

3. Know whom to target- when you are releasing a new hairdryer that increases efficiency by 40%, you can call the product sections of the news organizations near you. however, you would be ill advised to call an organization that has nothing to do with your products, “cat monthly”, for example. “pr spam” is a much-feared problem for journalists and pr practitioners alike. My rule is that you can send a release to a journalist you don’t know if you believe that it is very well targeted. I’m not like a few people who believe that you need their express permission; simply by being journalists and posting their information, they are inviting news. However, this being said, don’t spam them.

Try to keep these rules in mind the next time you are looking to get some major publicity to skyrocket your business. Keep to common sense and use old fashioned networking, and you too will be sitting on a publicity goldmine!

Bryan Thompson is a young entrepreneur and founder of Press Release Writing Online (http://www.prwritingonline.com). In his experience as a freelance publicist, writer and entrepreneur, he has worked with dozens of small, medium and large companies. He is also writing a book on the basics of Publicity for small businesses and managing several other businesses at the same time. You may contact him at info@prwritingonline.com.

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If your business involves selling a service, such as consultancy, you might find blatant advertising is counter-productive. After all, no-one wants to hire someone to help make their business more profitable when that other person is so obviously hungry for money!

But you can’t just sit back waiting for customers to find you; it simply doesn’t work that way. You must get out there and drum up business yourself, based on subtle marketing methods that sometimes go unnoticed. But work wonderfully well, drumming up valuable advertising while costing little or even nothing. These neat ideas will get you started…

NETWORKING

Networking simply means building a client list, comprising potential customers for your business and people who might recommend or refer you to others. Networking involves making and using contacts from various circles, including colleagues and friends, family and neighbours, established clients and customers from an earlier business, and so on. The whole thing is about keeping yourself in the public eye but unobtrusively. Next time one of your network contacts decides they want the particular product or service you provide, they should think automatically of you.

For example, a leading consultant reveals his easiest, cheapest, most profitable method of generating business is to produce alerts about his area of business which is e-mailed regularly to established and potential clients.

Other networking ideas:

* Telephone just to say ‘hello’ whenever possible, but not too often - once every few weeks is about right.

* Find out when their birthdays are. Send a card or invite them out for a drink.

Get Listed In Directories and Similar Publications
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This includes being listed in professional directories as well as trade and business journals and yearbooks. It also means having your details included in telephone and other advertising publications, including ‘Yellow Pages’.

ATTEND MEETINGS

Attend as many meetings as possible where referral sources and actual or potential clients are likely to be. Suitable gatherings might include association meetings, professional seminars, trade meetings, and so on. Always make a point of being seen but not by monopolising the proceedings. If you are an expert on some newsworthy topic, volunteer to be a speaker at some well-attended event or ask leading questions, provide answers, and so on.

MAKE SPEECHES AND PRESENTATIONS

Offer your services as speaker at popular events or to present awards, and so on. Appropriate contacts include trade and professional associations, civic groups, business clubs, large companies, and other high profile organisations.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Having your letter published - and more importantly, your name - increases your visibility and establishes you as an authority on your chosen subject. For example, a close colleague who is a management consultant, writes regular letters to management and business journals, always ending: ‘M.D. is a management consultant specialising in Conflict Training and can be contacted on…’

RADIO AND TELEVISION EXPOSURE

Radio and television producers are desperate to fill odd gaps during the day when advertising falls short or other news is patchy. If you can be called on at short notice for a studio or telephone interview, you’ll find plenty of takers. A friend specialising in conflict management has appeared on countless radio programmes as well as national and satellite television shows. Showing how it works he related a recent incident where the story of a local shopkeeper who had been assaulted hit the headlines locally. Mark specialises in training retailers to manage and control conflict and aggression and, following e-mailed and phoned messages to TV and radio stations, he was invited to appear several times in the days following the retailer’s assault. Within hours he had also been approached by several organisations keen to have him address their employees and staff trainers in the art of tackling dangerous situations at work.

PRESS RELEASES

A press release, as the name implies, means ‘releasing’ information to the press in the hope it will be published. It could be about a book you have written or a recent invention, providing it interests readers of particular magazines. Press releases can be sent - posted, faxed or e-mailed - to all kinds of publication, including trade and business journals, national and regional newspapers, professional journals, and so on. Response can be immense and can even generate more business than some firms can handle. A leading Canadian publisher, for example, sold over 20,000 books on the strength of one press release in one major magazine!

Avril Harper is a triple eBay PowerSeller and editor of eBay Confidential and webmaster of http://www.publishingcircles.com and offers many free articles and reports at http://www.pimpernels.com

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