Women Business Owners

Getting publicity for your business can be an elusive and intimidating prospect. Yet you can get the media to write about your product or company for free, if you make the effort to let them know about you. It's as easy as contacting a journalist with a good story, but many entrepreneurs don't know where to start. Here are five "tried and true" strategies public relations practitioners use time and again because they work.
1. Get Informed. Read the media in which you want to be covered. If you want a story in the local newspaper, study it and notice how it covers similar companies. Similarly, if you want to be in InStyle or Fitness, read those publications to find the sections where your product or company might be a good fit. Take notes on journalists' names, story angles and coverage that can apply to your company. This will be the start of your publicity plan.

2. Get Topical. Notice what the media are already covering--the economy, celebrities, the housing market--and figure out what your company has to say on one of those topics. Perhaps you're offering a new way for people to save money while grocery shopping, or your pet grooming service is offering "The Aniston" haircut for dogs. The point is to tap into what is already on the media's radar.

*In addition, you're an expert on topics related to your industry. Offer yourself to journalists to comment on topical news. For example, if you're a Realtor, contact the media with suggestions about what homeowners can do to help sell their homes faster in these challenging economic times.

1. Get Shocking. The media like covering something with a bit of an edge to get people talking. The View is a great example. You could add shock value to your company by conducting a survey and releasing the results to the media. If they pick up the story, they'll most likely say something like: "In a survey released by Acme Inc." You can conduct a survey cost-effectively, using tools such as software that allows you to poll the audience on your website. If you have a cosmetics company, you might want to release news on who has the most kissable pout in Hollywood.

2. Get Seasonal. Throughout the year, the media are looking for stories related to various holidays. Don't limit your ideas to Christmas. Consider Earth Day, Labor Day, Valentine's Day, back-to-school, spring, summer, fall and more. Consider offering your services pro-bono for an upcoming holiday or event.

3. Get Pitching. Public relations is similar to sales in that, to some degree, it's a numbers game. There are thousands of media outlets to pitch and generally more than one appropriate journalist at each outlet. Possibilities include local broadcasters, local radio stations, magazines, newspapers, daytime talk shows, evening talk shows and the internet. Someone will be interested in your company.
Once you have your first success and see your name in the news, it's addictive. Even better, media coverage creates momentum: Once one person writes about you, more will follow. That way, if your first "hit" is on a small website or blog, you can leverage that hit to get to your local radio station. That can get you to the local paper, which can get you to a national magazine, and so forth.