Why You Need a PR Plan
Summer is finally here, and it’s a great time to review your PR Plan for the busy months ahead.
What? You don’t have a plan-of-action for your upcoming publicity activities?
I hear this from a lot of entrepreneurs. But it is really worth the time and effort.
After all, how are you possibly going to achieve your goals if you don’t know what they are? In fact, famous educator Dr. Benjamin E. Mays stated that “the tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.”
Keep it simple.
And don’t worry. You PR Plan doesn’t need to cause you unnecessary headaches. To start, simply review your business plan and marketing activities. Then, figure out which publicity efforts fit into your overall business goals.
Ask yourself these questions:
1. Why is your business unique?
2. What benefits do you offer customers?
3. When people hear the name of your company, what do they think about?
4. What can you do to help your audiences think about your company in a positive way?
5. What do you want media members to say about your business?
6. What do you specifically hope to accomplish through your public-relations efforts?
Guide your actions by your specific goals.
Now, review your responses. What do you need to do promote your message and unique benefits?
You can write articles, give presentations at local organizations, call appropriate reporters directly, send out press releases, provide newsletters, blogs, videos, and e-reports, and much more. Try to be creative and think of new ways to reach your audience.
Keep it simple and focus on your target market. You basically want to help your customers solve their problems with your products and services. Then, promote their successes.
If you don’t have a PR Plan, try to set aside some time to work on it now. Then, you’ll be organized and ready to use the “power of the press” to increase awareness and sales without spending a lot of money. But even better, you can truly relax and enjoy the warm months ahead.
If you have any PR or writing questions, feel free to contact me at melanie@startupnation.com. I’m here to help! And also check out my discussion on StartupNation Radio this weekend for more tips.
June 26th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Good article Melanie.
I wanted to make you and your readers aware of the launch of Newsforce Network—the first Paid Placement Network just for press announcements and press releases. You can visit http://www.newsforce.com to learn more. Essentially, you can now for the first time have your releases appear on premium news sites (such as the LA Times, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, etc.) for the mere cost of sending a wire.
Keep up the good work!
June 26th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Great tips Melanie!
I wish I was going to be available to listen to your radio show this weekend but I will be traveling with family.
Incidentally, I wrote an article recently that touched on similar tips to help business owners take advantage of the ever-expanding media market.
The article is called: “The Increasing Power Of Publicity - And How Your Business Can Benefit”
Here is a link to the article as it was reprinted on a popular busness site:
http://articles.bplans.com/index.php/business-articles/marketing-a-business/the-increasing-power-of-publicity/118
Keep up the great advice Melanie!
Todd Brabender
Spread The News PR, Inc.
Generating media exposure for
innovative products, services and experts.
785.842.8909
todd@spreadthenewspr.com
http://www.spreadthenewspr.com
Check out Spread The News PR’s recent front-page feature in the Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119800161598537205.html
June 26th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Hi Vince,
Thanks for your nice note. It’s always good to hear about new, publicity resources.
I wish you all the best with the site,
Melanie
June 26th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
This is so true, especially in today’s market and changing economy.
Folks can no longer depend on the low hanging fruit.
We all need to be working to harvest new prospects and customers.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Another way to get your releases out there is to put them on blogs. If you can’t find blogs that suit you, you can certainly create your own. I use WordPress, it’s a free template-driven blogging software, very easy to use. Many of the templates are set up as RSS feeds, so once you post a release on there it blasts it all over the Web and increases your hit count on search engines, driving more traffic to websites. The minimal investment up front in time and money pays off down the road.