3 Steps to Quick Start Your 2009 Publicity Success
Welcome back from the holidays! And if you’re like most entrepreneurs, you have a lot of work to do right now, and PR tends to fall to the bottom of your list. Well, it’s time to make it a priority so you can reap the benefits of free publicity.
Here are 3 simple things you can do now to get started:
1. Review your plan.
Do you have an action plan for your PR efforts? If not, check out our quick
step here.
2. Schedule time.
Add 15 minutes to your schedule each day specifically for PR activities.
Then, spend that time conducting media research, creating your story pitch,
calling reporters, working on an original article, etc.
Just by working on your publicity a few minutes each day, you can garner media coverage that boosts sales fast.
3. Get help.
If you really don’t have time for do-it-yourself PR, find someone to help
you. Whether it’s a college student, intern, freelancer, or experienced publicist, there are many people available who can provide assistance.
But please do your research first.
Find someone who fits your specific needs and budget. Many entrepreneurs have come to me stating that they paid big bucks for a well-known publicist or agency, but they didn’t receive any major media clips or the attention they deserved.
Please don’t let this happen to you! For more information, check out this article.
The Time is Now…
By getting media coverage and having third-parties talk about your
business, you can obtain valuable credibility and word-of-mouth that is
impossible to purchase. It really is worth your time and effort.
So what do you say? Are you going to add PR to your list of priorities today?
If you have questions about garnering free publicity, please comment below or send me a note at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’m here to help!�
January 7th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
I have been in the business with designers doing their custom work, etc….for 20 yrs…so I know my product, I believe in it, and have done 2 trade shows for drapery and quilting workrooms, since they have the need to do custom bumpers but, never had a solution. Anyway….my market doesn’t know who THEY are! like sushi to an American the first time.
Check out my website and let me know if anything comes to your mind.
Thank you,
Shirley
January 8th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
I believe this is one of the most awesome ideas for anyone in sales or marketing. What do you think? What do you think is the best way for me to market my services to the sales community?
Thanks!
Darrin
http://www.sendoutcards.com/61105
January 10th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
I agree, PR has to remain a focus. You have to be found, your name has to be out there and you have to be very creative in the “how” This is a video with a great point. Heads Up: Video Content Is Rocket Fuel For Inbound Broadband
January 12th, 2009 at 2:44 am
I believe this is a wonderful Post! It is very Organized and Clear and to the Point. I am going to take heed in what she has posted, and now I am looking for a Mentor to Kind of guide and help me with the steps to make my online fashion business more successful:)
January 12th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Does anyone have any ideas on how to measure ROI with PR? This past summer was the first time we ever hired someone to do PR work for us. We found her using the services from Elance.com and she actually did a very good job from what I could tell. We had more articles written about our program than ever before and they were placed in a number of different markets. I am now in the middle of our sales cycle and I can’t really put a finger on any one school that is implementing The Kick-Off Program because of those article this past August. It would be nice to know if we atleast made our money back on hiring a publicist.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Dear Kick-Off,
It’s very easy to track traffic to a website from articles and PR. Sign up for a free Google Analytics (GA) account. Then, using their URL builder tool, create a unique URL (link to your website) for each campaign, media, and ad or article.
Have your webmaster create a redirect for each url to make it look pretty in your article, ad or PR. Then publish the unique url in your article, PR, or ad.
This sounds complex but it really is very easy. Once you have this in place you can go to GA and check your statistics.
If you have leads call you or email you ask how they found you and record it with their contact details.
Ultimately you need to track sales by source no matter what tool you’re using. You can easliy track sales and ROI by traffic source.
This works both online and off.
If you don’t have a website skip the GA part and assign a unique code to each media, ad, and article combination.
When you get a lead or sale, make a record of that code with the contact details.
Hope this helps.
January 20th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
While PR is important for your business, it has little value if it can not be measured and evaluated. Measuring ROI on PR and Marketing Efforts is essential because it allows you to optimize your budget by focusing more of your funds on the specific tactics that are providing revenue for your business. If you are unsure about how to measure your PR and Marketing efforts, we can help!
January 28th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Extremely helpful advice here. While it should be common sense to the entrepreneur, oft time the excitement of doing business clouds our customer relationship mentality. If we all had the same will-to-do…Get great tips about running a small business. YORE foundation