A few years ago, a friend of mine started a hip-hop dance troupe in Chicago. She had ideas of using dance to make money and have a huge impact on the city. It was her goal for the company to become a regular name in bars, clubs, festivals and parties – but she was also offering classes and mentoring programs for aspiring dancers. Basically, she loves to dance and doesn’t want to settle for starving her way through a dance lifestyle. She realized that although she may not be able to dance forever (because of the strain it puts on the body); she would always enjoy running the business.
And, so she began – but without any money. But, you better believe that any friend of mine has got to be pretty resourceful. With a little (or a lot) of help she concluded that she would pretty much never need to pay for marketing – if she did it properly in the beginning.
So, she got a publicist who had a fairly huge contact sheet. She had someone write an awesome press release that told a story and begged readers to ask more – and she sent it out to over five hundred people. As a result, her company was covered in numerous publications including the Chicago Tribune. The media coverage brought the public out to their shows and events, and made them a hit from the beginning. Now, their work is covered because people want to be updated on the troupe’s latest adventures, not because they write new press releases.
If a press release is written like a news story, and the story is good – it will be hard for editors not to publish it. If you or your copywriter can conjure an angle that will lure the reader, then your press release may be published in its entirety. Good press releases may also be used in part, or simply inspire the editor (or receiver of the p.r.) to call you and ask you more questions about your business.
You may not have a business that holds events or news that you feel is fitting for your city newspaper. But, do not sell yourself short. Yes, you need to find your audience – and they are out there. And, I guarantee that they read. You can send your p.r. to trade publications, bloggers, any media and creative directors. You can send the release to whoever will help get the word out to your audience.
You cannot afford to pass up this inexpensive marketing technique. When I launched my magazine, I sent out about 1000 p.r.’s, and I got 10,000 hits in the first two days. I am now experimenting with tailoring press releases for specific groups, to make them more enticing. Spend your money on having the release professionally written, or at least copy edited. Make sure that you quote business owners and experts and draw the reader in from the beginning. Look for someone who has an extensive list (publicists do not like to share their lists, and they don’t come cheap, either). But, you can also begin compiling your own lists.
If you use a press release properly, it can turn out to be the springboard for tons of free marketing for your biz. And, we like free, don’t we?
Read some related articles:
- Success is not a Solo Project Recently I have been working on developing a marketing and promotional campaign for a small but successful business called Sydney Dance Zone. Like a lot...
- Finding Your Niche The easiest way to market yourself, is to find a niche and fill it. Attain some buzz from the media as an expert in a...
- Should You Mix Business with Family? So it’s the beginning of your business venture and you need help from trustworthy people who believe in your cause – right? Oh, and lets...
- Spreadin’ Your Business Let’s face it, without marketing your business, your business is dead. You can have the best site, best service, and best idea in the world,...
Interesting article. Do you know of any resources to track down PR agencies? I’d love to use a service like this to get the word out about my offerings.
Hey Brett,
Thanks! I do believe that a good press release will gain you exposure and save tons of money in the long run. I sent you an e-mail with some further info. Feel free to contact me for more advice at ginalaverde@hotmail.com.
Gina,
I’ve recognized the effectiveness of press releases for a while and have tried to write them myself to release via free online PR firms. Do you have any detailed advice on how to write a news oriented release?
I’ll send you an email as well.
Thanks for the post.
Gina,
Thank you for your article.
How did you send out 1000 press releases? Were they all through a single publicist? Did the release appear in print?
Hi Michael,
I wrote and sent my own p.r. and did not use a publicist at all. I compiled my own lists, and really didn’t realize that it would have as big of an impact as it did. To my knowledge, it did not make it to print — but it did get tons of people to check out my zine.
I’ve since learned a bit more about press releases, and have done them for others — Now, I’m working on writing more effective p.r.’s and I want to send out more for my September issue.
Great article, Gina. I think that all entrepreneurs should actively maintain and grow a list of everyone that they know so that when they are ready to release a statement, they’ll have plenty of people who they already know — people who would be willing to spread the word for you and offer you support.