Product publicity is the "secret pathway" to business success
everyone wants. In simple terms, product publicity is a kind of
advertising that costs you nothing, yet brings in the orders for
you.
Regardless of what kind of business you are operating, you
should want, and strive for, as much publicity for your business
and your products or services, as possible. After all, it's
"free advertising" that is essential to the growth of your
business. However, your publicity efforts should be well
thought out, and pre-planned for maximum results.
The first, and basic form of obtaining publicity is through what
is known as the press or news release. This is generally a one
page story about your business, your product/service or an
event/happening related to your business that is about to, or
has recently occurred. These publicity stories are generally
"shot-gunned" to all the various media: local newspapers, radio
and TV, and trade publications.
Problem number one is getting the people to whom you've sent
these publicity stories, to use them - publish or broadcast
them. And this leads us back to the "right way " of writing
them and sending them in.
In every case, send a short cover letter addressed to the person
you want your material to be considered by... This means that
you send your story to the city editor of the newspapers; the
news directors of the radio and TV stations; and the managing
editors of the various trade publications. It will do you no
good what-so-ever, to send your material to the advertising,
circulation or business managers - describing how you're a
long-time advertiser, subscriber or listener. The most
important thing is that you make contact with the person who has
the final say as to what is to be published or broadcast, and at
the bottom line - this person's use of your material will
somehow make him a "hero" to his or her readers, viewers or listeners.
The cover letter should be a short note. Go to a paper supplier
- tell him you want a hundred or so sheets of good bond paper -
8 1/2 by 11" preferably in a pastel color such as blue or ivory
- and that you want this paper cut into quarters, giving you a
grand total fo 400 sheets of note paper. "From the desk of..."
note sheets are too elaborate until the people you're contacting
get to know you - first time around, and until they use your
material, don't use these semi-formal note sheets...
On this note sheet, begin with the date across the top - skip a
couple of spaces and then quickly tell the recipient of the
note: the attached material is new and should be of real
interest to his readers, viewers or listeners. We advise our
dealers and distributors of MONEY MAKING MAGIC - our regular
publication for serious wealth builders and extra income seekers
- to send the following note to the editors and news directors
of the media in their areas:
"Here's something that 's new, and for a change, truly helpful,
to people trying to cope with inflation - the soaring costs of
living - and those engaged in building extra income businesses
of their own. Should be of real value - interest - to your
readers. Please take a look - any questions, or if you need
more info, give me a call at: (503) 666-5824..." Then, of
course, you skip about four spaces, type your name, your
business name, and your address - sign your name above where
you've typed it, and staple this note in the upper right hand
corner of your news release. This note should be typed and
double-spaced.
So now, you've got a cover letter, and you know who to send it
to... We type up one such note, and take it to a near-by
quick-print shop. They xerox the note 4 times, past these
4-copies onto one sheet of paper, print 50 to 100 copies, and
cut the paper into individual notes, all for less that $10... Do
not try to save money by photo-copying or xeroxing - a
photo-copy is a photo-copy is a photo-copy, and will not do the
job for you...
Now you need the actual publicity release, which also must be
"properly" written if you expect it to be used by the media.
Above all else, there's a proper form or style to use, plus the
fact that it must be typed, double-spaced, and short - about a
half page in total length.
About an inch from the top of the paper, with an inch and a half
margin on each side of the paper; from the left hand margin,
type in all capital letters: PRESS RELEASE: Then, underline
these words. Immediately following the colon, but not in all
capital letters, put in the date. Always set the date forward
by at least one day after the day you intend to mail the release.
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