DIY PR – Success on a shoestring budget!

29 July 2010 No Comment

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If you’re like most business owners, getting a free plug on the radio or a good write up in the paper can be worth a lot. But, when you’re working with a shoe-string budget for marketing, hiring a PR agency to promote you may not always be practical or affordable.

The good news is that it’s possible to do your own PR without leaving the couch! The secret is just knowing how to go about it and having access to the right tools.

It comes down to having a good story, understanding the media and how to reach them. Here we’ll share a few tips to help you on your way to doing your own PR – and getting results!

Step 1) Make sure your story is newsworthy

News is something exciting that’s ‘in the now’ not something that happened a week or month ago. It’s a credible story that you want to tell your target audience. Being in the news is free and it’s different to advertising, which is paying to be promoted. Unlike advertising, with doing your own PR, there is no guarantee that you will get media coverage, but there are some things you can do to increase your chances.

Generally, if what you’re doing is new, unique, an Australian first, timely, controversial or quirky you have a good chance of gaining some media interest in your story. Just think about the types of stories you read in the paper! In business, the following can often make a good piece of news:

a launch of a new product or service – particularly if it’s unique to the Australian/international market
new contract/deal/export achievement/partner
record turnover or sales
a business milestone e.g. celebrating 20 years in business
new research report

What is not newsworthy?

If there’s no story to tell, a straight profile on your business or product won’t get you in the news. The same thing goes for sponsorships or advertising. Unless they are controversial and stir up a big public response, typically, these initiatives don’t generate publicity.

Step 2) Have a well written press release

Even with a good story to tell, getting it in front of the media can be challenging. Print and electronic journalists, researchers and producers receive dozens of emails a day from people wanting coverage. But, a well written press release can certainly help your news get noticed.

Here are some tips for writing your own press release:

use a catchy, informative headline
your first paragraph needs to be interesting and contain the key facts – what, why, how, when and where
keep the language simple
keep sentences short and don’t waffle on. Journalists want the facts rather than wading through reams of creative hyperbole and time is of the essence.
ideally don’t have more than two sentences to a paragraph.

If you’re suffering a bit of writer’s block, or simply admit that writing is not your forte, there are services that can do the press release writing for you.

Step 3) Send your media release to the right contacts

There’s no point sharing your arts news with the sports editor – so make sure you send your release to the most appropriate media contacts. Journalists, producers and editors are notorious for moving around the media scene. Be sure you don’t miss a great opportunity to get your media release read by having out of date contact information. Do your homework, and if there’s a section of the paper or a magazine that’s more relevant to you, target them.

If you’re looking to buy a media list online, shop around. Most provide you with bulk lists of media information and prices can vary a lot.

Author Bio: Anna Anderson’s team has an abundance of knowledge, experience and insight gained from working as trained PR communications professionals and/or journalists in Australia for many years. If you need assistance with your PR work, visit them online at www.prguru.com.au.