Public Relations Tips

How to Get Thousands of Dollars Worth of Free Publicity For Your Business

The first step to getting loads of free publicity for your business is to ask yourself - what is newsworthy?

What is newsworthy may depend on the particular media you are targeting. Metropolitan daily newspapers and television networks will be interested in a different type of news story, to one that might interest a local radio station, or suburban newspaper. Sometimes the same news story can be pitched differently to suit the different news organizations.

Here are some opportunities to get free media coverage:

Staff news If you employ an important new person, tell the press. Have any employees being given awards? Have you had record-breaking orders or have you promoted someone for excellence?

Customer news Have you had any celebrity customers? Have you helped any customers out of a tricky situation?

Business changes Are you increasing (or decreasing) the size of your business? Have you captured a big export order? Are you bringing in a new product range, or providing new services?

Location Is there anything newsworthy about the building you occupy? What is its history?

Unusual services Do you have a strange occupation, or have you been asked to do (or make something) that is unusual?

You What have you done that could be seen as newsworthy? Any awards, sporting achievements, seminars, guest speaker roles etc.?

Start making a list of how you could generate a newsworthy story for your business.

If you are still stumped, then the following questions may give you some ideas to get some free publicity:

• Do you offer something that is not available anywhere else?

• Are you a new business in the community or have you recently renovated?

• Are you celebrating an opening, an expansion or some anniversary?

• Are you the last or only type of your business in the area?

• Have you or your staff recently completed any specialist training?

• Do you do charitable work or do you sponsor a club?

• Could you host special events like free demonstrations, free lessons, or free seminars?

These are all media opportunities that have the potential to make you and your business famous… well, for a short time anyway.

I will give you a couple of examples from my own experience.

When I first started in business I had a craft store and regularly had various experts give demonstrations on glass blowing, pottery making and china painting etc.

I also held art exhibitions for well-known artists. The amount of free publicity my business got would have run into many tens of thousands of dollars. The publicity cost me nothing, but a little time and organization. It resulted in hundreds of new customers and thousands of extra dollars in the cash register.

I also remember back to my days in the toy trade. Every Christmas I would tell the media what kids wanted Santa to give them for Christmas, or to put it another way “what parents should buy their kids for Christmas”. Every year without fail I had loads of free publicity. It was that easy.

The really good part of all this, is that a news story is worth far more in terms of credibility than advertising. There are opportunities for any and every business to get free media coverage. You just have to hunt them out.

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