Just ASK!!!

No, I’m not talking about closing, but always ask for the sale too!

Marketing is a big catch-all term which can include advertising, networking, social media, events and publicity.  Publicity is out there for the asking.  Just ask.

Imagine Todd sitting in his Easy-Boy trying to think about what to write about for his next blog.  He’s written over 300 articles and hasn’t fully explored the collective wisdom of an entire industry yet, but it’s still a challenge to decide what to write about.  Then I get an email from a jeweller who has a fund-raising promotion having to do with jewellery, or who has discovered a great training pamphlet for watch-battery servicing.  Well, bingo!  Now I know what to write about, and I know that at least one of my readers care about this issue.

It’s the same with your local radio news director or journalist.  They’re sitting there not knowing what to write about next.  If you hand them something interesting and give them a leg-up on writing the piece, you’re doing them a huge favor! 

Here’s a few rules to follow for the do-it-yourself publicist:

·      Call it a “news release”.  News is what they seek.  Press is what other people want from them.

·      Start-out with “For Immediate Relase” or “For Release February 12th” so they know when the news piece would be relevant

·      Make sure your announcement is interesting, and newsworthy or at the very least timely (relating to a current trend, event or occasion)

·      Always make the W5s easy to spot (who, what, when, where and why.)

·      For the body of your news release take one of two approaches

o   Write a fully developed news-piece as you would wish it to be published – and then invite the writer to edit and make it their own

o   Write a compelling introduction and then give a list of bullet-point facts; drawing them to ask more questions and create their own “angle.”

·      End the text of your news release with “-30-“ centered below the last line to indicate that anything following is not meant for publication

·      Supply all contact information

·      Cut and paste it into the body of an email and also attach a PDF of the nicely formatted document.  Some media outlets have such high-security firewalls that attachments are problematic.

Most media outlets have a spot on their website for “news ideas” or “submit a community event.”  Wherever possible identify the writer, editor or news director who is likely to write or assign the piece and give them a call; asking who to send your news release to.