Tweet

My top 10 tips on doing your own PR

Written by: Helen Dowling

Article Overview: PR doesn’t just have to mean press releases. There’s loads you can do both on-line and off-line that can help your PR campaign…and some of it means that you don’t even need to speak to a journalist. Here’s my top 10 tips on putting together a low-cost PR campaign:

My top 10 tips on doing your own PR

1. Coming up with a story is one of the hardest aspects to PR – what do you talk about? This is even more difficult if there’s literally nothing going on in your business. But, don’t worry – it’s always possible to come up with something to write about. The first step is to have a look in newspapers, magazines, listen to the radio and watch TV. What sort of things are they covering? I’m willing to bet that it’s not all news. Quite a lot of it will be top tips, expressing an opinion or even a good news story! Once you’ve done this, have a think about possible topics that you could write about under the following headings: human interest stories, surveys, express an opinion, how to…, 10 top tips…, news item, question and answer (ask the expert), scandal and controversy, seasonal, competitions and working with charities. Do this with a friend or colleague and see how many topics you can come up with.

2. After coming up with some possible titles, the next stage is to write your press piece. You can make this into a traditionally press release, but I think it’s sometimes much better to write it in a more informal style. Imagine you’re sitting on a sofa having a chat with someone about your topic. Then write it in this style. Make it conversational and light. Keep your sentences short and don’t be afraid to start the sentences with words like “And”. I know your English teacher would have a fit, but you’ll enjoy writing it much more I promise.

3. OK, so you’ve written your piece. Now, use it in as many places as you can. Yes, send it directly to the press, but also put it in your newsletters (if you have them) or in other people’s newsletters (if you don’t); distribute it on-line (type in “free article websites”) into Google; put it into a blog (set one up for free at www.blogger.com); or post it onto your website. Remember, it often takes quite a while to write a PR piece, so make sure you take advantage of all the opportunities you can.

4. So, you’ve written something and you’d like to get it into the press. Remember, journalists are very busy people, so if you are going to send them something, make it as easy as possible for them. Send in your piece with a photo or if you’re going to send it into a radio station, record a quote using a Dictaphone and send it with your piece. The easier you can make it for journalists, the more likely you are to get your piece in.

5. Build a relationship with the journalist. Before just sending your piece into them, call them first and ask their permission. Send in the piece by email and then call them a couple of days later to make sure they’ve received it. Just like you would normally try to build up a relationship with a customer, it’s always best to try and adopt the same attitude with a journalist and build a relationship with them. The more you can be seen as helpful and useful, the more they will want to be helpful back.

6. If you’re really not keen on speaking to the press, find PR opportunities that mean you don’t have to – all the online activities will be good for you as will sending in a letter to the editor (simply find things in the paper or on the radio that relate to your industry and write a letter to the editor expressing your opinion). You can also send your newsletter to the press on a regular basis so they can see what’s going on in your business and also send in quotes to the press on articles they’ve already written. Even if they don’t use them right away, they may well use them in the future.

7. Be persistent with the press. If you find you’re contacting them all the time and can’t get hold of them, ask when they’ll be in and then contact them on that date or time. Or, if you find that no matter what you’re doing, they’re still not publishing your pieces, give them a call and ask them what’s going on. After all, if things weren’t working with a customer, you’d ask them why wouldn’t you?

8. Local newspapers will be able to react to the pieces you sent them fairly easily as their news changes all the time, but if you’re planning to send your piece into the national magazines, you’ll need to plan for things more in advance. Contact the editor of the magazine you’re thinking of and ask them for their press pack and list of stories they’ll be writing about in future issues. This will give you an idea of topics on their horizon so you can submit relevant pieces accordingly.

9. Don’t forget to put a PR plan in place for your business. It’s easy to overload yourself and give yourself lots to do each month, but keep it simple. For my business, I tend to write one PR piece per month and then try to put this into three places. So, for this month, I might write an article and place it in my newsletter, on some article websites and post it in my blog. Next month, I’ll try and do something different. Write yourself a plan for what you can do for the next three months.

10. I have an e-book that gives you much more detail about putting together a PR campaign. To download it, simply go visit my website. See my autho bio.

Related Articles
  Bookkeeping Tips on Tips
  Dealing with Low Dominant People at Work
  Handy Tips to a Killer Marketing Plan
  Debt Reduction Tips Every Joe Needs
  Networking Tips from the Networkers Networker

Article Tags: charities, colleague, controversy, english teacher, free article, google, headings, human interest, informal style, news item, news story, pr piece, promise 3, question and answer, scandal, seasonal competitions, sentences, sofa, tips news, watch tv



Related Forum Posts
Re: 5 Ways I've Used Twitter This Week To Grow My Business - Thanks for the tips guys. I don't use Twitter much because I don't see much use for it so any good tips I can get might just change my mind.
10 Tips For A Perfect Pitch! - To make a good impression and improve your chances of getting your seed money I have compiled a list of tips. I might not be the ultimate expert on this matter but we use these tips ourselves to prepare for meetings with potential investors so at least you know they are tested tips! In no particular order: 1: No more than 5 slides for your presentation! 2: don’t read the text on your slides 3: watch yourself! 4: timing is everything! 5: test your story 6: answer EVERY question 7: Don’t bluff, lie or try to be a smart-ass! 8: Use your deodorant 9: don’t be a clown 10: don’t pick a fight
Re: S.E.O The Essential's parts of S.E.O for your website - Hey, thanks for these SEO tips. I agree that inbound links and keyword anchor texts are important for ranking high in the SERPs. There were other factors that you mentioned that were also important too (e.g. title tag and age of domain). It's always nice to see these SEO tips because I'm in the process of doing SEO myself.
Re: Branding Your Business On Facebook: Be Creative - Thanks for the tips, Evan. I just got on Facebook this past week, and am looking for ways to gain exposure to my business. I was already on Twitter and have found this to be a beneficial tool for global exposure. This works for me since my coaching is done over the phone. Great tips! Aneshia
How do you get fresh ideas for work? - There are days when we need a new idea but it just won't come up. What do you do in this case to improves your imagination and to get a fresh idea? I would like to gather a list of tips because it could help us. For example if I need a new idea i scan top headline using specific keywords in Google Blog Search. Any other tips?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Five Ways to Show Honest Appreciation

How to Sell to the Price Driven Customer

Ten Twitter Tips For Work-at-Home Moms

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.