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.
My top 10 tips on doing your own PR - To learn more about this author, visit Helen Dowling's Website.
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