Advertising Information

By Angel Brown

Wouldn't it be great to have a huge crowd of people lined up outside your business waiting for you to open the doors--like when they release the newest Harry Potter book, or when the summer's hottest new "blockbuster movie" premieres? Imagine what a boost it would be for your business to have your email inbox filled with queries from potential customers and your phone ringing off the hook with new orders!

A good promotional campaign can do that.

But what if you don't have big bucks to spend on advertising the way Hollywood and the publishing giants do? What if you need to attract a large number of people, but you don't have the money to reach a large number of people?

Then you need to get creative. You need to get free advertising.

That's right--free advertising in the form of publicity.

You don't have to spend piles of money on TV or radio ads, or pay for expensive newspaper display ads. You do however, have to do something to grab the media's attention. Something that will make them sit up and take notice.

You want them to write about you, or interview you for a news segment, or invite you to be a guest on their radio show. That way a wide audience learns about you from a source that they believe establishes your credentials. You see, when you pay for advertising, it doesn't automatically give you the same credibility that an endorsement from the media does.

Even if the news source is just reporting facts about your business, or offering an "inside look" at your industry from your perspective, it still sends a subliminal message to the audience that you're a reliable businessperson worthy of the media's attention. If the media considers you an expert, then the public feels safe in assuming the same. In a lot of ways, free publicity is better than paid advertising.

So how do you get free publicity? How do you grab the media's attention? By coming up with a "news story," or a human-interest angle on an event or topic the media will want to cover. Then you write a press release, or hire a freelancer to write one for you, so the news reporters and journalists will contact you for an interview, or write about you in their publication.

Some newsworthy events you can announce are:

• Publication of your new book or e-book
• Sponsoring a fund raiser
• Grand opening of your store/business or website launch
• Participation in a charitable event
• Awards or nominations you've received
• New product launch
• A new group you've formed (such as Work-at-Home Moms Club, a writers' group, a new business networking group, etc.)
• A demonstration you'll be giving (such as cooking, karate, kite-making, dog training, website design, etc.)
• An Open House celebration (in connection with a holiday or store anniversary, etc.)
• An attempt you'll be making to break a world's record (baking the world's largest pizza, jumping on a pogo stick for the longest time, walking backwards for the greatest amount of miles, etc.)

Anything out-of-the-ordinary is worth reporting to the media. Something as mundane as moving your business two blocks to the south won't cut it, but if you're relocating to a building that's been designated as a national or historic landmark and you can tie that in to your business somehow, then you've got a news release.

Other ways you can generate publicity are:

• Offering to appear as a guest on a radio show
• Writing a "tips" column for your local newspaper
• Teaching an adult-learning course at the community college or senior center (Introduction to the Internet, debt management strategies, how to find the lowest mortgage rates, etc.)
• Podcasting or blogging

Whatever methods you use, your goal is to keep your business on the media's radar screen so your name becomes synonymous with "expert in your field." When used wisely, the power of the press can give you what money can't buy: positive word-of-mouth advertising. Now that's priceless!