It’s a fresh year. You’ve got a fresh slate to turn your business right into a publicity machine that generates favorable headlines that shine a light on your winning ways. In doing this, you may get known, build buzz, earn credibility, and generate a path of qualified leads to your door. What growing business doesn’t want more of all of that?
If you’re a newbie to pr and need to jump-start your PR know-how, I invite one to sign up to some excellent and FREE ezines that may deliver useful, powerful, and proven ideas to your email box frequently.
Ezine is short for “electronic magazine.” Ezines offer news your readers (clients, prospects and referral sources) may use to run better businesses or live better lives due to your expertise. They can be as simple as a free email tip sent to a list of those who have given you permission to advertise in their mind online (zero spamming!) or as elaborate as an extended electronic newsletter. Ezines are powerful because they keep you before your audience 26 times a year in the event that you send them biweekly, and 52 times per year if you send them weekly. Which means you have 52 chances to connect with your readers with quality tips, information, and resources, while using 20% of the content to sell your services and products.
The wonder of ezines is that you get to learn from the masters of their craft, and you get to know the authors and their unique perspectives over time. If you want to turn to an expert to solve an issue or pain you’re experiencing with your personal business, these are the experts who you’ll call first. It will be as though you’ve been working with them and getting to know them for months just because you have invited their ezines into your own inbox.
These ezine authors have grown to be my colleagues and co-collaborators. In preparing this column, I asked The Publicity Hound Joan Stewart and Media Coach and Marketing Strategist Susan Harrow of PR Tips for share their best ideas to help business owners jump-start their 2007 publicity results. This is what they had to say:
Joan Stewart:
Many businesses, from one-person shops to big corporations, should start blogging. The search engines love blogs, and blogs pull in traffic just like a magnet and draw visitors to your Website. Unless you know very well what blogs are or how to start one, do a search on Google and obtain as smart as possible as fast as you possbly can, or your competition will leave you in the dust.
Begin to build valuable relationships with media people, and identify a minumum of one media contact at each media out where you need coverage. Ask “How do i help you?” Listen. Then do what jump start service near me state.
Don’t limit your publicity activities and then traditional media. Bloggers, podcasters and other “new media” are in a position to spread the word about you much quicker than traditional media can, and to a wider audience.