Although public relations is incredibly accessible and simple, it remains the most underutilized marketing tools for today’s small business owner.

The main reason is that a large percentage of small business owners simply haven’t taken the time to learn the rules and regulations of this game called Public Relations.

But, here’s the good news. The public relations game isn’t very hard to play. Unlike the card game of Bridge (which can take a lifetime to learn and perfect), the game of public relations is relatively simple.

If you want to get into the PR game, here are three rules that you must understand:

1. You Need To Know How To Win The Game. Believe it or not, most small business owners don’t understand how to win in the PR game.  Yet, winning is a very simple and straight-forward process: the winner of the PR game provides the public with an interesting, captivating and compelling story. Game over.

2. The Media Decides Who Will Sit At Their Table. When it comes to playing with the media, you can’t just waltz over and sit down at their table. You need to be invited. That being said, you will only be invited if you have a story that benefits them. Believe it or not, the media isn’t interested in you; they are only interested in winning the game.

Therefore, you can increase your chances of getting invited to their table by providing them with a winning story about you and your small business that they simply can’t refuse.

3. Flexibility Is the Name Of the Game. The fact is, that the media can (and will) change their mind.  They can postpone, change or completely dump a story. You really don’t have any say in the matter. So, instead of getting upset and angry, decide right here and now that if you play with the media you will always be a flexible team-player.

As you can see, the Public Relations is a fairly simple game to play.  And, once you understand the rules, it won’t take long for you to become a top-player.

If you are going to get involved with Public Relations, then it’s smart to understand some of the rules surrounding the industry.

Here are ten glaringly obvious no-no’s when it comes to PR success:

1.  Do not lie or mislead. If you are going to use public relations as a marketing tool, then you must commit to honesty, integrity and transparency. If you blatantly lie or mislead your audience, they will never trust you again. Trust is one of the most important cornerstones of small business success.

2.  Do not procrastinate. Speed is of the essence when it comes to the media. There are constant due dates, timelines and deadlines to meet. Therefore, help the media promote you and your small business by keeping your appointments, sending in requests in a timely manner and meeting any and all deadlines.

3.  Do not be inaccessible. Don’t ever make it difficult or cumbersome for the media to find your contact information. It should be crystal clear on your website how to email or call you; because, if the media can’t contact you, they can’t promote you.

4.  Do not be boring. Stale stories and apathetic attitudes will quickly catapult your PR campaign into oblivion. Keep your marketing messages, pitches and interviews fun, lively and interesting.

5.  Do not be long-winded. Short, sweet and directly to the point is what the media wants. If your marketing message or pitch takes three minutes to deliver, then shorten it. You must be able to tell your story in 30-seconds or less.

6.  Do not chit-chat. Journalists, editors and other media professionals don’t have time to chit-chat about the weather…even if you do. Save your prattle for lunch with Aunt Gertrude.

7.  Do not bribe. It is never appropriate to offer any sort of bribe in return for the media to run a story on you.

8.  Do not use a “massive pitch” approach. Make a point to target media professionals who cater to your target market. In addition, as a courtesy, use their name and show them that you understand who they are and what their publication or show is about.

9.  Do not get egotistical. The media isn’t interested in helping you make more sales or drive more visitors to your site. They are looking for an interesting story that will captivate their audience. So put your ego aside and put together a “pitch” that will benefit the media.

10.  Do not get discouraged. The media isn’t always going to pick up your story – no matter how amazing you may think that it is.  If you simply make one smart PR move every day, you’ll soon find your way to public relations success.

If you’re trying to court the media, you may find her to be elusive, difficult and fickle.

But, even if your media attempts have been less than desirable, don’t despair, there are several proven ways to catch the media’s eye and undivided attention.

Here are seven concepts that the media will always love:

1) Newsworthy Stories. The media is always looking for fresh, interesting and news-worthy stories. So stay away from boring, stale stories that only you (or your mother) care about.

2) Sex, Health and Money. This famous trio will always create interest and curiosity. If you can connect your small business story to sex, health or money, you’ll have the media eating out of the palm of your hand.

3) Conciseness. The media loves nothing more than short, sweet and to the point. Remember that today’s prospects are in a hurry and have incredibly short attention spans. Deliver your story as quickly and efficiently as possible.

4) Targeted Pitches. If you engage in a “mass pitch” approach, you’ll never have any luck. When you pitch the media, make sure that you are addressing the appropriate people, using their names and clearly proving how your story will help their audience.

5) Expertise. Demonstrate to the media that you are an expert in your industry. Provide educational links, blog posts and articles that you have produced so that the media will feel more confident showcasing your small business.

6) Tie-ins. Today’s media is constantly looking for ways to tie-in current events with innovative stories. When you tie-in newsworthy events about your small business to current trends and headlines you have a winning combination.

7) Mass Appeal. Make sure that your story appeals to as large a population as possible. The more people that are impacted by your story, the better.
Make sure that when you are dealing with the media that you are delivering what you know they love. When you do, you’ll soon find the media loving you right back.

NJ9H9JMJCTY6

Most people have heard of public relations, however, they’re not entirely sure what it entails. In fact, ask twenty different small business owners to give you the definition of public relations and you’ll receive twenty different answers.

Here is my definition of public relations:  public relations is the process of building awareness, visibility and positive interactions with your prospective clients and customers through a variety of communication channels and tools.

Thus, in a nutshell, public relations involves your overall planning and execution strategy with the media in general. Not only is public relations about bringing you visibility and exposure through TV, radio and newspapers, it’s also about how you present yourself and your company to the world in general.

That being said, public relations still remains elusive to most small business. Even though it’s incredibly simple and accessible to the small business owner, PR is one of the most under-utilized marketing tools.

So, why in the world does your small business need to tap into public relations?  You are soon going to discover that public relations remains a marketing tool that entails very little risk, is incredible effective and 100% free.

As a small business owner, one of the most accessible marketing strategies available to you is creating a comprehensive public relations campaign.

Here are six important reasons why your small business must engage in public relations:

1. You Are a Small Business. When you engage in public relations you position your small business as a much larger entity.  As your business receives coverage through radio, blogs and other print publications, your audience assumes that you are a large, established organization. There is no better tool for a little fish in a big sea than some good PR coverage.

2. No One Knows About Your Small Business. One of the most frustrating components for the small business owner is the constant problem of trying to establish visibility for yourself and your company.  Public relations brings you that needed exposure quickly and efficiently. As you execute your PR plan, you create a “massive visibility campaign” for your small business.

3. Getting The “Word Out” Is the Most Important Factor. Unfortunately, in today’s world, the quality of your product or service isn’t the most important factor in attaining new customers and clients. (Although quality is an incredibly important factor in keeping existing customers and clients.) If your prospects and customers are going to do business with you, they must be able to find you. Therefore, divide your time between tweaking and perfecting your products and services and “getting the word” out to your prospects.

4. Traditional Marketing Isn’t As Effective. Direct advertising methods such as TV and radio commercials aren’t as effective as they were several years ago. Today’s prospects just don’t trust traditional forms of advertising and are much more willing to do business with companies that they know and trust. A good PR campaign can create hundreds of positive stories about you and your company.

5. You Have Competitors. Virtually every small business owner has dozens, if not hundreds of competitors. One of the best ways to outshine your competition is to seize PR opportunities such as radio, print and online coverage. Chances are that your competitors haven’t put together a comprehensive PR campaign, so you might as well use this to your advantage.

6. It’s Free. Obviously, one of the most attractive parts of public relations is that it’s a free marketing tool for the small business owner on a shoestring marketing budget. And, as a all savvy shoestring business owners know, there’s no better marketing tool than a free marketing tool.

Therefore, make sure to include a public relations campaign as part of your overall marketing strategy. Your business will thank you.

If you’re looking for a way to launch a public relations campaign, look no further than the Online Media Kit.

Creating an online media kit allows both prospects and the media a chance to discover “behind-the-scenes” information about you and your small business.

In addition, media kits make it virtually painless for journalists, event hosts, radio show producers and bloggers to contact you in order to highlight you and your small business. Plus, it showcases the fact that you are media-friendly, and even more importantly, media-savvy.

Your media kit should be kept on its own separate page on your website. Many small business owners call the page Media, Press or Media Kit. In addition, choose file formats that work on multiple platforms, browsers and computers (i.e. PDF files).

There are generally six main components of a well-crafted media kit:

1. Company Overview. Provide important information about your company including when your company was founded, a concise description of your company, your mission statement, guiding principles and contact information.

2. Overview of Your Products/Services. Supply a short overview of your products and/or services. Include clickable links to sales pages for additional information.

3. Current Press Releases. Publish current press releases so that visitors can track the growth of your company over time.

4. Personal Fact-Sheet. Include your title, personal bio (including a long and short bio) and sample photos (optimized for both the internet and print).

5. List of Suggested Questions. Supply journalists, radio show hosts, writers and publishers a list of suggested questions that they can ask you related to your small business. It’s always a good idea to help make a prospective interview as painless as possible.

6. Links to Media Mentions and/or Appearances. As your small business begins to receive media coverage, publish these mentions and/or appearances to provide additional credibility for your small business.

Remember that all components of your media kit should be brief, interesting and compelling making it simple for the media to showcase your small business.

When you write a press release, it’s important that it becomes a powerful marketing tool for you and your small business. You certainly don’t want to invest your time writing and distributing your release, only to discover that it didn’t bring you any traffic, leads or sales.

To ensure that your press release writing efforts are not in vain, here are ten tips for writing powerful press releases that work:

1) Provide Newsworthy Content.  Make sure that your press release is timely and relevant to your readers. You can accomplish this by tying your story to current events, recent headlines or social trends.

2) Write Like a Reporter. When writing your release, use third-person (he, she, etc.) and a reporter-like format. Take a look at today’s newspaper to reacquaint yourself with the way that journalists write articles.

3) Capture Your Reader’s Attention Instantly. You only have a few seconds to capture your reader’s interest. Therefore, take time to create a compelling headline and a strong first paragraph.

4) Use Important Keywords. In order to optimize your press release for the search engines, identify what keyword phrase your readers will use when searching for your topic. For instance, if you are writing a press release about a new Twitter application that you invented, your important keyword phrase is: “new Twitter applications.” Incorporate your keyword phrase into your headline and throughout the body of your release.

5) Utilize Links, Files, Images and Videos. Many press release distribution services allow you to insert relevant files, images, links and videos to augment your press release. This allows your readers the chance to interact more fully and completely with your small business.

6) Provide Solutions. Illustrate to your readers how your small business has solved real-life problems for your clients and customers. In addition, if you can insert testimonials into your release, it will further enhance its effectiveness.

7) Just The Facts. Avoid exaggerations, hype or embellishments. Remember that today’s consumers are highly skeptical and that it’s important to establish an atmosphere of trust with your readers. The “truth and nothing but the truth” should be your small business motto.

Be Concise. Avoid long, drawn-out paragraphs, excessive use of adjectives and unnecessary redundancy.  Make sure that your release is straight-forward and to the point. Save your flowery language for your poetry class.

9) Proofread. Don’t forget to proofread your press release for spelling and grammatical errors. Simple proofreading errors will instantly discredit your company’s professionalism.

10) Provide a Clear Call To Action. It should be crystal clear exactly what you want your readers to do after they read your press release. Do you want them to call a 1-800 number? Visit a website? Download a free offer? If you don’t tell your readers what to do, chances are they won’t do anything.

It’s important to remember that press releases work. However, you do need to follow a few simple tips to ensure that your press release will be successful.

Writing press releases to highlight your small business accomplishments can be a phenomenal way to gain extra exposure and visibility.

However, most small business owners don’t understand how to write a press release that will bring them results.

Before you take the time to write your press release, make sure to implement these seven quick and easy tips to ensure that your press release is a success:

1) Limit your press release headline to under 80 characters in length (including spaces).  In addition, avoid using ALL CAPS. (You don’t want to shout at your readers.)

2) Your entire press release should be between 300 and 800 words. Shorter is always better in the world of public relations.

3) Limit the number of links within your press release to one link for every 100 words. You don’t want editors and readers accusing you of “link spam.”

4) Avoid hyped-up, exaggerated phrases such as “best”, “amazing”, “state-of-the-art”, etc. It’s important that your release remain factual, straight-forward and believable.

5) Write your releases from a journalist’s third-person perspective. Never use “I” or “we” unless it’s in a quote.

6) Read samples of good journalism (such as the New York Times or Washington Post). This will remind you how to write from a journalistic viewpoint.

7) Avoid using industry jargon that will confuse or alienate your readers. It’s vital that your release is simple to understand for each of your readers no matter what their background.

In addition, when you write and distribute a press release, you want to ensure that you always include these pertinent facts about your products and/or services:

- What is your product/service?

- Why does your prospect need it?

- When is your product/service available?

- Where is your product/service located?

- How will your product/service improve their life?

- Call To Action: What do you want prospect to do?

If you follow these simple steps when writing your press release, you are sure to bring extra visibility and needed exposure to your small business.

If your small business is looking for ways to generate massive visibility, build brand recognition and produce targeted leads, there is no better way than launching your own public relations campaign.

Here are seven ways to instantly increase exposure to your small business:

1) Write and Distribute Press Releases. When you write a newsworthy press release, filled with keyword-rich ad-copy, you can bring hundreds, even thousands, of prospects, journalists and bloggers directly to your website. (For more information on writing press releases, read the second section of this ebook. )

2) Write and Submit Feature Articles. If you enjoy writing, then you should make a point to submit your articles to targeted publications that cater to your niche market.  A national magazine that publishes your article could be worth up to $25,000 of free exposure for your small business.

To get started, study publications within your target market. Once you find appropriate publications, submit a short query letter to the editor letting them know how your article will benefit their readers. Once your query is accepted, send in a complete, concise and well-written article that provides well-crafted solutions to the readers of the publication.

3) Public Speaking. If you enjoy talking, public speaking positions you as an expert within your particular industry. Create a one-sheet that includes your name, topic, talking points, testimonials and how your speech will benefit your audience. Send your one-sheet to event planners and organizations that cater to your target market.

In addition, if you want public speaking to be a main staple in your PR toolbox, join the NSA (National Speaker’s Association) or a local Toastmasters group. Both organizations will provide you with additional speaking strategies and skills.

4) Go On a Virtual Tour. Virtual tours started with authors who didn’t have time to physically “tour” the country in order to promote their books. Thus, the authors created “virtual tours” in order to participate in live Q & A sessions with their audiences.

As a small business owner, you can participate in virtual tours as well.

To put together your own virtual tour, sign up for a free conference bridge line (ie. www.freeconferencecalling.com). Next, create a short sales page that includes the title of the event, date, time and a bulleted list of how the session will benefit your audience. When your prospects signs up to attend the live call, they should submit a question that you will answer at the session. To create a professional environment, you may want to have a moderator join you at the live event in order to read you the submitted questions and ask any live questions that arise.

5) Get Blog Coverage. If you are interested in reaching a large audience instantly, try to obtain a link or mention about your small business from a high-traffic blog within your particular industry.

In order to accomplish this, you must adhere to a few blogging rules. First, you need to publish your own quality blog regularly. Second, you should be an active participant in the blogosphere. This includes making comments on other blogs, linking to other blogs and highlighting your favorite blogs and bloggers. Finally, begin actively participating with bloggers that you would like to create relationships with.  You should comment on their blogs regularly and link to their blog when appropriate.

As you regularly participate on several niche blogs, it won’t take long before some of the blogger send a link or mention your way. And, that’s free exposure for your small business.

6) Go On a Blog Tour. When you participate in a blog tour, you appear as a guest blogger on a series of blogs (within your niche market). Your blog posts should be educational in nature (as opposed to a sales pitch) and focus on providing valuable information to the readers.

To “pitch” bloggers, simply send them a professional explanation of your blog tour, other blogs that you will appear on, possible blog topics and a link to your own blog.

Since bloggers are often looking for compelling content for their readers, if your “pitch” resonates with them, they will generally be happy to help you out with your blog tour.

7) Radio Coverage. Believe it or not, radio is fairly easy to get on. There are currently over 10,000 radio stations (and thousands more internet radio stations) in the United States today. And, all of the stations are constantly searching for topics for upcoming shows.

To get started call the radio station and ask to speak to the producer. (They like to hear your voice to ensure that it will work for a radio show.) Have your targeted “marketing message” ready to go and pitch the producer as to why your show idea would be an instant hit for their listeners. Keep in mind that radio producers are interested in show ideas (as opposed to stories). So, pitch them a show idea that will entertain their audience. In addition, follow-up with an email that includes a link to your online media kit and sample questions that they can ask you during the show.

Obviously, there are countless other ways to tap into the power of public relations as well. However, these seven venues provide a foundation for launching a profitable public relations campaign for your small business.

Perhaps you have just launched a new product in your business. Or you may have fresh, innovative news to share with your customers and target market. One way to get the word to the masses is to create an online press release.

Online press releases are a powerful tool for the small business owner operating on a shoestring budget. Obviously, press releases alert the media about your newsworthy event, product or service, but they also can provide SEO benefits, allowing your target market to learn about you as well.

However, if you want to truly reap the vast rewards of writing and distributing a press release, it’s essential that you understand how to write a press release that commands attention.

Unfortunately, because of the obvious SEO benefits of press release distribution sites, they are frequented by spammers who are only interested in outbound links for their own websites.  They produce poor-quality news releases that are empty of information or newsworthy topics.

It’s important that you don’t fall into the trap of creating generic press releases that offer little to no value to your readers. Your press release shouldn’t be an advertisement. Press releases are a public relations tool. They are not designed to advertise your product or service or create a hard sell. They are solely for the purpose of sharing news with the public.

Five Ways To Create A Powerful Press Release

1. Learn How To Write a Press Release Correctly.

Of course, press releases will vary in their basic writing style and voice; however there are basic guidelines that you should keep in mind. Most press releases follow the Associated Press (AP) style guidelines.  Of course, you should check your press release for grammatical and spelling errors before you distribute it.

In addition, your press release should read like a newspaper story and use third person (she, he) as opposed to the first person (I, we or you). It should also contain a catchy title that uses specific keywords that are relevant to your story.

You should always provide contact information so that the press can contact you immediately if they have any questions.

2.  Write News-Worthy Stories.

One of the most important aspects of your press release is to make sure your release is timely and relevant.  It’s crucial that your press release is newsworthy and would be of interest to the media and your target market. Make sure to include the who, what, when, where, and why of your angle throughout the body of your press release.

3. Combine Free PR Distribution With Manual Distribution

Choose 3-5 free press release distribution sites and focus your attention there. It’s completely unnecessary and counterproductive to submit your release to dozens of sites at once. In addition, you should begin to compile a list of media contacts in your own niche or industry. Each time that you create a press release, you should also manually submit the release to this list. Combining free online distribution with manual distribution will maximize your efforts and leverage the power of your press release.

4. Use The Power Of Social Media Tools.

If possible, choose online distribution sites that allow you to tag your release with related keywords and social bookmarking options. This will help the media and your prospects find you based upon specific keywords that are related to your story. In addition, post your release on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and any other social networks that you are involved with.

5. Publish Your Release On Your Own Website.

As soon as you write your press release, make sure to publish it on your own website as well.  One of the main perks of this strategy is that you create a timeline of the newsworthy events related to your company. If the media does visit your website for more information, they will be able to browse your archives and ascertain additional information about your small business.

Press releases can be a very powerful tool for your small business; however, if you want your press release to attract hundreds, even thousands of visitors to your website, then it’s important to ensure that you understand the basics behind writing, releasing and publishing a well-crafted press release.