I once had a publicist tell me I was selling snake oil by telling people they could get on television without paying for it.
I didn’t pay a penny to go on the Steve Harvey Show. In fact, I left with $20,000 in my pocket after winning his inventor’s competition. I’ve never paid any money to appear in over 250 media outlets. The key is finding the right fit – KNOW YOUR MEDIA OUTLET. If there is a show you really want to be on, watch it every day so you know exactly how it works and where you could fit. Getting a huge publicity hit just gets your feet in more doors and makes more potential customers take notice.
This is exactly what Julie Busha of Slawsa did. Slawsa is a gourmet food topping – think coleslaw meets salsa. She’s in retailers all across the country but the more publicity she can get, the more Slawsa she sells both to consumers and new potential retailers. Julie is a master at DIY-PR. She’s done lots of great things and gotten tons of free exposure for her product. One of Julie’s big goals was exposure on the TODAY Show. If you can get your product, service or brand on TODAY, there are 7-8 million eyes on your business. Julie happened to hear Dylan Dryer of TODAY mention that she loves coleslaw.
Julie instantly put a package of Slawsa together and mailed it to Dylan. (With Google, you can get anyone’s address.) A few weeks later was National Hot Dog day. Don’t I always talk about pitching around non-traditional holidays? It’s a great way to get in the media. This is Slawsa’s segment on TODAY, http://www.today.com/video/happy-national-hot-dog-day-today-anchors-reveal-their-favorite-toppings-725001795857
Huge shout out to Julie for knowing her dream media outlet, paying attention, and sending the perfect pitch at the perfect time. No big surprise, Julie didn’t pay a penny for snake oil. And, Julie went one step further and sent thank you notes to Dylan, Al, and Natalie, with Slawsa for everyone, and… she sent a new pitch. When will we see Slawsa back on TODAY?
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To Your PR Success,
