Free publicity changed my business and it can do the same for you. It’s all about becoming comfortable with it, making it part of your daily marketing routine, and pitching stories that have the potential of being covered. Publicity = visibility = customers = profits. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re all here to do, get more visibility so we get more customers.
Here are my top three tips for getting free publicity:
# 1 – Sign up for Help a Reporter Out/HARO
Three times a day, HARO sends an email with queries from journalists looking for story ideas, sources, quotes, or guests, www.helpareporter.com.
Responding to HARO queries is one of the easiest ways to get national exposure for your business. National exposure allows you to grow your digital footprint faster and gives you higher search engine optimization (SEO). You are basically borrowing “Google Juice” from high ranking sites.
I am one of their biggest success stories (Dr. Oz, Steve Harvey Show, Entrepreneur, Forbes (2x), Success, and many, many more). Learn how I do it by getting your free HARO pitching guide at www.FreeGiftFromChristina.com to learn more tips on effective pitching.
#2 – Make Your Business Newsworthy
Getting publicity is all about outside of the box thinking. I got on FOX for National Healthy Foot Month (yes, that really exists!). After my Steve Harvey taping, I went to my local NBC station (who airs the Steve Harvey Show) and pitched the local business story to air on the noon news prior to the Steve Harvey show. They loved it. I went to Texas and taped a mock fashion show with models in decorated medical boots and got covered on CBS.
My all-time favorite… a local cupcakery was on my local NBC, not for National Cupcake Day but for National Bacon Day when they launched their maple bacon cupcake on National Bacon Day. Now that is outside of the box thinking!
Everyone wants to get publicity because of the number of eyes it can get on your business. Stand out from the crowd and pitch outside of the box stories that the media won’t be able to resist.
#3 – Know What’s Trending
The new buzz phrase in the newsroom is, “If It’s Shareable, It’s Airable.” Traditional media is understanding the value of social media and the power of things going viral. In order to get a jump on your competition, know what’s going on in the world and what the hot topics on social media are.
Google Trends lets you know what people are talking about online.
See what’s trending on Twitter and what hashtags are being used.
Check out Muck Rack Daily to see what’s trending with journalists
Use these three resources to pitch timely stories to the media that you can share your expertise on. Make sure the media knows it’s a trending topic and that you’ve done your homework.
To Your PR Success,
