Top 10 Tips To PR Success

As business owners I'm sure you recognise the power of publicity and how positive media coverage can have an impact on your business. Free media exposure has a lot more credibility than advertising. In fact it's said that publicity is seven times more effective.

However you may also think that you don't have the skills or knowledge to gain publicity and maybe you're not in a financial position to hire a PR firm (yet!).

But if you follow my 10-point plan I'm sure that you'll soon experience the power of the press.

1. Gain the appropriate skills and knowledge to become an expert in your field. Experts on specialist topics are sought after by the media. Become a qualified member of your industry's association, as this will give you credibility when the media choose to profile you.

2. Be clear on what your message is, know what you want to say. Understand that you need to have a point of difference or something interesting to say and that you need to get that across in an entertaining and informative way. Summarize your message in short, succinct, sound bites.

3. You need to have an audience to listen to your message. Do some research on your ideal customer, perhaps a survey. Look at whom your competitors are talking to. Zero in on your target.

4. Reach out to your target audience through the media. Research the most appropriate magazines, newspapers, on-line media or TV shows for your story. Build a database of media contacts or buy a media directory.

5. Approach the media. Send out a well-written media release, follow up with phone calls. Submit articles to magazines. Submit articles to on-line sites. Follow up again. Make sure to be consistent with your media liaison.

6. A picture tells a thousand words. Send out a professional and creative photograph with your release or ring the media outlet and suggest a photo opportunity. Stage a creative film opportunity for television. Media is entertainment and most people are attracted to strong visual images.

7. Be persistent. Keep on submitting media releases and articles. But learn to take no for an answer and don't be a pushy publicist. You need to build good working relationships with journalists.

8. Be prepared for media interviews. Prepare beforehand possible questions and rehearse the answers. Prepare a few points you want to get across and stay on track. Again think of sound bites and memorable phrases to convey.

9. Build up a portfolio of information about you. Your media kit to include on your website as an online newsroom and for meetings with journalists.

10. Consolidate your expertise by publishing books, CD's and DVD's and reap the rewards of successful public relations.

Sue Currie, the director of Shine Communications Consultancy and author of Apprentice to Business Ace - your inside-out guide to personal branding, is a business educator and speaker on personal branding through image and media. Sign up for free monthly tips at http://www.shinecomms.com.au/contactmanager/default.cfm To learn more about how you can achieve recognition, enhance your image and shine, visit http://www.shinecomms.com.au

Kaart Kaartje Kaart
2007 Fifa Trailer
Memory Timings
Tuin Voorbeelden
Vakantie Huisjes Portugal
Muziek Top 100 China
Antiek Boek
Calgary Pool Premier Spa
Immo Stad
Tweed Wereldoorlog

Establishing Your Business

Owning you own business is not just about being you own boss or being able to boast at dinner tables that you are self-employed, in fact the first few years of operating and running your own business are an absolute nightmare. The reality is that you should be prepared to go on your first real holiday only after 5 years of starting your own business. Of course there are those who can go on an extended holiday in their first year of business but, believe me, they are few and far between. Being an entrepreneur is hard, but it can be very rewarding

The art of entrepreneurship is as old as mankind itself, people have always traded since time immemorial and there have always been people who are far much better than the rest at aggregating supplies and/or services and selling them at a profit, while at the same time employing people to do various tasks for them.

These types of people have, in the modern world become known as entrepreneurs. I remember at school at age 12, we had a fellow schoolmate who used to bring fizz-pops to school and sell them to us at a ridiculous price and as much as we would complain and call him all sorts of nasty names, he would have absolutely no stock by lunch time. In those days, he had figured out that even though fizz-pops were very popular amongst school children, most of us could never remember to buy the cheaper fizz-pops at the shops on our way to school.

Therefore his success in this little venture was mainly due to the following reasons:

the product was in great demand
he offered tremendous convenience by selling his product right outside the classrooms
he had a virtual monopoly because the school tuck-shop for whatever reason had no desire to stock these popular products
he went about his business with dogged determination despite being called unflattering names by his peers

After a while another boy decided to enter this lucrative market, however as much as we loathed the first boy we all continued to buy his fizz-pops. Needless to say the new entrant into the market could not penetrate the market. Whether by design or foresight, the first boy had established what is known in the business world as reputation, a brand and trust all intangible assets.

The above example demonstrates that entrepreneurs see opportunities that others do not or unwilling to see and act upon them. Any one of the 600 school kids at my school could have supplied the fizz-pops but none of us did because we neither saw the opportunity nor were we prepared to go through the hassle of buying the supplies etc every day. We were comfortable enough to receive pocket-money from our parents every day. Needless to say this boy, now a man, runs his own very successful business, while most of us work for that monthly pay packet.

The lesson here, is that, whatever business you decide to go into develop your reputation, establish a brand and develop trust. These do not come overnight, it is a process and not an event. Once you have a particular goal for your business in sight, do not be discouraged or distracted from achieving that goal.

AW Accounting Services

James is a chartered accountant who has been involved in small business start ups over the past 6 years. He has a wealth of experience in financial administration and operational management within the small to medium business sectors. For More please visit http://www.sendarequest.com

Hro Ham Radio Outlet
Lake Of The Ozarks Condo Main Channel View
Reis Online Boek
Bonnet Costume Girl Pilgrim W
Oregon Cross Country
2005 Aprile Honduras Roatan
Doctor That Euthanised Patients
Spare Part Toshiba
Bedrijf Gids Juweel Handelaren Duitsland Opzoeken Language Nl
Kaartje Seventies Watering