Yesterday we talked about sending out press releases in order to promote your event and get free advertising by exploiting the news media.  But today we’re going to tackle one critical fallacy in the press release marketing approach–the shotgun approach.

One might assume, and logically enough, that mailing a press release costs less than a measly fifty cents, and this after factoring in an envelope and sheet of paper and ink to print it, so why not throw them out onto the very wind itself and contact everybody in sight?  And with email, which is essentially free but for time to produce it, this approach makes even more sense.

This is actually not a smart plan.  What you WILL want to do instead is target your press releases according to one primary factor: interest.

Now, of course, any local (within fifty to a hundred miles of your front door) news outlet is fair game.  Television, radio, and newspapers thrive on “local news”, and so offering it up is a help to them and to you.  A good rule of thumb is if you can get it on your TV or radio, it’s local.

National news outlets should only be limited to those that have some stake in what you’re offering, as you’re less likely to appeal to them and more likely to make them resent you for wasting their time.

Of course, the final say of any news outlet is their own, and they’ll decide if you’re “sufficiently newswothy” to cover.  But you can make their job easier–and thus win yourself a few extra brownie points–by carefully considering whether they’re likely to find it newsworthy.

So we’ve been tackling, this week, the issue of how to get free advertising by exploiting the news media.  And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing, too–we’ve been planning an event, we’ve been writing the press releases, but once we’ve got that killer press release written, how do we send it out?  More specifically, where do we send it TO?

Now, the really ambitious among us will say “why, to as many places as possible!” though that may not be the best strategy.  What you’re really going to need here is a list.

There are two ways to go about doing this–one, if you’ve got a budget, you can contact a PR firm that has a background in this sort of thing, and already has a list of ‘trusted contacts” that they use to send their stuff to with a reasonable chance of getting noticed.  This is great if you’ve got a budget, but if you’ve got more time than money, make your own list.  If you’re worried about spamming laws, Wikipedia actually has a good starter summary (starter summary only, do your own research) of spam laws around the world.

So now that you’ve got a good starting off point for getting your press releases out and getting that free advertising, tomorrow we’ll take a quick look at how to get the most out of that mass email you’re plotting.

It may surprise you to know, folks, that most anyone can write a really, really high quality press release.

For those of you who thought you’d need to hire a public relations company or something similar in order to get the word out about your products and services, think again.  Turns out that you can do it yourself in just a few simple steps.

1. Get a template. What most people likely don’t know about press releases is that they all are done in the same format.  The content of each, naturally, is different, but the basic structure is always the same.  You can get press release templates from just about anywhere–they’re just a Google away.

2. Pack it full of bricks. Remember when we talked about “the brick”?  This is a GREAT time to use your bricks.  If you’ve written a book about cryptozoology, which sounds more exciting to you?  “Local Author Releases Book on Mythical Creatures”,  or “Need Proof Bigfoot Roams Your Neighborhood?  Try Local Author’s Guide To Mythical Creatures” or even “Prevent Chupacabras From Eating Your Face With Local Author’s Guide To Mythical Creatures”.  Okay, there’s a limit, but you get the idea. You’re out to catch interest, so favor the bricks.

3. Don’t forget to follow up. I’m not suggesting you pester editors–they’re busy people too, you know–but it’s never a bad idea to make one or two calls, spaced out over a few weeks, just to see if it’s been received or is being considered.

And with those three steps in mind, your goal of getting free advertising is all the closer.

Now I KNOW I got you guys right there!

That’s got to make most everyone sit up and take notice, but I assure you, it is possible for most anyone to get FREE ADVERTISING at absolutely any point.

How do you do it?  It’s a simple plan, but it’s tough to execute.  What you’re going to do to get free advertising is to do something newsworthy. See?  Yeah, tough, all right.  But you’re going to figure out something to do that will get attention, and you’ll go out and do it.  Just consider what you normally write about, and think about what you can do in that arena to make something that’s newsworthy.

Consider things that involve words like “biggest”, “longest”, “widest” or “most”.  Pretty much anything that actually involves an “est” will do.  And once you’ve done it, or are in the process of doing it, now you can hawk it.  Not you–no, not yet–rather the event.  You can slip in a few interesting asides about your site in the process, and of course a link back to you in the press releases works.

And with that, you should be looking at plenty of free advertising as the papers spread the word for you.

A strange distinction, I know, but it’s one worth thinking about.  If you’ve been considering adding onto your small business, or have been considering a way to expand your blog outward, maybe you should look into becoming a corporate partner.

Now, I’m not suggesting selling out. But what I AM proposing is that a blog can be an excellent tool for the rapid dissemination of information across a wide space to a very, VERY focused audience.  This is exactly the same principle that your advertising works on, except this time, you’re not going to a middleman like Google or Project Wonderful or something similar.

What I’m suggesting is that, if you own a small business (or conversely, know someone who does) consider using your blog as a way to promote that small business.  Not shilling, of course, no one would suggest such a thing.  But rather, disseminating ideas through it.  New products.  Upcoming events.  Previews of coming attractions, as it were.  You can scarcely go wrong with that sort of thing–people want to know what’s around the corner and you can tell them things they didn’t otherwise know.

And of course, if you do it for other people, you can always accept payment for services rendered.  Access to a readership is a very important item, after all.  Just another something to consider in your quest for blogging fame and fortune!

You probably know that other blogs are a great source of topics to write about–you may not be the first to write about whatever the topic of choice is, but you’ll bring something new to the table.  A new opinion, a new slant, something.  But if you really want to catch some interest, and you’re in a position to do it, try breaking news.

Granted, your ability to break news is pretty slim at any given opportunity–you’re competing with literally millions of blogs, and chances are somebody’s tipped somebody else off before they got to you.  But close does count, and one way to be the closest you can to the news in question is to check the press releases.

Most companies have a media section in which they disseminate information about their products and services.  New announcements, new releases, plans the company’s making, and so on.  By reading them, and quoting from them liberally, you can establish a quick, up to the minute article that anyone can read and enjoy.  Plus, it’ll be intensely useful–announcing a new product about the same time everyone else does puts you at (or at least near) the tip of the spear, ensuring you get the best chance at breaking through.

And being at the forefront of news (if not the front) gives you a huge advantage, one that’ll help build traffic and your bottom line.