Famous is as famous does and the famous get known through publicity.
Yes, that’s right, fame doesn’t discover you, you create it through
strategic campaigning. What’s more, the techniques for increasing
your exposure isn’t as difficult to attain as you might think. A
great publicity campaign starts with courage, then planning, and lastly,
it succeeds through persistence. If your not sure why you should
seek fame, consider fortune because the two go hand in hand.
Fame will bring your business into the forefront of your target audience
faster than any advertising campaign can hope to do. It solidifies
you as an expert and creates a deep, abiding confidence in the consumer.
It makes you a shining star with infinite possibilities. So what’s
are the steps you ask? Well paste a gold star to your forehead and
let’s get started.
1. Press Releases: Increase awareness through a press release.
Yes, I know, press releases have become quite the popular little
tool around cyberspace with releases being blasted hither and there,
but is it working? Probably not. Blasting your press release will
bring blasted little results. Instead, thoughtfully put together
a very dynamic one page press release and target publications that
would be most interested in you and your business. Don’t drone out
the details, make that press release sing your praises. Then send
it to a real live editor and follow up with a phone call. In other
words, let the press release be the invitation to your follow up phone
call. Begin making connections with the media. Be polite, be excited,
and be patient.
2. Create A Press Kit: A Press kit is basically an exaggerated press
release turned into a package. It’s more complex, tells more about
you and your company, and is all pulled together into a nice neat
folder. Of all the questions I receive, first is, what is a press
kit? Simply, it is a folder of information about you or your business.
It should contain:
A. An Introduction Letter
B. One or Two Press Releases
C. A Fact Sheet (This contains the facts about you or your business.)
D. Bio Sheet (Which is a biography of you and your accomplishments.)
E. Copies of Published Articles
F. Company Literature
G. A Business Card
Send your press kit when an editor, publisher, or producer wants to
know more about you.
3. Newsletters Offline. Don’t forget that a whole world exists offline.
Locate newsletters or smaller print publications offline and submit
articles. This can be a very dynamic way to increase your exposure
as well as add to your press kit. You can locate newsletters in your
subject area by visiting the local university library reference section.
Ask for a directory of trade newsletters and do your research. Once
you have been published, it’s easier to step up to the larger publications.
Fame starts small and then snowballs onto itself.
4. Speak Up! Yep, that’s right. Start giving speeches on your area
of expertise. Start locally at civic clubs and local educational
programs. Then find the local talk radio shows and make your case
to the producer. It’s surprising how many talk radio shows are actively
looking for new speakers. Once you have achieved Talk Radio, the
opportunities will start coming to you.
5. Publicity Pitches: Put together several dynamic article ideas.
Just the ideas, not the actual article. This is called a Publicity
Pitch. Take those ideas and then pitch them to editors of targeted
publications. This can work very well as it saves Editors time and
puts the outline right into their hands. As a past Editor I know
how well this works. Editor’s love ideas, especially ideas that are
completely outlined and correct for their readership. This means
don’t send pet article ideas to cooking magazines. Send pet articles
ideas to pet publications. Seems like a no brainer, huh? But you’d
be amazed at what editors see that don’t apply to their own publication.
Fame comes from planning and persistence. It has it’s rejections,
but if you can learn not to take it personally, it will eventually
work. Remember, once you start, keep going. Once you stop, you have
to start all over.
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