More Thoughts on Investing in Publicity for Your Small Business

Small business owners wondering what kind of returns they can expect from an investment in publicity are going to come across a wide range of answers. I have found the best way to improve your odds of coverage is to make sure you are releasing information about your business that has news value.

A lot of it comes down to a good story and a little luck. You might release your news on a slow news day, get coverage in a number of local news outlets from weekly newspapers to local T.V. news. Or you could release it the same day that a huge local story breaks, pushing your story off the page entirely. No one can guarantee you publicity coverage. It is not like advertising that you can buy and be assured placement.

So to help you gain the coverage you seek, take a long range approach. I am one of those freelancers willing to take publicity piece work and I can help you develop a long range plan for your business publicity efforts. Doing it yourself will require a fair bit of initial legwork, taking away from your core mission.

Why would you bother?

Because one press release can lead to tens of thousands of dollars worth of free media coverage; actual dollar values can’t even be realistically defined, since editorial coverage has been shown to be more effective at influencing thoughts and actions than the equivalent information in ad format. But just based on straight advertising value alone, even hiring a high level press release writer won’t cost anywhere near what you would have to pay for comparable coverage.

Here’s one example that I found on a Google search: one piece of coverage that a client received from a press release led to a two page color layout in a national niche market magazine. Had they paid for that single insertion the bill would have come to over
$6,500 — the client paid less than 10 percent of that amount to a publicist and then got additional media coverage beyond just that one instance for the very same release.

Of course, it doesn’t happen that way all the time with every release. However, it has been proven that over time with quality press releases combined with an ongoing effort to develop relationships with the relevant members of your local media will pay off for your business. You just have to learn how to position yourself as part of the stories that entertain and inform the general public. I can help in that effort.