Public Relations: Your Key to Business Growth in the New Year – or Any Time of YearWritten by Shannon Cherry, APR
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Keep messages simple. People in US get bombarded with more than 4,000 marketing messages a day. Who has time and energy to decipher complicated jargon? Stick to one message, and learn to tell it in various ways to make your point. Position yourself as an expert. Give advice on your business topic freely. Write articles for online publications, business journals and magazines. Participate in online forums and speak to local groups. When you consistently provide information of value in these outlets your reputation as an expert will make itself. Focus on people, not products. “Make product hero” is an old expression that's not right today. The product can play a role in allowing a person to be a hero, but product itself probably isn't heroic, and it shouldn't be portrayed that way. People long for stories they can identify with, small achievements – where an obstacle is overcome or a person does something surprising. People want to connect with somebody, not something. Today's successful companies make public relations a priority. Whether selling direct, through distribution channels or via e-commerce, a successful company must achieve and maintain a strong market presence through a continuous and effective public relations program.
Shannon Cherry, APR helps small businesses and nonprofit organizations to be heard. She’s a marketing communications and public relations expert with more than 15 years experience and the owner of Cherry Communications. For more tips and tricks – or information about her services, visit www.cherrycommunications.com. Contact her at shannon@cherrycommunications.com.
| | Secrets Of A PublisherWritten by Steven Boaze
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them know you have valuable information to share. Exchange business cards along way. Create a special set of cards that include your subscription information. Promote after sale. Let's say your customer didn't want to get on your email form when given chance at checkout. They still go home with printed packaging of some form, whether it's a shopping bag, gift-wrap or product packaging itself. Promote a subscription there, too, because (1) they might change their mind and (2) if they're giving it to someone else, you've gained another opportunity. Use direct mail. It doesn't have to be fancy. A simple postcard promoting your offer to a small, rented (permission-based!) group will do. Sometimes all it takes to get people on your list is to let them know about your offer - and that you can send it via email (instead of killing trees). Use print advertising. Placing an ad is almost as tricky as renting an email database, but realize that we're not talking about placing an ad in Forbes Magazine. Your local newspaper, your neighborhood newsletter, your Laundromat's bulletin board... start asking about promoting your offer in everything you read and everywhere you go. Get creative! Use telephone. Ask everyone who calls in to your company if they'd like to jsign up to receive information from you. Use an existing contact database you already have. You probably have one, you just don't know it! Dig deep into your address book or database to find anyone you ever had a relationship with - anyone who ever bought from you, for example. Send them a one-time mailing (via email or mail, use whatever contact information you have) explaining that you are starting a newsletter or periodic emailing and ask if they'd like to sign up. Assure them that this is a one-time mailing, and then keep mailing only if they give you permission. ****************** You can promote your offer in every corner of world; but there are a few more things you should do to ensure your email list contains well-targeted, opt-in, permission-based, low bounce/low unsubscribe names. Only use an opt-in or double opt-in subscription method - not optout. Double opt-in ensures highest quality, since you are guaranteed direct permission from subscriber and a valid email address. Offer people relevance and value in exchange for their contact information, e.g., special discounts, monthly tips-n-tricks, white papers, etc. Giving away irrelevant freebies builds your opt-in list in short term, but over long run, those leads won't pay off. Qualify without scaring away really interested people. Ask for more than just name and email - but not too much. Find right balance, and people who truly value your offer and want to hear from you will be ones who end up in your database. Set expectations up front. Tell people what they'll be getting, and only interested ones will sign up. The key to successfully building a high quality, opt-in, permission-based email contact list is to realize it's a continual process. Don't expect 10,000 names to appear from your opt-in form overnight. But sooner you start, sooner you can start building rewarding relationships. About The author Steven Boaze (Chairman) is The Owner of The Corporate Headquarters Boaze.com Which houses and controls four companies (Web Development Technology - www.webdevelopmenttechnology.com ) (Boaze Publishing - www.boazepublishing.biz ) (Business Marketing Guide- www.businessmarketingguide.com ) (Ezine Remedy- www.ezineremedy.com ) Steven is also author of "Hidden Secrets To Business Marketing" Ebook along with numerous articles on Marketing and Advertising published by Boaze Publishing. Copyright © 1998-2003 Boaze.com
Steven Boaze (Chairman) is The Owner of The Corporate Headquarters Boaze.com Which houses and controls four companies (Web Development Technology - www.webdevelopmenttechnology.com ) (Boaze Publishing - www.boazepublishing.biz )
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