Advertising, as you may know, is sometimes looked upon by consumers with skepticism because they know you are trying to sell them something and suspect companies may not be entirely truthful in their ads.

On other hand, news articles and advertorials that appear in a newspaper or magazine are very often seen as factual, with media's "stamp of approval," and as a recommendation of your product by an impartial third party. In general, larger article, more believable information.

Knowledge Sending releases to media on a regular basis can keep public abreast of what your company is doing, as well as keep you in forefront of your customers' minds. The practice can also cut your advertising budget significantly, while accomplishing same task...making your customers aware of your products, bringing your products to your customers' "top of mind," and spurring them to action.

Interest Often, small business owners think they don't do anything exciting enough to warrant a news release. Well, that's just not true. Every business should have a few things happening that would interest media. Some happenings, of course, would warrant more news coverage than others.

Following are just a few questions to make you think about using public relations to promote your business. The first six are probably worthy of short, one-page releases resulting in small mentions in media. The last six show potential for larger feature articles. A simple release, however, is not generally sufficient to convince editors to run larger pieces. Personal contact is a must. Questions

How can you build relationships with your clients and prospects? Follows these examples. You will be pleasantly surprised with results.

Say thank you Everyone wants to hear ‘thank you’. The easiest way to say thank you is verbally - but most powerful and memorable is with a hand written note. We receive so few hand written notes that we read them first and value them because we know you took time to write it personally. Say thank you to your clients for opportunity to work with them. Say thank you for considering you - even if they did not hire you. Look for opportunities to say thank you; thanks for lead, information, invitation, advice, idea, introduction, publishing your article,…

Say Congratulations The cousin to ‘thank you’ is ‘congratulations’. Say, ‘Congratulations on becoming president of association’, ‘getting new job’, ‘appearing in paper’, ‘completing a successful project’, ‘volunteering for a charity’, ‘winning award’, ‘being nominated’, ‘expanding business’, ‘opening a new office’,.. This is a great way to make first contact with a prospect or key influencer. Always say it in a hand written note.