How To Get Thousands Of Dollars Worth Of Free Publicity on RadioWritten by George McKenzie
Baseball great Reggie Jackson, who often got more publicity than he wanted, once said, "The media are like birds on a wire. When one flies, they all fly."Everyone in media monitors everyone else, because NO ONE wants to miss anything or leave impression they're falling behind current events. You can use that competitive spirit to build a free publicity machine for yourself. Especially on radio. How to get attention first time requires a whole separate article (I have one on our website), but here's what you do to get producers and talk show hosts to love you--and to invite you back often. ***Be available. When former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros was a San Antonio City Councilman, he could always be found on short notice. When a guest canceled at last minute, many a frantic host breathed easier when they saw Henry's beat up old Volkswagen pulling into station lot just before airtime. No wonder Cisneros later became one of most popular mayors in San Antonio history. ***Speak Your Mind. Radio hosts LOVE guests who have courage to be controversial. "Dr. Laura" was originally scheduled to be a one-time guest on an LA radio station some years ago, but she was so engaging and fearless, she got invited back again and again. Of course, now she has her own syndicated show.
| | To get free publicity, "Sell The Story -- Not the Store"Written by George McKenzie
Imagine yourself sitting down in a meeting room to listen to a presentation by a speaker.The speaker begins by saying. "Statistics show" and then proceeds to prattle off a list of figures aimed at making a point. Before long, though, you’ll probably be thinking about all other places you’d rather be. Now imagine that speaker begins by saying "Once upon a time" You automatically start paying attention because you know you’re about to hear a story. People love stories. And they’ll stop what they’re doing if they think they’re going to hear a good one. The greatest teachers of all time have taught their lessons through stories, anecdotes, examples. Even parables. And you’ll start getting loads of free publicity from media if you understand that they’re really in storytelling business. Joan Stewart is a former newspaper reporter and editor with more than 20 years experience. She says that during her career, she got hundreds of calls from people saying, in so many words, "Cover me, pay attention to me, give me publicity." Of course, what they really wanted was free advertising for some product they were selling. And when Joan would ask, politely of course, why public would want to know more about it, they’d launch into details about how wonderful their product was and all features it offered. Among professional sales people, this is called "selling features instead of benefits."
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