News
 10
Steps To Unleash Your Lead PR Machine
by John Jantsch
PR is a powerful small business marketing tool. By
PR, I mean getting positive press mentions about
your firm in local, trade and national publications.
The reason these mentions are so powerful is because
they are seen to come from unbiased 3rd parties. So,
they are more believable. People are conditioned to
think your ad messages are just sales hype, but when
they read about how great you are in the local
business journal, it must be true.
A lot of people think that gaining positive PR is
luck. Maybe that's true to a certain extent, but
more than luck, it’s the result of a systematic
commitment to generating PR. Here's my step by step
system for generating positive press coverage.
Step 1 - Target your media sources, including a
growing list of Internet based media and news
resources. Start networking with these media targets
today by requesting editorial calendars, sending
industry information, commenting on stories they
write, passing on surveys and data, inviting them to
workshops. Build relationships before you ask for
the order! Tip: Network with the advertising sales
folks at the publications too, they will give you
lots of good information about who does what and
where in the course of trying to sell you an ad.
Step 2 - Create three or four central media themes
for the year that support your core marketing
message.
Step 3 - Create a list of ten to twelve minor, but
interesting, marketing related themes for ongoing
PR. You need to fill in with volume while you are
working on the front page feature.
Step 4 - Create a PR calendar and assign a PR theme
and goal for each month. Focus on one publication or
one writer and you will be amazed at how much you
can accomplish. Remember to target editorial
calendars (Publications will often assign themes to
a month. Match your pitch to their theme.)
Step 5 - Write a fully developed pitch for each of
your major themes - A pitch is a story idea that you
can "pitch" to a member of the media. This is not a
press release, but more of a sales job. Wrap your
story idea around a news angle or trend and package
the pitch to interest the readers of a specific
publication you are pitching. You can change and
repackage your pitches as needed. These are reserved
for your central media themes.
Step 6 - Formulate one page press releases with
catchy headlines for each of your minor themes.
Step 7 - Once a month, target your core media list
and distribute a press release or pitch for a major
theme. Post all press releases on a national wire
service such as PRWeb and send copies of your press
releases to clients and prospects. Don't forget op-eds
and letters to the editor.
Step 8 - Follow-up with your core media list by
telephone and offer some new piece of news or trend
angle that you did not include in your pitch or
press release.
Step 9 - Track media coverage in local and trade
press, set-up Google Alerts for a number of key
related terms and reprint for marketing purposes any
media coverage received.
Step 10 - Send handwritten thank you notes (or
t-shirts) to members of the media to thank them for
an interview or mention.
John Jantsch is
a marketing coach, author and creator of the Duct
Tape Marketing System. (www.ducttapemarketing.com)
E-mail:
john@jantschcommunications.com
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