In our last post, we gave you a specific timeline to follow in order to have the best chances of getting free publicity for your company, products or services during the busy holiday season. In this post, we highlight four more insider tips, which will add to your chances of success.
Three Girls Media and Marketing’s Helpful Insider Tips:
1. What to promote: Most business owners focus mainly on products. Promote not only your services, but also gift certificates and events for the holidays, too! Announce events to local event calendars such as those in regional and neighborhood newspapers’ community sections. Many magazines list holiday events as well, the key is getting the proper information to the media outlet in the appropriate time frame.
2. Have the media FIND YOU. Believe it or not, you can actually have reporters and media professionals come to you! These are three free, legitimate internet services you can use to help the press connect with your company: www.HelpAReporter.com, PitchRate.com, and ReporterConnection.com. On these sites, media professionals indicate the kinds of stories, products or services they are looking to highlight in their media outlet (magazine, television, newspaper etc.), and will seek you out if you respond to them with a well-designed pitch.
Simply sign up for a free account and you’ll see press queries in your inbox every day! If you are unsure how to respond to these queries, or do not have time to manage the required follow up, contact Three Girls Media and Marketing to see how we can assist you. These services are a gold mine of publicity opportunities; don’t pass them by.
3. Be Proactive. You need to be proactive in order to reap the benefits of press coverage during the holidays. Find a website you like, and get in touch with the person producing their gift guide, community calendar etc. Do the same with other types of press. If you are friendly and helpful, and have something the press is legitimately interested in, they may want to work with you first.
4. Be Prepared! All this great work will pay off, so you need to be ready to respond! Have samples ready to send, have an offer of services the press can use to get familiar with you, and be ready with high-resolution pictures (at least 300dpi and 3×5 in size), or additional information as needed.
If preparing your business for the holidays seems like a big undertaking, it is. We at Three Girls Media have proven results in obtaining holiday publicity. We would be happy to meet with you to discuss your holiday strategy, so that you, too, can see your name and product featured prominently and gather market share during the height of spending season.
Special Offer: Three Girls Media & Marketing Inc. loves working with small and emerging companies to raise their brand awareness and name recognition. We offer a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation. Email info@ThreeGirlsMedia.com to make your appointment today!
Photo Credit: stevendepolo