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Free Newspaper Advertising-How to Get Your Business On the Front Page

Everyone loves free advertising. In some ways it is the Holy Grail of business. But it has to be effective advertising seen by many people. One of my favorites is a newspaper article about your business. This is an elusive goal, and it can be difficult to achieve. Sometimes, it is just being in the right place at the right time. However, there are some basic techniques you can put into play to help position your business for exposure. I have personally used them to get 3 different articles written and published. These techniques have even put me on the evening news. And best of all, it only costs you some time and effort.

The key to this method is letting journalists know your business exists. I do not believe in waiting for someone to notice me. I prefer to tell them I am there. Realistically, journalists are always for a good story. Just tell them why you or your business would be a good story. Try to look at your business from an outsider's perspective. Why are you special? How does your business improve the lives of your customer? Maybe you are the first one in your area to do what you are doing. Maybe you are about to celebrate an anniversary or milestone in your business. Have you recently received an award? Find something special about your business that is newsworthy. You are excited about your business, otherwise you would not be doing it. Share that excitement. Do not expect someone else to decide what it is about your business that is exciting. Make it something that sparks the journalist's interest.

Once you have your concept, all you have to do is email them. Go to the websites of all your local papers and find the email addresses of journalists in the appropriate sections of the paper. For instance, if you want your business splashed across the front page of the entertainment section, find a journalist (or two or three) in that section. Email addresses are usually found under the "Contact Us" link on the website. Collect lots of addresses. The more people you let know about your "news," the better chance you will have of being picked up.

Now comes the tricky part. You have to grab them with your subject line. Try to imagine yourself at their desk, opening your email, and try to decide which emails grab your attention. What would you want to read? What would whet your appetite? This is your opening line. Make it your best.

The body of your email should be short and sweet. If you do grab their interest, you do not want to lose it with a long, drawn out email. And if they are not interested, you do not want to waste your time typing. Give them one or two paragraphs about why your business is newsworthy, and then give them a link to find out more information. If they think the story is newsworthy, they will follow your trail.

Once you have emailed everyone you can find, just sit back and wait. But do not wait too long. It is common knowledge in the marketing world that it takes four to seven exposures for people to recognize your name or business. Do not send out one email to your list and expect something to happen. (Of course, it can! But do not be too disappointed if it does not.) Make a schedule for yourself and send out emails to your list every two months or so. Find a way to tie your business in with a holiday. Or make a big deal about how much your business has grown. It does not matter if when you say you doubled the number of people in your organization within your first year in business, you mean that you went from three to six. Keep your email subject lines exciting but relevant. And be persistent. You never know when a news story will relate to your business. And when it does, you want journalists to know your name and how to contact you rather than your competition. Good luck. I hope to read about you soon!

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