Positive publicity about your product, service or business can mean the difference between success and failure. It can also mean the difference between modest success and outrageous success. Publicity will increase your name recognition, give you credibility, serve as a platform for you to educate your target market, and help you leap ahead of your competition.

So, you know whats the real shame about publicity?

That most of the people who achieve it dont make the most of it.

Publicity is hard earned. So when it does come, you need to put it bluntly to milk it for all its worth.

If you score a feature article in the local paper or even an expert quote in a major national daily and you rely solely on who happens to read that article no matter how impressive the circulation numbers youre missing out on a huge amount of your potential audience. After all, what about all the people who didnt pick up the paper that day but who would be just as influenced? Reaching them is up to you.

So, how do you do that? Follow these tips and youll be on your way to maximizing your publicity potential:

Create a newsroom on your Web site.

Many people neglect one of the easiest ways to remarket their publicity on their companys Web site. Simply create an in the news tab visitors can link to from your home page and post PDF versions of all print news publicity and digitized versions of TV or radio publicity. At our agency, we are fortunate enough to have a very bright account exec whos also technologically savvy. It takes him just a few minutes to scan originals of articles and convert them to PDF format for posting on our site. Likewise, he can create digitized formats of TV and radio spots for visitors to link to from our Web site. Chances are you have a company Web site already, so dont miss this easy opportunity to promote yourself to prospects.

Use reprints as mailers.

Using article reprints as mailers is a great way to stay in touch with former clients as well as prospects that you havent yet been able to close. Simply sticking a high quality, glossy article reprint in an envelope with a handwritten, personalized note that says something like, Jack - just thought you might be interested in our companys recent profile in the Sun-Times. As you can see, the reporter was especially interested in how we are ahead of the curve in our production methods, which enables us to keep our costs down to our customers. Hope all is well and I look forward to speaking with you soon. Bingo. Not only does this put you top of mind with Jack who might not have thought of you in months but it also skyrockets your credibility. Whatever the reason for your publicity, mention it as in the above example and just wait to see if Jack or Jill, for that matter doesnt call.

Take advantage of your captive audience.

This is especially valuable for professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, who have captive audiences waiting in reception areas. We represent several cosmetic physicians who are very savvy marketers. These doctors take advantage of their office waiting rooms in two ways. First, they frame reprints of their print publicity and hang them around the reception area for patients to peruse while waiting (hey, its better than the three-year-old copies of Good Housekeeping). Second, they hire a professional video company to string their TV appearances onto a continuously running loop, which then plays in the waiting room. The result? Patients, prospects and everyone else who enters their offices leaves with a reinforced sense that these people are leaders in their fields.

Following the suggestions above will take you well on your way to maximizing the exposure of your hard-earned media coverage, enabling you to reach even more of your target audience and, ultimately, positively impact your bottom line.

2006, Diana Laverdure
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