One of the most misunderstood and most underutilized promotional tools available to small businesses is FREE PUBLICITY. Every business, no matter how large or small, can effectively use free publicity to enhance its image, increase sales and profits, generate sales leads, expand distribution, and promote customer goodwill. All of these benefits can be gained for […]

Have you ever gotten one of those letters from your local property tax appraiser, informing you that your tax bill is going up about 20 percent? I got one of those recently, so I took it to my friend Joe Gross in San Antonio. He appeals property tax assessments for a living. "Man," he said. […]

If you have had any experience in public relations or marketing, you probably know how well press releases can work. There are many, many companies who have increased sales by 100%-300% in a matter of months simply through using press releases.
Most people don’t know how to write them, distribute them, or use them to their […]

So you have spent hours and hours writing, shaping and crafting your media message. You’ve worked on setting your objectives, identifying your target audience and working out how to reach them. Your release is well structured and packaged, leaving just writing the head-line remaining.
Unfortunately with little time remaining you hastily put together the headline and […]

 As many of you already know, promoting and marketing your business in as many creative ways as possible is crucial to the success of your venture. But finding ways to get noticed presents a major challenge for most entrepreneurs. One of the most cost effective and powerful methods of getting noticed is by way of […]

Ain’t a gonna happen unless business, non-profit and association managers, possibly like you, do something positive about those important external audiences of yours that most affect your operation. And then, as you persuade those key outside folks to your way of thinking, help move them to take actions that allow your department, group, division or […]

It sounds too simple to be true, but it really is… A well targeted and timely PRESS RELEASE to the media is the most powerful form of marketing and advertising on the planet! A high quality press release, with the proper targeting and distribution to reach the correct media members, could have many businesses sailing […]

It’s not unusual for clients of service providers to insist that their budget dollars be quickly applied to a variety of flashy tactics. Yet, when pressed, many acknowledge that what they REALLY want for their money is visible, end-game change.
This is especially true in public relations where clients often second-guess careful plans for achieving that […]

A press kit is an essential press relations tool. While it can be used to support a special event or promotional activity, it is most helpful in strategically positioning an organization or product. On a website, the "press room" is the on-line equivalent of the traditional press kit.
More expansive and educational than a press release, […]

Maybe it played for Kevin Costner in “Field of Dreams,” but that paraphrased line – “Print it and they will come” – doesn’t necessarily work in real life.
There’s a lot to be said for the value of editorial side coverage, but you can’t count on people acting on what they read or even remembering it […]

With all due respect to all those stereotypical males out there who hate to ask for directions, the fact is that even if the territory is somewhat familiar, if you don’t have a roadmap and follow its directions, you’re going to get hopelessly lost.
So it goes with your PR program. If you truly intend to […]