Painless publicity occurs when you don’t contact the media—they call you. Learn how to get the media to call with the tips in this article.

Publicity experts will tell you that the way to getting your story in print, broadcast and online media is to create a newsworthy media release, distribute it to your targeted media and follow up with them. Or, you can hire a publicist to do those things for you. It works. A well-crafted pitch, delivered to the right media outlets at the right time, can result in great publicity for you and your business.

Of course, you can’t depend on getting publicity. No matter how good your release may be, getting publicity also requires a little luck, too.

There are other things you can do to generate what I call ‘painless publicity.’ Painless publicity occurs when you don’t contact the media—they call you. To get painless publicity, make sure that you are in as many places as you can be. An interview with a market research publication happened because as the writer was researching, my name kept coming up. He heard about me from others he interviewed, ran across my name and my book on the Web, etc. He decided he needed to talk to me to complete his article.

Journalists, editors and producers often use the Web to do research. Make sure they find you. What keywords will they search for when they are looking for an expert in your field? Optimize your Web site so that your site ranks highly for those keywords.

One of my biggest publicity hits, a feature in a national magazine, came about because the writer found my book on Amazon.com, then contacted me through my Web site. The author of a book is automatically viewed as an expert, and Amazon.com is a way for journalists to easily locate those experts. In addition to books, you can list e-docs, audio programs and other materials on Amazon.com.

An article on CNN’s web site quoted me because I am on the board of the Authors and Publishers Association. The writer found my contact information at the organization’s Web site, and interviewed me as an expert on publishing. If you belong to organizations, ask if they provide member listings on their Web sites, or if they print a member directory. Make sure your listing is current and correct.

Painless publicity can result from prior publicity successes. Someone doing research on your topic may run across an article about you and contact you for their story. An article about you in the local paper can inspire a TV or radio producer to put you on the air.

You might even call it painless publicity when you get a call months (or even years) after you sent a media release. Although your release may not get an immediate response, recipients have filed it away, and are waiting for the right time or right story to get in touch with you.

Publicity can be one of your most powerful marketing tools. Make sure you get your share of publicity by being visible in as many places, online and offline, as possible.

As the Idea Lady, Cathy Stucker helps entrepreneurs and professionals attract customers and make themselves famous. Get free marketing tips at http://www.IdeaLady.com/

Learn more about Painless Publicity here.

Posted on: April 3, 2012, by : AfricanSisters