How cool would it be if you could get your business or brand in front of a big captive audience full of your ideal customers – for free?
That’s exactly what PR can do for you.
PR, or public relations, means gaining exposure to the audiences of media (such as news media, magazines, TV, radio) without payment. (Of course, if you paid for it, that would be advertising…)
I recently interviewed a PR professional, Jules Brooke from Handle Your Own PR, AND seasoned journalist, Emma Vidgen, ex-editor for Real Living magazine, all about PR for products.
And it’s a lot easier than you’d probably think…
Here’s how YOU can get free PR in major media:
We cover a huge amount of valuable information in this interview, for example:
Can small businesses do their own PR without spending lots of money on agencies?
Yes, absolutely! Jules explains how easy it is in the interview.
(I can speak from experience here too. In my businesses I’ve landed tens of thousands of dollars worth of media coverage, in major magazines, news media and prime time TV!)
What do the media want to see from a product business or brand?
As an absolute MUST, you need to have your own beautiful, professional photographs to supply to the media.
With the ‘always on’ nature of the digital landscape, the media are HUNGRY for image-based content – it’s too time consuming and expensive for the media to create all of their own content.
Ditto for video content.
How should you contact editors and journalists?
These days, communication can all be done over email. But use your common sense – make contact when you have something new to show or tell, but don’t be in their face every week or every day. That’s just annoying.
Also, make sure you do follow up after making an approach!
How can you get your product featured in a styled shoot (or cover!)
The holy grail of PR for most brands is to have their product featured in the front cover styled shoot created by the magazine! And the second most coveted would be a styled shoot within the magazine.
Emma describes that the way you achieve this is to develop a relationship with the stylists over time.
You also need to be very clear about what sort of styled photoshoots, and what sort of magazines or other media, are really suitable or ideal for your product. (Because approaching stylists or editors where your product is clearly not a good fit is just not going to work!)
What is the potential return on investment you can expect from PR?
We all know it’s expensive to invest in things like professional photography, but it’s much easier to make the decision to spend that money if the potential return on that investment is worth it!
Jules describes some of the incredible media coverage she sees brands experiencing and the direct impact on sales revenue as a result.
How do you choose the right media to approach?
It may seem obvious, but you need to choose the media with the right audience, as well as the right content topics, in order to have success with PR.
If you’re selling a baby pram, there’s no point pitching a story to a Fishing magazine!
Emma describes how to work out which media you should approach to give yourself the best chance of success.
This ALSO requires you to really know who your OWN target audience is first!
Handling Your Own PR is easy, fast and fun
Think the big corporates have better stories to tell than you do? Not the case! They just know who to talk to and what to say to get their stories printed.
Now you have the same power right at your fingertips with the Handle Your Own PR platform – and for thousands of dollars less!
- Get direct access to media contacts and a media release template.
- Learn about getting free product PR at your own pace.
- See your story go live in the press, on TV or radio and online.
Get started with Handle Your Own PR for just $1
“Last week I used the HYOPR and sent out a release. So far I’ve had positive contact from the beauty editor at Better Homes and Garden ?” Kylie Apostoles, Morgan Annie
