How to Get Free
Publicity
A quick & easy guide for the speakers, trainers, sales people, self-employed and committee chairs
by Linda McDermott
SMASHWORDS EDITION
*****
PUBLISHED BY:
Linda McDermott on Smashwords
How to Get Free Publicity
Copyright © 1997. This edition 2010. By Linda McDermott
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
* * * * * * *
This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. All rights reserved. No reproduction without permission. Inquiries should be made to Linda McDermott, P. O. Box 65-074, Mairangi Bay, Auckland 0754, New Zealand.
* * * * * * *
Preface
You can get free publicity, just as I do. No matter where you are in the world the principles of communication are the same.
I had no publicity experience until I promoted a dance tour, but I will tell you how I got my story covered in fifteen newspapers, twelve radio interviews, national magazines, and several newsletters. I have since appeared in many other publications and have helped others do the same. I am a publicity layman (woman!) not a public relations expert, and therefore I use layman's terms throughout this book.
I had never appeared in print before or featured in a radio interview, but both these exciting learning experiences proved to me that anyone can get free publicity if they follow a few guidelines. After helping many friends along the way I saw a need to write this book.
Since the first edition of this book we now have the internet and social media to promote our message. Lucky for us there are a plethora of authors out there willing to show us how to use on-line tools. While it is beyond the scope of this book to cover social networking and gaining free publicity on the internet, the core principles of getting your message out to the world still remain and you’ll find them in the following pages.
Read on, and learn how to achieve your own free publicity, and save thousands of dollars in advertising.
Good luck & best wishes,
Linda.
* * * * * * *
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Overview of How to Get Free Publicity
Chapter 2
What Are You Publicising?
Chapter 3
The Right Attitude
Chapter 4
Your Image
Chapter 5
Getting Your Editor’s Attention
Chapter 6
Initial Contact In Writing
Chapter 7
Initial Contact By Phone
Chapter 8
Initial Contact In Person
Chapter 9
Following Up
Chapter 10
Which Media?
Chapter 11
Radio Interviews
Chapter 12
How to Write Effective Letters and Articles
Chapter 13
Practical Techniques For Success
Chapter 14
Keeping Records
Chapter 15
Good luck!
* * * * * * *
Chapter 1
Overview of How to Get Free Publicity.
Here is a list of synonymous words for publicity which I found in the Collins English Thesaurus: advertising, attention, ballyhoo, boost, build-up, hype, plug, press, promotion, public notice, puff, puffery! That's what you're aiming for, isn't it?
In this book I will help you achieve success in getting free puffery, whether you are launching into a full-scale project aiming at nation-wide coverage, or just hoping to get a write-up in the local paper. By free publicity I mean that you can get your message into the media without paying for it.
By the end of this book, I hope you will be able to identify exactly what you are publicising and how to achieve the result you want from the various media available. Through studying your uniqueness, your attitude and your image, you will learn how to stand out from the crowd, and how to create a successful package to sell to an editor or producer.
Note that throughout this book, 'editor' means editor or producer. These are the people in charge of deciding the content of their newspapers or radio/TV programme.
I will take you through the essentials of gaining free publicity - from making a dynamic first impression to increasing your chances of publicity 100% by following up. You will learn how to turn a potential rejection into success, and how to create multiple publicity opportunities from one event.
You will find examples of letters and articles that work and you will learn to project your story so well that an editor won't be able to say no. You will find out the tricks of dynamic writing and sparking interviews. I have included practical advice on the interview process, and helpful techniques to use before the interview. You will learn skills for getting across an interesting message, and what to do afterwards.
If you suffer from lack of confidence you will benefit from the section on stress release and advice on sounding and appearing calm and professional when you are nervous. You will be able to use the methods to make you the happy, healthy and enthusiastic bringer of news that you are!
In this book I will be using myself as an example of how a person with virtually no experience cracked the publicity nut! If you take the time to absorb these new skills, and if you are prepared to do what it takes, your campaign for free publicity will be a breeze.
* * * * * * *
Chapter 2
What Are You Publicising?
Before you can present yourself in a way that gets your message across, you need to know what you are offering and to whom. It is important that you identify what is unique about your goods, services or cause before you attempt to get others interested.
Sometimes this necessitates going beyond the obvious. The following anecdote about my friend Ann Skinner shows you that although on the surface she had a potentially boring story which no paper would take, by delving further into what she was really publicising, we saw a brilliant opportunity.
Ann owns a dance school in Auckland called Dance Dimensions and she wanted publicity for her annual concert. I suggested that I write an article and get it published along with a photograph in the local papers. She thought this sounded like a good idea, but told me she didn't think it would work. 'I've been trying for years to get in the papers. I send them articles but they never publish anything. One year a paper even sent someone out to do a story and take a photograph, but nothing ever appeared in the paper.' After some questioning it turned out that Ann had sent articles giving only details of the time and place of Dance Dimensions' annual concerts.
I told Ann I could see two reasons why the papers had not been interested in publishing her story. Firstly, there was nothing to tell the editor why her concert was different from any other dance concert; and secondly, her information was about things like times and dates, not people. I asked Ann to take a mental step away from herself and tell me what made her different from other dance teachers on the North Shore. This would uncover a human interest angle which we could use to promote her story.
I knew the answer I wanted, and eventually she came up with it - the fact that she had been to New York on my dance tour. She had grasped a chance to realise her dream and make the lights on Broadway a reality for her. It took courage because she'd never been further than Australia and had never travelled on her own. As a result of the trip she wanted to bring new exciting experiences to her students and she was doing this through her annual show which, surprise, surprise, was called New York, New York.
This is exactly the type of story that an editor likes: the editor can see that readers might be inspired or touched by it. I think you will agree it has oodles more interest value than the bald statement of facts about a clichéd event which was her original approach. On the face of it, Ann was publicising a concert, but once we went beyond the obvious to search for the interesting angle to her story, we saw that she was publicising her adventure to New York and her wish to impart that adventure to the local community by way of her concert. You will see the "before" and "after" examples of Ann's publicity campaign later in this chapter.
Your cause is different to Ann's, but the same principle applies. Look beyond the obvious and get right down to the meat of it. What did you go through to get to the stage that you wanted publicity? Is it a story people will identify with? Make sure you publicise something people want to read, and present your story in a unique way.
Say, for example, you have a business selling clothing. Okay, hundreds of people are in the rag trade, but there is something unique about your business. Was it that a grandmother was given a new lease of life and started going out to parties when her granddaughter shouted her a garment from your new spring collection?
You're a plumber. What are you publicising? You are not publicising fixing public toilets. You are telling the story of the prevention of a public health hazard due to your racing down to the local park at three in the morning to stop the sewage overflow.
You're part of a committee for a local sports team. What are you publicising? Not the match between Westport and Dunedin. You are publicising the rise to fame of your new young star "Samuel" who was born with a club foot and has overcome a major hurdle in his life to pursue his passion.
I am sure that by now you are getting the idea. So when you are thinking of what you want to publicise, remember to look beyond the obvious.
What Story Angle Will Gain Attention?
Human Interest
People are strongly influenced by their emotions and it's a natural human emotion to empathise with someone else's success or failure, happiness or tragedy. Whatever it is you want to publicise, there will be a human element in it. Look for it. Imagine yourself in the shoes of a stranger. Ask yourself what aspect of the story might attract your interest.
A human interest story is about people and their interactions. The people's stories must be somehow unique or different.
A group of people is an excellent resource for personal interest stories. Whatever group you belong to - a musical theatre society, a sports team or your work - you have the advantage of large numbers of people to draw from for your human interest angles. I am frequently amazed that a tap dancing class attracts a fascinating range of people from different backgrounds and I'm sure this is true of nearly all groups. Recognise the achievements of someone in your group. This is a skill you can develop by taking an interest in others - people often overlook their own achievements.
An example of an interesting person in a group from my experience was a seventy-three year old lady, Joy (not her real name), who had had a hip replacement and who had wanted to come on my dance holiday to America. An active tap dancer, she later had to phone me to say her commitment to dance in a show at the Royal Albert Hall in London meant she couldn't come on my tour. What a woman! Joy's is the kind of achievement that would have been a good story for the local newspapers. Apart from great publicity for my tour as well as dancing in general, imagine the feeling it would give other people to read about her? How many people in their seventies do you know like that? I hope many. There should be more!
Talk to people involved in your venture. Find out what interesting stories they might have and always be alert to the publicity potential of everything. Ask permission from them before you go ahead. Develop the human interest angle of your story!
Remember Ann's story earlier in this chapter? Here is the letter she originally sent.
This type
of letter doesn't work:
Dear Sir/Madam
We will be having our annual dance concert at Kristin School on 1 April. There will be two performances: 2:00 p.m and 7:00 p.m. This is open to the public.
Thank you for considering mentioning this in your paper.
Yours sincerely
Ann Skinner
Most people want to hear about someone who achieves their dream, so the new approach I took for Ann included a human interest angle. Here is the letter and article I sent:
The letter that worked:
Dear Ruth
Broadway Dreams for Two Hundred and Fifty North Shore Dancers
Ann Skinner, an infectiously enthusiastic dance teacher from Dance Dimensions in Browns Bay, lived her dream this year when she joined a dance-lovers trip to America.
Highlights of the trip included seeing ten shows on Broadway in ten days! and participating in classes at the Broadway Dance Center.
Ann has returned wanting to impart some of that dream to her two hundred and fifty students (from three years old to over sixty) and she's doing this by way of her annual show "New York New York" at Kristin School.
I thought your readers might find the attached article interesting and I'm enclosing a photo with it.
Thanks for your consideration for the paper, Ruth.
Yours sincerely
Linda McDermott
The article I wrote for Ann:
BROADWAY TO BROWNS BAY
Dance teacher Ann Skinner is about to share her Broadway dream with two hundred and fifty North Shore dancers.
Adults and children of all ages from Dance Dimensions will perform in a New York theme show on October 8th and everyone will end up on stage together for a grand finale.
The idea for this glittery New York-flavoured show is a result of the dream that became reality this year for ex primary school teacher Ann, who joined a dance-lover's holiday tour to America organised by Mairangi Bay dance enthusiast, Linda McDermott.
"Broadway's lights are something that most people only dream of, but I wanted my students to share the feeling of a New York show because it's so exciting - even if we are in Browns Bay not Broadway!"
Ann has organised a two hour extravaganza with an array of Broadway show songs which depict daily life in the Big Apple. Aged from three years to ... (she won't give that away), performers will dance to tunes from Teddy Bear's Picnic to New York, New York.
Dance to Ann is happiness and life. "I cannot think of a better reward than seeing people having fun expressing themselves through dance." She's not surprised that more and more people are taking dance classes these days. Dance strengthens you physically, builds confidence and awakens friendships with fellow dancers.
"I always say dance is for fun and it's for everyone. This was reinforced when I was at the Broadway Dance Centre (New York's largest dance establishment). It was fantastic to see that no matter where you are in the world, people of all ages, shapes, sizes and abilities are dancing because they love it."
October 8 at Kristin School Auditorium you'll be able to see that love of dance from Ann and her students. Phone 478 5898 for more details.
Linda McDermott
I loved writing the letter and article for her because it was such a great story. As a general rule, if you love the story, others will too. The article was successful all the local papers we sent it to, along with a snapshot I took of Ann at the studio. It would have cost hundreds of dollars to pay for advertising with the same reach and impact.
You will have noticed I created another opportunity to publicise my dance tours at the same time as publicising Ann's concert. You can create multiple publicity opportunities, as you will see later.
If you are an individual seeking publicity and are stumped for ideas, ask your friends or confer with trusted outsiders. They can often see amazing things that you overlooked, and it can be fun for everyone contributing ideas and seeing those ideas come to fruition in the media.
* * * * * * *
Chapter 3
The Right Attitude
One of the secrets to success in getting publicity is your attitude. This comes across in both speaking and writing. You must put yourself in your editor's shoes. What will make him or her want to publish your story? Marketing people are successful because they put themselves in the shoes of their target audience. They develop an attitude which will appeal and will gain their audience's respect. Respect your editor. Be persistent. If your story is rejected, find out (politely) why the editor objected to it, and try to overcome the objection. Offer an interesting story and then let the editor or producer decide whether it's newsworthy.
My attempt to get a write-up about my dance tour in the New Zealand Woman's Weekly - a magazine with a circulation of about 150,000 per week - shows you how a positive attitude can win an opportunity. I sent the editor my article and colour photograph. About four days later I rang the editor. This follow-up call is critical, as I will explain later. I was scared of rejection, but I forced myself to sound calm. You'll find methods for calming your nerves in Chapter 13. The conversation went something like this:
Me
Hello Mr Editor, it's Linda McDermott here. I sent you an article about my dance tour to the United States, about a week ago. Have you had a chance to read it yet?
Editor
Oh, that dance story. I think I filed that in basket number thirteen. (i.e. the rubbish bin).
Me
(Heart sinking but never giving up!)
That's a shame, Mr Editor.
Editor
Now if you had something to say about babies or marriage, that might be different.
Me
(With a smile, sensing an opening)
I get your drift. What about sex, drugs and rock n' roll? They've got plenty of that on Broadway.
Editor
(Sounding warmer)
Mmm... I suppose you think I'm a heel not publishing it?
Me
(Getting hopeful)
Not at all. I realise you must have hundreds of stories coming across your desk every day. I'm thankful that you had time to look at mine.
Editor
(Sounding amazed)
We have so many dance schools trying to get in the magazine.
Me
(Realising he is not familiar with my story)
Oh, I'm not a dance school. I'm an ordinary dancer who has always dreamt of the sparkle of Broadway, and I've decided to go there with a group of New Zealanders to participate in classes and see shows. In fact, it's New Zealand's first dance tour.
Editor
Really? Well, that sounds interesting. I can't promise anything, but I'll pass the article on to the editor of the Loose Ends section and he can assess whether it's suitable.
Me
(Jubilant but not showing it too much!)
That would be great. I appreciate your time.
I was excited when I hung up the phone. Regardless of whether the article was accepted, I had turned the situation around from a potential rejection to a possible chance for free publicity.
Before I had a chance to ring the Loose Ends editor in a few days, I discovered an item about me - including a colour photograph - in the latest issue. I'd done it! My polite, persistent and positive attitude proved successful. That's how publicity dreams come true.
Should I use Humour?
In his book Punchline your Bottom Line, David Glickman points out that we have had a paradigm shift in the use of humour in business in the last twenty years. While humour used to be thought of as ‘not appropriate’ or ‘silly’ it is now a welcome edition to the corporate world. He says humour is now being used as one of the most powerful forces to help swing back the pendulum on our stress levels.
I would say this same principal applies in all areas of life, not just the corporate world. The question is, is humour going to be an asset to your getting free publicity? Of course only you can answer that, but if you do decide to use humour make sure it is self-deprecating, culturally sensitive and in good taste.
An axiom in the professional speaking world is “Should I use humour in my presentation?” The answer is, “Only if you want to get paid.” I would guess that in some cases you could say “Should I use humour in my publicity campaign?” The answer could be “Only if you want it to be successful!”
The good news behind humour is that it can break the ice, give you credibility (because you have a sense of humour - something most people respect) and warm people to you. Laughter relaxes us so that we are more open to your message. As Jay Leno, the comic television host says “You can’t stay mad at someone who makes you laugh.”
I have had great success in getting free publicity when I’ve had a chuckle with the editor, as in the case of my Woman’s Weekly magazine success.
There is, of course, no reason why you can’t speak to a group to get some free publicity. Of course if you have a fear of public speaking you probably won’t be rushing in to offer your services! One of the best kept secrets in the world is an organisation called Toastmasters, a not-for-profit organisation that trains people in public speaking and leadership. I have seen people transform their speaking and confidence in a year at Toastmasters. If you’re interested, check out the website, toastmasters.org.
On the subject of speaking and humour, I heard an Australian professional speaker say recently that in Australia he can go wild with self-deprecating humour, but when he has tried the same thing in North America the audience wondered why he was putting himself down so much!
The message here is that there is a difference in culture. While I’m sure the American audience enjoyed his lively presentation, his wish to connect with them through humour was probably diminished.
Cultivate an attitude that will support you, whether or not you decide to use humour.
And now you have the right attitude, you need to look at your image.
* * * * * * *
Chapter 4
Your Image
Your image is in your philosophy, your personality, your presentation and your writing. It is the impression you make. Image is important because it determines how people feel and react when they hear about you. You want them to relate positively to you so that they take the action you want, whether it is to buy something or to support your cause.
When I was preparing for my radio interview with Alice Worsley of Auckland’s Radio i, I jotted down some points to help me clarify what I wanted to get across. You will find more about that under Preparing for Radio Interviews. At the top of the page I wrote the feelings I wanted people to associate with my idea. They were: Fun, Enthusiasm, Happiness, Excitement, Adventure.
These words represented my desired image.
You might want to describe your image with words like witty, humorous, intimate, lively, bold, sincere, punchy, serious, honest or friendly. Or calm, peaceful, serene, spiritual, relaxed, earnest, warm, radiant, together.
Now write down some words you want to use to describe your image.
This is important. Writing things down consolidates in our own mind what we want, so that we are clear when we are communicating it to others. If your potential audience marries your image with your message into a complete easy-to-relate-to package, you will have a winning free publicity campaign.