The press release is a time-honored marketing strategy to capture free publicity for your business. Publishers of daily newspapers, ezines, and newsletters are especially in need of vast quantities of information to fill up space and provide newsworthy and interesting information for their patrons. Journalists welcome your press releases because they are looking for topics to write about that will interest readers.

If you can give them a unique angle to write from, so much the better! Did your business donate money, time, products, or services to a worthy cause? Is your administrative assistant a part-time disc jockey from the Orient, who speaks nine languages, plays the tuba, and rescues animals in her neighborhood? Why is your service or product unique from all others?

Writing a good press release consists of:

1. Use an attention-grabbing headline.

2. In the first paragraph, answer: Who, What, Where, When, & Why.

3. Slant your press release to your audiencemake it important and newsworthy to them.

4. Focus on the benefits your business offers.

5. Dont use big words, slang, legalese (which few people will understand), or overused phrases.

6. Quote statistics whenever possible.

In addition to your press releases, create a media kit that includes:

A cover letter
A fact sheet
A business profile and biography of chief executive or founder
Any available company literature or brochures
A business card
Samples and/or photos

Other ways to get free publicity include:

1. Call a reporter. Tell them who you are and what your business does. Offer to give an interview.

2. Write articles and submit them to publications with wide circulation. Always give your byline and your companys information, especially your web address and email.

3. Be a public speaker. Get your name known. Become established as an expert.

4. Sponsor a newsworthy event.

5. Sponsor a team.

6. Visit the website of the United States Small Business Administration for 100+ FREE marketing strategies for your business.

Try your hand at the worlds four most amazing advertising strategies:

1. Make your brochure downloadable for the customer to read later or print out on his own printer. (How cost-efficient is that? Your customers use their ink and paper to view your advertisement!)

2. Thats almost as amazing as customers paying to buy a cap or tee shirt that advertises your business! Imagine someone wearing your logo tee shirt to Disney World on his or her vacationhow many people will see your company name on someones chest in one day? Consider how much you pay for the privilege to wear an advertisement for Nike on your shoes!

3. Isnt it amazing that some car owners keep the plate on the front of their car or the bumper sticker advertising Jim Bobs Used Cars in Anywhere-Ville?

4. Word-of-Mouth. You cannot get any cheaper or more amazing than this. Just because he liked you, your product, or service, Joe Q. Public goes out and tells 59 people to come see you. Those 59 people each tell 59 different people. (Multiply that!) And so on. Its absolutely amazing!

Remember, in our information-hungry society, most media want to publish your timely, accurate, and informative articles and press releases. If you give them what they are looking for, it is a win-win situation.

Further, your customer wants to be well-informed about you, your business, and your products or services. Your marketing materials must tell them how it fits your specific needs or how it solves your particular problems. Answer the question: Whats in it for me? for your potential customers. Once the customer knows how your business benefits them personally, you will have formed a relationship built on trust and understanding. Getting free publicity will be an added plus!