Get Press Exposure Without Busting Your Budget.
While good press can bring much needed traffic to your website and help you ensure business success, most startups do not usually use this strategy since hiring a PR firm can be extremely expensive. However, there is a way to get around this problem. You can do PR and let your brand be seen in a positive light without spending any money. Here are some suggestions on how you can get some free press and build a positive relationship with the media.
Use the right tools. Consider using Help a Reporter Out (HARO), a free service that connects journalists with sources. Sign up as a source and you will be notified about the journalists who are looking for experts and news sources, and what specifically are they looking for. When successfully chosen, you can get yourself seen as an expert in your field and increase your chances of getting a link back to your site.
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You may also use Reporter Service, another free online service that aims to connect reporters with the experts. In addition, you can also use some free press release distribution sites such as PRLog and Free Press Release to get the word out about your business.
Reach out by pitching emails. While this strategy may be more time consuming, it can also be one of the most effective ways to reach journalists and reporters ? provided you know how to catch their attention. To be able to do this, you need to connect with a journalist who writes stories on your area of expertise. It would be better if that particular reporter has already written a story that relates to your pitch.
Use an interesting subject line and keep it within 65 characters, and make sure the body of your email doesn’t exceed 200 words. Personalize your emails and follow up with a phone call so you can tell him (or her) more about your pitch. Following up can also lower your chances of getting rejected.
Enter competitions and win awards. You can gain additional exposure and enhance your credibility in your industry by winning awards so enter business and entrepreneurship competitions.
Get involved. Make your presence felt at community events. Speaking at conferences, charities, and events can help you gain instant exposure and expand your network.
As you can see, there are a lot of ways to gain free press for your business but you may need to spend some time and effort to get the results that you need. However, you can be sure that the results are well worth it.
