I’m a great believer in reducing business start up costs as much as possible. I do all my own PR and have been successful with that. So this is how I have done it and spent very little money.
I started off collecting email addresses of local newspapers, magazines and radio stations. Just check out the editor page its all detailed there you can even find most of this information online too.
I then joined mumsclub as a premium member which is £5 per month and allows you access to media requests. I have been successful in a few including a double page spread in Prima Magazine in October 2010. Once you have made contact with a journo keep their details and add them to your PR data base. I also must admit I still jot down the editor details from magazines and add them to my database too, even odd ones that come through my letter box, Boots, Sainsbury, Tesco’s you just never know 😉 I now have a list of 65 (mostly Dorset Based) but here is some of my recent PR.
Look also at online sites that do business blogging such as Antonia Chitty’s Family Friendly Working she has a mumpreneur case study I know shes always looking for more. Also Helen Lindop’s Business Plus Baby. Helen is interested in mumpreneur stories and has featured myself on numerous occasions.
www.joannedewberry.co.uk (hehe) does a weekly Wednesday Day in the Life of … I always need more. All I need from you is around 200-400 words plus a few images and logo and details about how you run your day. Simple.
Twitter follow magazine relevant to your business genre, Practical Parenting, Prima and Baby Hampshire always tweet asking for info for up coming features. Also follow your local radio stations and newspapers. If I have an event coming up or have put a press release online I will Tweet it to the radios and newspapers … you just never know what might happen!
Keeping your own blog is a good idea too and keeping the content relevant and current to your business.
My good friend and mentor Darren Toms (www.darrentoms.com) always says “become the expert in your field… why shouldn’t you be. Someone has to be, so it may as well be you! “ Darren is also a good example of how you can get your message out to your audience via other means than reading, with his vast array of videos and audio blogs.
Entering business awards will also increase your PR.
These are all quick and easy DIY methods to get you going and which are so easy to achieve resukts with. As always would love to hear your thoughts and maybe tell us what works for you. Or do you pay someone else to do your PR for you??
*Check out my handy PDF on writing a Press Release*
Found this useful wondering how you can show me your appreciation? Well, there are some ways you can say thanks and support my website: ➡
An inspiring article. There are three main priorities for Global Maternity in 2011 – link building, PR and increasing product ranges. This article has covered areas that I may have missed. II do get concerned about spreading myself too thinly and not doing a good enough job on the things that matter. Global Maternity was launched in February 2010.
I can’t believe how much PR coverage I’ve managed to get after reading this blog entry. I took on parts of what you suggested and have been in the local paper twice, found contacts in all of the local media outlets (and engaged with them on twitter) and even been featured in a National Paper (oh and been featured on your Day in the Life Wednesday) Lots of people in my local towns know who I am and what my business is up to and there are some suggestions I haven’t tried yet! A business mum friend just asked me – HOW are you doing this!!!
Thanks so much.
Glad to have been of use 🙂
http://www.bwebsites.co.uk/blog/2011/04/20/pr-on-a-budget/ delighted to see our tips mentioned on this site 🙂
I’ve only worked through half of the advice given here and within a week the amount of hits on my website has gone up by 2000%! It is increasing every single day! As a mum to be in the very early stages of setting up my business, I have very limited funds and am always searching for creative, low budget ways of getting my name out there. If I hadn’t come across Joanne on twitter, I think I would be lost in the crowd. There are very similar businesses to mine everywhere, but Joanne’s advice is helping me to stand out. And to think… I’ve only got round to following half of the advice here, imagine how my business will explode when I’ve mastered all of the skills! Thank you Joanne!
Hey Jo,
I shall be following all of the advice on your blog today. I started my Virtual Assistant business 3 months ago now and was considering giving it all up as we havent yet made any money from the business. And with four growing children, and no second wage coming in it has been a tough few months.. But hopefully after following your amazing advice things should start picking up soon.
Thanks for being such an inspriation. xx
thank you ladies it’s great to get such lovely feedback 🙂