Hi all!
Regardless of the size your business, you are in fact part of a larger industry. As a member of this group, your knowledge of its activities will determine whether you sink or swim. Simply keeping afloat among your competitors consists of reading newspapers and magazines related to your business sector. You don’t want to just stay afloat… You want to SWIM!
Wild WE received 50,000 hits to our website because I responded to an article in Business Week and it was published in the editorial section. Now if that isn’t an affordable PR solution, I don’t know what is!
In order to do so, you cannot just privately read industry periodicals; you have to become a part of your field’s dialogue in whatever way possible. I highly recommend you subscribe to relevant publications or peruse them at your local library. Read these carefully, taking special note of articles that pique your interest or are closely related to your business. Every month, make it a habit to write letters to the editor in which you respond to an article in that month’s installment. Remember writing book reports in school? This is along the very same lines! Believe it or not, good ol’ teach wasn’t lying when she said that such practices had multiple benefits:
- 1. By reading these publications, you are feeding your own knowledge of your industry.
2. By writing responses, you are offered a chance for free publicity in hard-copy form.
3. Letters to magazines/publications, regardless of whether they are printed, are read by several people. In your own letter, you can include a description of your business to preface your actual opinion/response. (We will discuss this further in the practice section below). You can also include your contact info in your signature.
Let’s get going! Identify the publications most relevant to your small business. You can either subscribe to these publications or make time to visit your local library and save money by reading them there. Make an effort to read as many of the articles as possible but really zero in on the articles that pique your interest or show strong relevance to your business. You will have the most to say about these articles in particular! Then, take the time to write a letter of appreciation or to express an opinion regarding one of the articles to the publication’s editor. (Most periodicals will have a Letters to the Editor section.) Introduce yourself by stating your industry – i.e.; “As a consulting services entrepreneur, I truly appreciated your article on___”. You should make an effort to write a thoughtful and articulate response to the corresponding article. In your signature, make sure you state your name, geographic location, and website/contact information.
Let me know how things work out for you. You can comment on the blog: http://www.wildwomenentrepreneurs.net/ or feel free to tweet me: http://twitter.com/TheSunQueen.
Dedicated to your Success!
