Archive for October, 2008

3 Quick Ways to Build Buzz and Sales

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

 

If the economic crunch is starting to hurt your business, it’s time to act
fast to increase sales. Here are three cost-effective publicity activities you
can do now to help build buzz:

1. Team Up With a Bigger Organization.
Find a business or charity with a big name that compliments your products and services. Create a special discount, holiday package or event. Then, invite the press.

You’ll be able to split the costs, time and effort while sharing media resources and customer databases.

2. Contact Media Members Directly.
In addition to sending out a press release to build buzz, pick up the phone too! Contact a targeted reporter, introduce yourself and provide your unique and newsworthy story.

You can also offer yourself as an expert resource for a future story. The point is to start a media relationship and make contact. You may just end up with a feature story from one simple call!

3. Update Your Website.
Is your site current? If not, add valuable information for potential
customers. Make it easy to do business with you. Also, add some keywords to your site so that search engines can find you.

After all, if you don’t look like you are “home,” potential customers will visit
other sites to obtain information and assistance. Don’t miss out on potential business! Try to keep your site updated and provide contact information so people can reach you.

Just by taking a few minutes to make an extra effort, you can increase sales for your business. Even if you have zero funds, try to be creative and think about your customers and media members. What do they want right now, and how can you fulfill their needs?

For more help and free PR information, please provide your comments below or feel free to contact me at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Small Business Public Relations-What to pitch right now

Thursday, October 16th, 2008

 

If you are a small business owner ready to pitch your story to the press, hold on.

Right now, media members are concentrating on two major issues:

1. The economy

2. The election

If your pitch doesn’t have anything to do with these two items, it’s time to develop a new story idea.

Think about how your products and services fit into economic news and/or the election.

Can you provide some kind of specific benefit, discount or tip to help people save money or deal with the current economy?

Do you have expertise in an area related to one of the issues on the upcoming ballot (local reform, saving the environment, etc.)?

Check out these news sites to help discover some new story ideas:

www.usatoday.com
http://news.yahoo.com/i/1203
http://money.cnn.com/news/economy/
http://www.ap.org/elections2008/index.html

If you don’t have a story related to these hot news items, you may want to hold off on pitching media members your personal, business story. Instead, it may be wiser to focus on your marketing efforts for a few days and practice your pitch for a later date.

After all, why waste time on a story media members just don’t want to hear right now? You’ll avoid frustration and feel much better if you think about the reporters’ needs first.

Got small business public relations questions? Just let me know. I’m here to help!

Financial Help for Small Business Owners

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

 

If you are worried about the current economic turmoil and want some help with your small business financial worries, check out these sites:

About.com
http://stress.about.com/od/financialstress/Financial_Concerns_Managing_Your_MoneyAND_Your_Stress.htm

DebtSteps.com
http://www.debtsteps.com/financial-stress.html

Fortune Small Business
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2008/10/01/toc.html

Free Management Library

http://www.managementhelp.org/finance/fp_fnce/fp_fnce.htm

SBA

http://www.sba.gov/services/financialassistance/index.html

SCORE
http://www.score.org/index.html

StartupNation
www.startupnation.com 

SuzeOrman.com

http://www.suzeorman.com/igsbase/igstemplate.cfm?SRC=MD012&SRCN=index&GnavID=84&SnavID=20

Yahoo! Small Business
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/r-mainCat-m-2-finance-i

http://finance.yahoo.com/how-to-guide/career-work/12825

The more informed you are, the better off your business will be now and in
the long run. Plus, you can save yourself a lot of unnecessary stress and
hassle.

If you need help boosting sales for your small business via publicity and
online copywriting efforts, please let me know below or at
www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’m here to help!