As a marketing channel, public relations is one of my personal favorites. It includes getting mentioned in news or trade media and publications, having an article you wrote published or reprinted, applying for and winning awards, or otherwise being in the public eye for one reason or another.
When I started a photography studio several years ago, I sent sample photos of my work along with a letter explaining my business to several news outlets. It was July, and in August, the Sunday magazine supplement to the Dallas Morning News picked up the story and published my samples. They were portraits of cats and dogs, and my phone rang for days. Within a week, I was booked through Christmas, and my business broke even a year ahead of time due to that one piece of publicity.
A little more recently, I served on the Board of Directors of a nonprofit and become their PR Chair. That’s how I learned to do press releases. I submitted event notices to local papers and was always able to get my event listed so that our attendance was strong.
Today, it’s a little tougher to cut through all the noise of the Internet, social media, and news outlets. But publicity is still a fabulous way to build trust and develop your reputation as an expert. It can really make a difference in your accounting practice because so few accountants know anything about this channel. The trick is – as with all marketing – to go where your clients and prospects already are hanging out.
Are You Newsworthy?
Here are some trigger events that could get your business mentioned in the news.
- Getting a book published.
- Giving a speech at a conference.
- Volunteer work.
- April 15th.
- Winning awards.
- Tax law changes.
- New software release.
- Becoming an officer, director, or committee member of an organization.
- Making a staffing change.
- Rolling out a new service or product.
Once you’ve written your press release, you can send it out over a wire news service, create your own press list and send it out to reporters you’ve developed a relationship with, or simply post it on your website.
Getting the call from a reporter who wants to interview you is pretty exciting. And it can mean big bucks for your business.
Give this channel a try, and let us know what happens.