Be A Big Fish In A Small Pond With Local Publicity

Everyone wants to have her news covered by the *Big Guys.* But if your media relations efforts are focused only towards the national media, you*re missing one of the best opportunities to get your name in the news.

Local TV stations and cable channels, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, trade publications, and newsletters - both print and electronic - have huge amounts of time and space to fill. And most of the time, these media outlets don*t have the staff or the resources of the Big Guys, so if you can truly help them do their jobs, you*ll be repaid with some great publicity.

Here are my top ways to develop a great local media relations program:

1) Write press releases with a local angle.

One of the easiest ways to do this is what the people in the news business call *piggybacking.* Piggybacking simply means putting a local spin on a national story. You can piggyback on news items, trends, holidays, or national events. Let me give you an example of a great piggyback story from my days as a TV reporter. It was during the time when anthrax and chemical warfare were big on the national news. A local army-navy store owner called saying that, because of the scare, gas masks were flying off the shelves. The store owner got great coverage, and my story was used in local broadcasts across the state - and covered as a print story by the Associated Press.

2) Hot guest sheets.

Want to be a local radio show guest? DJs and talk show hosts are always looking for interesting local people to interview. But you just can*t send them a news release in the hopes that they*ll see you as a good guest. After all, they*re really not in the news business, but the entertainment business. So you need to develop a *hot guest sheet* that outlines why you*re topic is interesting and why you*re a great guest. Also put in a list of suggested questions to help them generate the best interview from you.

3) Start meeting reporters and editors.

One of the best ways to get your name known by the local media is to set up informational interviews with the journalists who cover subjects relevant to your business. Now this isn*t a pitching session for you to tell the journalist how great your business is. The purpose is to find out what the reporter looks for in a story; how he or she likes to receive information; when is the best time to contact him or her. After the meeting, follow up with a nice thank you note.

4) Letters to the editor.

Did you know that the letters to the editor are one of the most read sections of the entire newspaper? Yet very few business people take advantage of this. When you see a story that has some relevance to your own business, write your letter to the editor agreeing or disagreeing with the piece or adding some perspective the writer didn*t mention. Writing as a business owner often gives you a way of adding a unique perspective to a subject at the same time as publicizing your business. Just keep your letter to no more than 300 words, as shorter letters are more likely to be printed than longer ones. I*ve often had a reporter call a client, after reading several letters to the editor from them, to interview them for a story. They feel the person has publicly established themselves as an expert - and is eloquent enough to be interviewed.

So just remember the secret behind the word *publiCITY* - city (that is, the place where YOU live) is part of its name!

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