Excerpted and condensed from George McKenzie’s ebook
“Going Public:
10 Ways To Use The Mass Media For Free Advertising,
Internet Marketing And Website Promotion”
You’ve heard the saying a gazillion times:
“Charity begins at home.”
But in this age of mass media, charity that begins at home can
also proceed straight to your bottom line–by generating traffic
to your web site or your business.
And best of all, the mass media–especially the news media–
are ready, willing, and more than able to partner with you.
Charity events and stories about community involvement
appeal to the media for a couple of reasons.
- They’re very sensitive to criticism that “You only want to show
bad news,” and will make every effort to show uplifting, positive
stories whenever possible. - It’s in their best interest to build goodwill by taking part in
community events. - In the case of radio and TV stations, they MUST show that
they’re serving the community. Otherwise, their FCC license
would be in jeopardy. - For the most part (there are exceptions), they’re good-hearted
people who WANT to help others.
So, when you want to generate new traffic or more traffic to your
business or web site, consider hosting a fundraiser for a charity or
community organization. Let the media know you’re involved through
a news release. It’s often a good idea to ask a high profile person from
the media to be your honorary chairperson.
Also, if possible, offer the media a story about someone who has
benefited from the charity. If you can “humanize” the work the charity
is doing, “put a human face on it” so to speak, your chances of getting
coverage (that is, publicity), will skyrocket.
And don’t forget to look for opportunities to pre-publicize your event,
especially on radio talk shows.
Fundraisers and events that benefit the community amount to a
win-win-win situation. Obviously, the charity gets money and attention
to their cause, the station or newspaper gets points for its community
spirit, and you get publicity that would have cost you thousands of dollars
if you had to pay for it.
Early in my radio career, one of my friends used to sign off his show
every day by telling his listeners this:
“Remember, do good and you’ll always do well.”
It’s true in life. It’s especially true when you want to get
free publicity in the media.
Learn how to make money without spending money, drive in a flood of new traffic, sell more products and services than ever — and maybe even make yourself famous in the process. Subscribe to George McKenzie’s “Get Free Publicity” Ezine and receive a 5-day mini-course on how to get thousands of dollars worth of positive — and positively free — advertising and publicity.
www.get-free-publicity.com
