TALK PUBLICITY TO ME

Suz is a guest blogger over at Creative Kristi as part of the #spreadbloggylove series.  Here is what she had to say!

TALK PUBLICITY TO ME

A big thank you to Kristi for inviting me to be a part of this fabulous series! Not only am I fortunate to have her as blogging resource extraordinaire, I’m equally lucky to live across a river from her!

I’m here today to offer some tips about acquiring publicity for your blog or business — lessons I’ve learned from my own grassroots-style experiences.

I should probably start by telling you that when I graduated from college I wanted to start a publicity stunt agency. Yes, I’ve always been a little crazy. Fast-forward nine years and, although I'm not organizing publicity stunts, it’s still in my blood.

Within just a few months of blogging at Well to Do, I landed two local TV spots by using a little bit of creativity and a whole lot of passion. Here’s how:

#1: KEEP IT LOCAL. KEEP IT FABULOUS.

Local press loves local people and local businesses. The best way to impress a producer, reporter or journalist is to write an interesting, well-written press release. There are many resources online, but a simple how-to can be found at wikiHow.

Consider providing a solution in your pitch: As an earth-friendly blogger at Well to Do, I pitched a “Have Yourself A Merry and ‘Green’ Holiday” in mid-December.

In my message to local TV professionals, I suggested that “being green” at the holidays ranged from buying local to using reusable gift packaging, and further put together a gift guide of my favorite locally-made products.

If you can’t provide a solution, then give your pitch some “hard news,” as suggested by my reporter friend Diana. For example: “Work-from-home-Mom and Etsy artisan, Susie Q, sells custom hand-made baby products to help out with household bills in the down economy.”

Include a high res photograph of yourself or project, or link up a video for added touch.

#2: PARTNER WITH OTHER INFLUENCERS.

Nothing screams publicity-friendly like partnering with another blogger or business owner to create some sort of event or “message."

Well to Do has enjoyed many lovely giveaways in the last 10 months, but my co-blogger Sarah and I were particularly over-the-moon about our Sea Bags giveaway — Maine-made totes and accessories made of recycled sails that have been featured everywhere from Daily Candy to Real Simple, and whose products are now sold at Pottery Barn.

In an effort to stir up publicity for our blog as well as the giveaway, we invited a few friends {including a local wedding/event designer who sells Sea Bags at her studio} to join us for the making of a Sea Bags music video.

A television spot {“Local Women Send Message of Health, Wealth & Wellness”} and 400+ giveaway entries later, we had some serious fun and acquired our first blog sponsorship.

#3: DO SOME LEG WORK

Do your research. Watch the local news to see sample feature stories; read your town newspaper. Send your press release to a media person who covers the area you are targeting. Often, this will turn into a story much faster.

Should you have a hard time finding specific people to contact, consider printing out your press release and hand delivering it to the news station or newspaper headquarters. My mom might suggest that you spray the press release with perfume. Just sayin’.

Once you achieve your first piece of publicity, you can then leverage that press and experience on your blog, website, or resume. Price tag: zero. Opportunity: to infinity.

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Publicity possibilities are endless, people!

I’m happy to help brainstorm story pitches with you — seeing how I’m semi-addicted — so please feel free to email me at welltodoyou@gmail.com. Consider me an objective second opinion.

Below are three fabulous bloggers who inspire me, humor me, and with whom I check in daily:

Jessica at Joyfolie: A former college writing professor turned shoe-maker who shares her thoughts about “manifesting the dreams of [her] business in harmony with meeting the needs of [her] two lovely and brilliantly messy children” through photographs, words, and one-of-a-kind items.

Kasey Buick: Mom of 3. Drinks bottles of wine. Shops at Anthropology. Flits around with her girlfriends. Funny like no other.

Sharon, Audrey and Jane at Mom Generations: A hip, savvy mother-daughter team providing practical advice on fashion, life, and well-being... and an online home to amazing giveaways {for example: a style makeover with Tim Gunn}!

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Thanks again to Kristi! You're a sweetie — and a blog-life-saver. But I am sure you already know that by now :) Thanks also to everyone participating in the #spreadbloggylove series — both writers and readers! XOXO

Images via Pinterest, Sea Bags, and Susan Stephenson