Ask a Business Expert

A: It depends on your budget. The easiest and most expensive way is to hire a public relations firm to get you placement. The key here is to contact firms that know and understand your industry. They should have at least an awareness of the key media contact people in your industry, and at best, they might have a relationship with them. However, if you would rather not spend the money and choose to become your own PR person, then take the same steps a PR firm would. Make a media list of the key publications or outlets that might be interested in a story such as yours. If you are going to do it yourself, let them know why they should run a piece about you and give them a compelling storyline that would be of interest to the media's readers or listeners.

Don't try to send blind press releases to a list of sources. Yes, sometimes you will get picked up, but generally it is a lot of work with little return. There are various web services today that will submit your story to hundreds of writers and producers, but I do have difficulty recommending anyone because I have never known of any success stories personally. However, the one source that I can recommend very highly is Radio and TV Interview Guide. It is a magazine published bi–weekly that is widely read by the media. It is a book of ads by people, authors, and companies looking for media exposure. The hit rate on this publication is exceptionally high. There is another publication (also on the web), Authority of Experts, that is also well read by journalists. These are both paid avenues to explore but work very well.

The best way is a way that most people are afraid to pursue but will have short and long term value. Contact the media source yourself. Introduce yourself, sell yourself, and sell them on why the media outlet should run a story about you or your company. Sometimes it will take a few no's, but even if you fail at getting that first story in, you can build a relationship and can become a resource for that reporter that can pay big dividends in the future.