Gain Publicity for Your Home Business

Your home business thrives on promotion. If you own a Web site, you probably understand the importance of continual promotion to receive targeted visitors. Publicity is one of the most inexpensive and effective ways to help consumers learn about your home business.

What is Publicity?

Unlike advertising, publicity is getting others to talk about your business in an objective way because of something unique you are doing. Anyone from the news media reporters to local magazine writers might be talking about your business. This type of advertising gets attention for your company because no pushy advertising is involved. People will read or hear about your story because it's interesting.

How to Get Publicity

Your main goal is to do something spectacular to help others or to solve a tremendous problem for consumers. Below are just a few examples of how some companies have received tons of free publicity:

1. Offering assistance in times of disaster, or helping the needy each holiday season.
2. Creating an innovative product that solves a widespread problem in a particular industry.
3. Giving away extravagant prizes.
4. Donating portions of their funds to a needy cause.
5. Getting involved with politics.
6. Offering free expert advice.
7. Breaking a record in their field.

The above methods have worked for years, and they still work today. Just read your local newspaper or online news headlines. Most stories about companies fall into one of the categories above. Reading can give you some great ideas too!

Motives of Publicity

Some say that publicity should only be won unintentionally. However, newspapers and magazines are continually searching for interesting stories. The public enjoys reading interesting stories as well. Providing an interesting story adds to the content they're looking for.

How to Apply Publicity to Your Home Internet Business

The Internet makes gaining publicity much easier. Technology enables "media companies" to publicize any story at the click of the mouse. You will have to pay to use these services, but for the price of one newspaper ad, your company might receive thousands of dollars in publicity. It's worth the money to take advantage of new press technology.

An Internet business can do unique things online. For example, a percentage-per-purchase donation campaign can be set up for every online purchase your visitors make. You can give away extravagant prizes from your Web site. You can offer expert advice through articles on your Web site, and make the articles available for reprint. Online and off line magazine publishers might decide to use your articles and give you free publicity.

Steps to Maximize Publicity

Once you plan an event or something unusual that the media might find interesting, the steps below will help you maximize your publicity efforts.

1. Write a press release about your story (or have a professional write it for you).
2. Contact a company who specializes in publicity campaigns (press release
distributors).
3. Publish your press release on your own website, and submit the page to the search engines.
4. Submit your story to small, but targeted e-zines online.
5. Have someone (doesn't have to be a media person) to interview you, and publish the interview on your Web site. Link the interview from your press release page and make it available for reprint also. This makes life a whole lot easier for the media person who's thinking about interviewing you.

There's no amount of money that can equal free publicity. A news story about your company can be far more valuable than advertisements.