OK, so you took my advice and mapped out a timeline for the periods of time before, during and after the big date when you want to roll out your next big news, service or product. You may have done an “analog” version, using different colors of magic marker on giant pieces of paper or a whiteboard; or you may have used software, like Excel, Project, Visio, or Inspiration, depending on your preference for using a list format, spreadsheet, flow charts, or mind-mapping. If you’re a visual person, you may prefer using flowcharts, symbols, and bright colors. Go ahead, make it as fun as possible!
Now, line up the different elements of your marketing, media and ad campaigns, and put them into a strategic pattern. Organize them in terms of deadlines, and take into account your budget. Keep in mind that a good story, online or in print, usually comes across better in an article than in an ad, and is often less expensive. So, unless you’ve got a sizable corporate budget, you may want to minimize your purchase of expensive print or broadcast ads and go for more online articles, an interview and links on blogs with a lot of traffic—as long as your prospective clients are likely to read those specific blogs.
You could be a talk-show guest on a TV show your audience will watch. Your audience may listen to podcasts, but they may also listen to your local college radio station late at night, or on their way to work. Of course, it may be well worth it to add some Google or Yahoo ads to the mix, especially if you have created an affiliate program. That way, you’ll be making money twenty-four hours a day. Just be sure to pick your affiliates and partners very carefully, so you mutually benefit each other in reaching your target markets.
Once you’ve got everything lined up, enter the deadlines into a database program, along with all your media contacts—online and off—and program the database to create labels, if you send anything by snail mail. In some contact management or database programs, you can send yourself an “alarm” to email your media contacts before the appropriate deadline. This is invaluable, as you’ll always get the best results by meeting deadlines and not making editors or producers annoyed by being late. Be sure to research and get to know freelance print writers and producers, as well as the relevant bloggers and podcasters. Freelancers can go to bat for you and help you pitch your story to the staff editors and producers at the targeted media.
Nowadays, journalists often read popular blogs and listen to podcasts to get ideas for their own articles. If you’re a writer, you can submit your own articles and build your “expert” status at such sites as ezinearticles.com or about.com. Do a Google search—there are specific ezines and blogs relevant to your field and target market niches.
You should send press releases to bloggers and submit your blog to the blog search engines, such as Technorati, and others—just do a Google search for “blog search engines” and use the “trackback” and RSS features on the blogs you want to exchange links with.
Ideally, you’ll get a quick peak of hits on a number of key blogs, and then, if you have gradually placed updated ezine articles, spaced at frequent intervals, followed by print, radio, podcast and television coverage, you can prolong the placement of your story in front of your markets for months at a time. When the online coverage begins to subside, follow up with another story and some print or broadcast coverage that will “echo” your online coverage.
Be persistent in your media campaign and keep coming up with innovative new story angles about your business, or create special, newsworthy events every 3-6 months, and watch your business stay visible over the entire year…and then, there’s next year. Keep it up, deliver outstanding results while continuing to reinforce your expert status, give great customer service, get testimonials, and the word of mouth from your happy clients will help maintain your leadership position in the marketplace for years to come.
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A condensed version of this article, parts 1 and 2, is now also available at: http://webcontentawarenessday.com/articlepr2.htm
