An effective communications toolkit is very useful especially for small businesses. It is a collection of all your essential business communications components.

The effectiveness of your communications kit is dependent upon how well you put into actions every statement that you release.

Follow these simple steps to work out your communications kit

Step 1
Clearly state a brief summary of your business’ strengths. Simplify your words and be truthful with your claims. Emphasize your edge over the other business in your industry. Believe in your own capacity and let them know that. Be bold in stating the facts without coming out as arrogant.

Step 2
Revisit your mission and your vision and craft a very smart statement representing those ideals. This will help you deliver your message in a professional and extraordinary fashion.

Step 3
Rehearse your standard brief statements that you could embed during a casual conversation. Make it brief, something that can be delivered in as short as 2 minutes. Make every word count because time is of the essence. So include your values and goals in those statements. Make sure to never cease practicing on your delivery to make it sound spontaneous and genuine. The goal here is to deliver a clear message with enough contexts to attract your prospect to meet with you for further details.

Step 4
Make a portfolio of your past projects and pick the best of them. Include a few relevant details about those projects for the clients’ perusal. Be concise and business-like with your statements.

Step 5
With the portfolio of your best projects from the past, make sure to include visual presentations of its important phases. With the technology we have now, you could readily make vivid and lively presentations of your documentations.

Step 6
Bring all these things together and place it in any of your filing method. You have already one of the best tools available for small businesses. You may now start getting ready for any proposal that you will be performing to any prospective clients. You can now easily package your business and deliver the entirety of your business’ mission, vision and goals in to brief and concise statements. Use your communications toolkit to its optimum benefits. You can have it as the basis of how your website might look, or how your printed materials should be arranged.

You know your business well more than anybody else; only you could tell how it should be presented in a way that you want it to be presented. Start putting things into action. Use your communications toolkit to project the image of your business.

A media interview is an avenue for you to talk and advertise your business. However, common apprehensions might be hindering you from committing to an interview out of some ungrounded fears. There are ways to handle those fears and make your interview a success.

Fears are normal under any circumstance. The only thing you need is to find the corresponding motivation to help you get through the frightening stage so you may start to enjoy its advantages.

1. Good preparation

Even the best and the most experienced speakers need regular practice. The interview might run without any second chances, but you may have all the time to rehearse your lines. Ask help from a friend to do a mock interview armed with all the possible and perceived questions. This will help you sound spontaneous when the actual interview comes. Make sure to prepare also even the slightest detail. Consider your words carefully and phrase them in your most entertaining way.

2. Always be on track

Achieve your goals and purpose during the interview. Keep always in mind your objective. It is a lot easier to talk when you know your stand and you purpose. Therefore, when you answer questions, never forget to mention the product or service that you are trying to promote.

3. be prudent when you answer

Keep your calm demeanour and do not rush to answer when you are asked spontaneously. Whenever a journalist catches you off-guard, do not hesitate to ask for a pause to think your answers over. You have to realize that your answer will have a long term effect over your business. It is better to tell the journalist to get back to him on the particular issue rather than giving a response that you will soon regret.

4. Do not play it safe

Make a stand on critical issues. It will do you no good if you play safe all the time.  Study what the issue is all about. Learn about its details, and then make a bold statement as to where your opinions lean.

5. Make the whole thing informative and lively

Your statements during an interview must really be interesting and informative for the audience. Make your examples realistic and practical. You should talk in a way that ultimately makes a connection with someone. When your interview is lively and informative, the audience will most likely retain most of what you said.

6. Look amiable

Be confident with your stance in an interview. Make your body language sends off a message that you are in control of your circumstances. Maintain eye contact with the interviewer and keep yourself relaxed and amiable. Moreover, be cordial every time you answer a question.

7. Act with enthusiasm

If you want to come out as interesting then you need to think and act with enthusiastic energy. You have to keep in mind that media is designed for entertainment and you might as well be entertaining when you do your interview. Make your conversation lively and buoyant. If both you and the interviewer are enjoying the show, then most likely it will emanate in your respective aura that will also be perceived readily by your audience.

8. Choose your words

Talk in a way that your words are understandable by people from all walks of life. There is no point speaking in office slang when your audience cannot relate to what you are saying.

9. Be brief with your answers

Brevity works best in interviews. You need to compress your whole idea and deliver it in a few catchy words and phrases. An interview does not last long, so make all your answers brief, yet relevant.

10. Make yourself available for an up-close interview 

A one-on-one, face to face interview is way better than just speaking through today’s communications gadgets. If you are busy, then at least mark a special time in your calendar for the said interview to visit the studio.

11. Practice your voice

Your voice helps you sound more professional and create an image of authority. So take time to warm it up before the interview starts for better results.

12. Finish the interview with an impact

Have an impact during the interview, and then finish it off with a greater impact when the interview closes. Encourage people to act on your suggestions. Deliver a thoughtful call to action.

Most small business owners have never been featured in the press; and getting that coveted spot in a newspaper, magazine, business journal, or expertise website will not materialize overnight. Publicity, though, can be attainable, and will reap rewards for any small business owner; provided that there is, of course, consistent effort.

It may have happened for some businesses, but for others it will normally take weeks or months before a single glimmer of hope of getting that media spot becomes visible. This also depends on some factors like how simple your story is to cover and how consistently you get in touch with the media.

I recently interviewed a business owner regarding his use of PR. He owns a clothing range which he started with just fifty dollars of capital. He was able to grow the business by selling seven thousand dollars’ worth of t-shirts a week; and within a few years, he was able to transform a small business into a multi-million dollar enterprise.

I asked him what were the secrets to his success. He mentioned that one of the secrets for his success was that he maximized the potential of free publicity.

It was unknown to him at the time, but his company had a great media catch: his business was unique. When it comes to business knowledge, he honestly said that he didn’t know much; but yet he was able establish a multi-million dollar clothing brand. Furthermore, he went against every known business model, but sales were still pouring in. His uniqueness made his business newsworthy, and that’s what made him appear as a guest at a very respected radio program.

It was right then that he discovered the biggest benefit that free publicity can give his business. Media people often look for their next story by paying attention to what’s headlining elsewhere. Hence, within a few days after the interview, he got an invite to guest on a television talk show to discuss his clothing brand in front of a very wide audience.

He then received hundreds of calls from retailers wanting to sell his products the very next day.

What he’d attained was a classic example of using public relations momentum and publicity as leverages  to build up business. The radio show took him from a very small audience, which opened the door to a television appearance that made his business known to millions of customers. The best part was that it cost him nothing.

If you want to be like him, you can build a similar PR strategy to gain you that momentum you can leverage for your business.

Persistence is Key

Like in any business endeavor, a PR campaign needs a dedicated  investment of time and effort, and not necessarily money.  This therefore means that, as a business owner, you must continuously develop new story angles to spark media interest. Regular follow-up on the media organizations you’d like to work with will also be advantageous.

Take ‘Baby Steps’

The media universe is such a broad place to start, and attempting to get in touch with all of the media elements can feel very overwhelming. You might want to start within your local market first. The reason behind this is that you’ve already establish some credibility in your local market.

Another tip is to focus on a certain niche like a business journal or a trade publication that covers your industry.

Define your Goals

Always make sure that your PR goals are written down where you can always see them. Define your goals and your expected outcome of each and take an action step each day that will lead you closer to  attaining that goal.

Always allot PR time into your Business Operations

Allot at least an hour a week to focus on public relations; even though it’s only about fifteen minutes a day. In those fifteen minutes you could’ve already sent an email of your media pitch out to five journalists, placed three follow-up phone calls, or researched on a new PR opportunity thru a new media outlet. Don’t make an excuse of not having enough time.

There are valuable opportunities for any business owner in attending, speaking at, and hosting events. Not only are they good exposure for your business, but they are also good practice for your PR skills.

Always Find time to Attend Industry Events

Attending events are great opportunities for any business owner to promote his or her business. Not only that, these events are also great opportunities to practice and further improve your public relations skills.

My own motto is that PR should encompass everything  you say, you do, and what you are; this also includes how you present yourself at these events. Always remember that the people you meet and talk to are potential business partners and probable customers; so the way you relate with them reflects on your professionalism as a person and as a business.

One thing to always take note of is that these events aren’t just card-collecting opportunities; but they are also excellent venues to build new business relationships. Pay full attention to a person you’re talking to, create a relationship, and learn about them and their business. Like any other form of public relations, it takes time and practice; but the connections you build through networking can support you in the long run.

Get a Speaking Engagement at an Event

Being able to share your opinions during events provide a great boost for you and your business’ profile and credibility.  When you’re starting out as a speaker, you may not be paid to speak at such events or conferences, but organizers can offer you other benefits like posting some articles in their newsletters and allowing you a short ‘plug-in’ time for your business at the end of your talk.

Hosting Events are Great Opportunities for Public Relations

Hosting an event, seminar, or workshop is also a great way to reach out to customers and potential business partners. For example a pet shop owner and a landscaper could run a free seminar together on “How to Utilize Garden Space for your Pets ,” and promote it to their targeted niche. It’s also a great way of getting pre-qualified people added on to your list of potential customers. Likewise, it can also be promoted in the local paper.

Moreover, you can also share your expertise and train other people to attend your workshop for a fee.  Just a tip though, don’t get stuck by paying non-refundable venue deposits only to not hit the targeted registration numbers in the end. What you can do instead is to ask those who pre-register to give suggestions on their preferred venues. Once you’re seeing a good showing when it comes to the numbers of registrants, then you can start booking venues in the suggested areas.

These seminars and events need not to be expensive either. They can also be facilitated online or even over the phone. This would also bring a great advantage to you and your attendees. Not only do you get to save up on costs, but you and the attendees can actually attend at the comfort of home, in pajamas.

When small businesses open, local community groups, more often than not, look to them for donations. All of these non-profit organizations have worthwhile aims; but is there a way to choose which of these local community groups to provide sponsorship to?

To answer this question, if the local community provides the lot of your customers, then definitely, you should be associated with that group.

Here’s a short checklist of things to consider and questions to ask when deciding what organizations to support. The list is  going to make deciding for you much easier; and will also bring benefits to both parties.

• Is it a local group? Supporting your local non-profit organizations is usually preferred rather than issuing donations to the umbrella group that handles them.

• Will I make a difference? Remember that a two hundred dollar donation would mean more to a local women’s refuge rather than a local hospital. The donation to a local hospital would probably disappear into a million dollar profit and loss statement. On the other hand, a two hundred dollar donation to a local women’s shelter will go a long way as this can cover for food, shelter, and clothing for a person for a few days. Small amounts of time and money can make a bigger impact to smaller organizations rather than the big ones.

• Can I include it in my business profile? Unfortunately, not everyone has the same views when it comes to what type of activities are done by the local groups in the community. Some people may have some prejudices about some group’s actions and cause. One thing to consider before putting a sponsorship of a local group as part of your business profile is to ask yourself if you would be proud for people to know that you’re sponsoring a certain cause.

• Can I also give time and effort? Some organizations will benefit not from monetary donations, but from your time, skills, or products instead.

Categorise your Sponsorships

It would also be very helpful if you can split your local community sponsorship contributions into two categories: local and hyper-local.

Take a good look at your customer demographics and if a significant number of customers come from a certain geographic are, then you can consider supporting organizations within that community. You can group contributions under this as local.

Another situation is that when you have a few local futsal teams asking for your donations, then perhaps supporting the local futsal league would be the most beneficial. Contributions that fall under this category can be classified as hyper-local.

Be Practical

Another suggestion is that you put emotions aside first and treat sponsorships as business decisions. Personally, you can make any donation to your preferred organization anytime, but if your business will be involved, always make decisions based on the best interest of your business.

Be a Proud Contributor

There is no shame in letting everyone know that you’ve done the community some service. You can put up signs or include in your marketing materials that you’re a proud supporter of a certain community group. Furthermore, you can also put a link to their website on yours. And if you’re supporting an event, then make sure to get all the publicity and exposure that you can so that you can use this as leverage for your business.

Free publicity has great and many benefits, and a media release is one of the best ways of doing it. Learn how to do it effectively.

Follow these simple steps in crafting your media release.

Look for your distinct advantage, and then sell them

You should be able to convey your distinct advantages in a brief, yet clear message. You are going to make it as interesting as possible. The message must contain something special to make it deem worthy the attention of the media.

There are various ways of doing these; you may tap the emotions of the journalists by tackling a human interest story that talks about struggles and success.  Or you could even utilise and time your media release with an upcoming event such as weddings, anniversaries and grand openings. Find a story that will really sell, and then make the most of your skills in selling it.

Objective

Your media release must have a clear objective. And that is not just to generate sales and profits but a genuine interest of helping people. Your media release must be something that is beneficial to a specific individual or the general public.

Impressive title

Come up with an attention-grabber headline to earn their attention indeed. A sloppy title might bore the journalist who received your media release and might not even have second thoughts of deleting it from his email without a single glance to its content.

Relevant content

There is nothing more important in writing than offering relevant content, because it is what the people want and deserve in the first place. Make your content interesting and compelling. Choose words and phrases that will earn their time to spend reading your media release. Fill it with relevant details and make it an interesting read. Establish a connection with the way you craft your words, make it more lively and engaging.

Use the correct format

Use the right template when you write your media release. You do not want to lose credibility over something that could have been perfectly prepared. Include all the relevant details usually required when writing a media release, and make sure not to forget one good detail. Keep your words at its minimum for an optimum impact.

Establish your database

You must have at least an extensive database to which you will be sending your media release. You already must have been able to make genuine connection with these people. Establish your expertise and along the way gain their respect. When you will be able to project to the media people that you could readily help them on areas of your expertise, in time, all your efforts will pay off handsomely.   Supply them with information; suggest a photo session or any other things to gain their goodwill.

Apply these simple and effective ways of writing your media release for a successful result.

An impeccable case study that is well created and implemented will benefit your marketing efforts with favourable and desirable results. Here is how you should craft your case study in achieving your business goals.

Great case studies are patterned after positive testimonials from previous clients. It helps you create an image of professionalism and quality work of service. It also paves for you an avenue where you could greatly explain in details about all the competitive edge of your business. The following pointers will help in crafting a usable and effective case study.

1. Create a need

The first thing you should establish when you go about your case study is the kind of need you are capable of responding. You can do it by including all your past successful collaboration with clients who came to you with a dilemma that you were able to find a solution.  Your case study must specifically point out the need and its nature for clarity. Make it as simple and as specific as possible, covering only the details that your audience will be directly interested in.

2. Walk them through the process

Throw in some problems that your audience could readily identify with and then spontaneously come up with a series of answers and solutions. This way, you are already establishing your deep knowledge early on, thus giving an impression that you will certainly do a good job with the project they have in mind.

Lets also bear in mind that your customers could be busy and need to have this process as  simple as possible. Create a form they need to fill in – ask them a set of questions – this will give them the guidance they need.

3. Provide testimonials

Your case study must be a collection of all the testimonials of your previous clients. You should be able to establish the fact that all your previous clients were deeply satisfied with your work. You may personally approach your clients to generate a number of testimonials or you could outsource the interview phase for a more reliable, credible and unbiased results.

Use their quotes and spread them over your case study. Slowly, you are gaining the trust and confidence of your prospect which will eventually increase as time goes by. They will get the impression that you are the right person they are looking for and that you will satisfy them with your works’ results.

Finish your case study by supplying your contact details in case they will need your expertise.

How did you go? If you’ve attained some great results, let us know!

Getting a media coverage could cost so much money, but that does not have to be necessarily true with you. As long as you do it with utmost diligence, these 10 simple tips could help you garner good media coverage.

You already must have concluded by now how important media coverage is. And you already must have anticipated the fact that hiring a PR firm to do the PR works for you will require a huge amount of money. By following these 10 great ways, you will gain a pretty good media coverage without having to spend so much.

1.     Acquire the necessary skills and improve it to the level of great expertise to establish your authority in a given field. Associate with like-minded people within your industry and be a part of their activities to build up your much needed credibility.

2.     Be efficient in conveying your ideas – you should be able to have relevant and noteworthy ideas to share, and the necessary ability to convey those ideas exactly the way you want it to be understood.

3.     Gather ample information about your target audience – it helps if you have enough information about the people whom you intend to deliver your message to. This will give you an idea how to craft your message to make it more understandable.

4.     Utilise the power of the media – Have as many media resources as you can gather in delivering your message. Use its own power to reach out to your audience.  It is an advantage to have your own media directory.

5.     Reach out to the media – Initiate a working cooperation with the media. Regularly send your impeccable media releases. Do anything to secure collaboration with them. You might also find it helpful to write and send out articles.

6.     Photo opportunity – have the best of your photograph along with your media releases, or if you do not have one yet, you may ask them directly for a brief photograph session.

7.     Be consistently unrelenting with your efforts. Convince them that you are serious about your craft. However, do not overstate the obvious; do not push hard as you might offend their sensitivities.

8.     Always be ready for a spontaneous interview. You do not want to get caught off guard and make silly off-handed remarks as a result.

9.      Ready personal portfolio – journalists love it when they could readily gather as much information as possible, so always have it prepared, or have it posted in your website.

10.   Establish your proficiency in the given field.  Make possible efforts to build your reputation. Write e-books, make podcasts or anything else to establish your skill.

Public relations has always been misconceived as a marketing strategy that doesn’t generate tangible returns on investment; but unknown to almost everyone, this is exactly the opposite. It is now time to debunk the myth that public relations is more of an expense rather than an investment.

Most business owners believe that PR is all about changing and influencing others’ opinions. Hence, a common misconception borne from this belief is that public relations will take a lot of time to measure because its main objective is change in behavior. This in turn, has brought about another myth: PR will take even longer to show tangible results.

As a business owner, it is always important to get a return of investment for the time and money you spend in marketing and promoting your business. In running your business, it is always necessary  to know how much return you will get given an X amount of marketing expenditures.

Any marketing strategy doesn’t guarantee a return every time it is employed; but PR has one of the highest returns of investment. Moreover, public relations, more often than not,  generates more revenue than advertising. There are also numerous studies that have directly related public relations and  tangible returns on investment. The case study below is such an example.

A recent study published by the Institute for Public Relations measured PR against other forms of marketing. In this instance, they used a case study of a beverage brand. Data showed that for each dollar spent on television advertising, a dollar and ten cents were returned thru sales. On the other hand, trade advertising delivered a return of twice as much as television advertising. Finally, public relations returned eight dollars for every dollar invested. Public relations has, by far, the best results compared to the other marketing strategies. As a matter of fact, this beverage company credits four percent of their sales to their public relations strategy. Initially, the numbers may not look that impressive; but think of this on a scale of tens of millions of dollars.

These studies are common, and their findings almost the same. We are hoping that these figures will encourage business owners like you to take another look at how public relations can be used to maximize your return of investment. Moreover, we hope that, as a business owner, you also get to consider PR when evaluating your next marketing campaigns.

Don’t forget that studies show that effective public relations is a form of marketing that can positively affect all other marketing strategies. When positive and catchy news breaks out about a business, every other marketing tactic has proven to be more effective; therefore creating a beneficial ripple effect across all marketing efforts.

It truly is great that PR has the best return of investment in terms of sales, but it will also be advisable to look into the other advantages that it can bring to your business. There is always that opportunity to make your story known. There is also that opportunity to establish yourself as a credible source to gain more customers. You can even find that getting a high-profile, publicized reputation will get you to charge higher among the competition, regardless of the business environment.

Here a quick guide on how to prepare that media pitch so that you can get that wanted attention from the media and generate some newsworthy information on your business.

1. Identifying your targeted Niche

In creating your media pitch it is always important to take the demographics of your ideal customer. Always put into consideration a potential customer’s age, income, location, and interests. The more honed down you are to your target audience, the better. Tailor-fitting your PR tactics make it more likely for you to spend less time and effort in getting a message across your target market.

One other important consideration is that you need to focus on what type of media your target niche actually read. Doing this would require a little bit of research on the part of the business owner. A younger target audience means that blogs and online news syndications would be more accessible to the group. Professional target audiences would prefer industry-specific magazines, business journals, websites, and publications. A much more mature target audience would prefer print, radio stations, or TV channels.

2. Analyzing your Target Media

Read issues, download podcasts, listen to radio broadcasts, or watch a few episodes of your targeted media. Moreover, take note of the names of contributors, writers, and journalists covering the topics that you can share your views on.

Taking a closer look at your target media allows you to get more clues on the material that would most interest media people and their readers, listeners, or viewers. The more practice you get in analyzing your preferred media, the easier it becomes to know what opportunities are available for you to capitalize on.

3. Thoughtfully Crafting Your Media Pitch

Write a short presentation that will present your news angle to the media. Make sure that you write it in a very concise and involving manner. Keep your pitch to fifteen seconds at the most. Facts show that this is the average time that a person gets to talk with a reporter over the phone.

4. Always Having your Facts Handy

If your short pitch catches a journalist’s attention, given the curious nature of their work,  they’ll phone you to ask further questions. Make sure that before you answer that call, you have your facts either printed out or are in front in your computer. Have all the facts that support your business and your news story. This is very important because these are the things that give credibility to your story. They can  also act as your cue cards if you suddenly experience a mental block during the interview itself.

5. Having More than One News Angle Ready

Don’t waste your time and the media person’s time by having just one news hook. Have a few stories or perspectives to suggest.

6. Taking note of the Proceedings as they Happen

Always have a piece of paper or a worksheet open in your computer while entertaining or making media calls. It would be your guide on what transpired during the call. Make sure to take note of what was discussed, real time. Moreover, it will be your main device when trying to recall details like what’s going to be the next step in the process, or even the place, date and time of your interview or TV show appearance. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to lose those.