Reporters often write stories about local businesses for their newspapers. In order to get that free publicity, you have to know how to talk to a reporter. Here are a few things to remember. 

~ Don’t call a reporter to say your business is just like the one they recently wrote about. That’s not interesting and the reporter won’t come by to talk about the similarity.

~ Do you have a new angle on how you operate? Even if your business or process isn’t new, maybe your customer service, super-fast delivery time, or dedicated workers would be interesting.

~ Forget telling about the other places you’ve gotten press. You really have to have something new to say.

~ Who is the reporter’s audience? Maybe you have something relevant to tell that audience. It could even be a human interest angle.

~ Make yourself part of the story. Your trials, tribulations and experiences as an entrepreneur when you were getting started, the lessons you learned, and your character-building moments might also make a great story.

The audience wants to feel the emotions involved, and they want to learn from your mistakes and successes. Always keep that in mind.

It has been said that everyone’s life is a story, and yours might turn out to be a better one than you realize right now.

I say go for it… but in the right way!

Carmen, The Publicity Diva
Author, Speaker, Marketing Gal and Press Agent with Penworth Marketing and Publicity
Website: www.penworth.com ~ Blog: www.ThePublicityDiva.com