Graham McGregor: How to get positive media publicity

Positive publicity can always be leveraged. Photo / Thinkstock

I had the privilege of interviewing publicity expert Bill Harrison recently for my 'Unfair Business Advantage Report.'

Bill and his brother Steve have helped over 12,000 entrepreneurs and authors get free publicity on radio and TV shows as well as magazines, newspapers and online.

Bill explained that the media is always looking for entertainment and high quality content for their audiences. And a lot of the things that you take for granted in your business can make a good media story if you package it the right way.

Bill told me that the single best time to get publicity is when a journalist has already decided they are writing a story about your particular topic. And right now they are eagerly seeking out sources to help them with that story.

Years ago Bill's business was on the front page of Investor's Business Daily (a large newspaper in the United States) because the reporter had already decided he was going to do a story about TV publicity.

So he sought Bill and Steve out and interviewed them becuase they had helped thousands of people get on radio and TV shows. He ended up up mentioning one of their products in the story and they got a ton of business from it. The lesson here is 'be available' when the media is looking for information on your topic.

Something that can alert you to the different stories that journalists (mainly in the United States) are working on, is a wonderful free service Bill and Steve offer called Reporter Connection.

I've used Reporter Connections myself to get interviewed on radio and have a number of my articles published in magazines. Reporter Connection also has a great 'how to' publicity tip in every issue and is well worth reading.

Another way to get media publicity is to think about when your topic normally comes up in the news and be prepared to pitch the media at these times. Perhaps you are an expert at helping people eat healthier. The media is always doing stories around the holiday season about tips for eating healthier. They also do a lot of stories in early January on dieting because early January is the peak dieting season.

Bill told me that it also pays to be prepared to tie in with 'one off' news events.

One of Bill's clients is a dog trainer. So he has set up Google alerts that tell him when there is a news story about a dog biting a child. He then contacts the media outlet that ran the story and asks them if they would like to run a follow up story on how people can avoid these tragedies and protect their children. He's gotten some great publicity by doing this. (And he's providing a valuable service at the same time.)

Bill said that positive publicity can always be leveraged. First of all you get the immediate sales from the positive media story about your business. Secondly you also get the 'bragging rights' of being able to use this media exposure regularly in all your marketing. So you can reprint the articles, mention them to potential new clients, show them on your website and so on. (Some of Bill's clients are still making sales today from leveraging publicity they got well over 20 years ago.)

Bill shared with me exactly how to approach different media outlets so you have the best chance of getting a positive story about your business. And covered a truckload of useful 'how to' tips on creating free media publicity.

You can read my full interview with Bill in 'The Unfair Business Advantage Report'.

"Publicity can be terrible. But only if you don't have any."

Jane Russell

- Graham McGregor is a marketing consultant and the creator of the 396 page 'Unfair Business Advantage Report.' www.theunfairbusinessadvantage.com (This is free and has now been read by business owners from 11 countries.)