| When you want to win and woo new clients with | | | | Free advice |
| national publicity -- and don't have an enormous | | | | Remember the ad campaign in the 1970s that |
| budget to distribute your message -- turn to the | | | | urged you to write away to a major petroleum |
| news wires. But first, be sure you're telling a | | | | company for free booklets on auto maintenance, |
| story that's worth printing. The best publicity | | | | safety and repair? (Hint: The booklets were |
| draws on one of a handful of tried-and-true | | | | yellow, and the logo is still red. Looks a bit like ... a |
| themes. Newsworthy stories have something that | | | | seashell.) School children across America learned |
| hits you as a reader and makes you more | | | | to write "business letters" by carefully printing |
| interested than "just the facts." | | | | "Dear Sir" requests to that company, and even |
| Think about how your company's story might | | | | 30 years later, people remember the company's |
| work as part of one (or more) of the following | | | | generosity with a warm, fuzzy feeling. You can't |
| story themes. | | | | beat free advice for building trust. |
| David vs. Goliath | | | | Did you know? |
| You were small, the odds against you were great, | | | | You can assert all you want. But numbers make it |
| but you took on the big guys and you won! | | | | real. Research -- real, proprietary research, carried |
| Everybody loves an underdog, and if you can play | | | | out by you, with numbers that you own --can be |
| this card, you might stir up more attention than | | | | a great way to get attention. San Diego-based |
| you ever thought possible. An Orange | | | | Metabolife Inc. just wrapped up a year-long |
| County-based company, ProtectConnect ( is using | | | | research initiative that resulted in mentions and |
| this strategy to publicize its buzzworthy invention | | | | stories in several national publications. What did |
| -- a modular system of safety-first electrical | | | | they do? They got numbers, and they used |
| outlets and switches. The wiring device industry | | | | them. Did you know that 47 percent of people |
| they're taking on is dominated by just a handful | | | | say everyone is out of shape at their high school |
| of huge corporations, but the attention they're | | | | reunion? Metabolife did the studies, found the |
| getting as a startup for their patented product | | | | numbers, then turned the statistics into a great |
| has prompted more than $1.5 million in orders -- | | | | opportunity for publicity. |
| before the company even opens its doors for | | | | The wires |
| business. | | | | Once you've got a newsworthy story, how do |
| First, fastest, brightest | | | | you get the word out? |
| If you've really got a story that's unique -- you're | | | | One option is to hit the news wire services |
| the first, or the biggest, or the strongest, or the | | | | yourself. Both the PR Newswire ( and Business |
| loudest -- then you have a certifiably newsworthy | | | | Newswire ( are membership-based services that |
| story. RoseTel System Inc. ( a Los Angeles-based | | | | require you to join in order to distribute your |
| manufacturer of the world's first streaming, | | | | releases. Prices for releases can range from as |
| real-time video delivered through plain old | | | | little as $125 for a statewide distribution to $600 |
| telephone lines, scored a touchdown with this | | | | for national, or several thousand dollars for an |
| angle in January 2003, when their system helped | | | | international release. For this price, which is much |
| the city of San Diego maintain surveillance, | | | | less than postage, your brief release will cross the |
| security and order during the Super Bowl. The | | | | country or the globe, passing in front of the eyes |
| story became especially significant because on the | | | | of thousands of editors in tens of thousands of |
| day of the big game, the Internet, which would | | | | media outlets. |
| have carried other forms of video, was crippled | | | | There are also services that will take on the task |
| by a global virus. RoseTel was able to honestly | | | | of distribution for you, especially if you're a small |
| state that their video communication system was | | | | firm or don't have a dedicated staff to make |
| the first and only one in the world that could have | | | | contact, handle releases, or do follow up. One |
| performed so affordably and so well that day -- | | | | such service, E-releases ( for example, will do as |
| and as a result, their story was picked up around | | | | little or as much as you want to help you get the |
| the country from one simple wire release. | | | | word out. They'll even write your release for you, |
| Rags to riches | | | | for a nominal fee, shaping your story in ways |
| Stories about the GWOG (Guy Working Out of | | | | they know are likely to garner the most attention. |
| Garage) who strikes it rich are still unusual. Steve | | | | They'll also distribute for around $350, and send |
| Jobs of Apple may be one of the best examples | | | | you links showing you where your story was run |
| of a rags-to-riches story, but there are countless | | | | online (a great deal that saves you hundreds of |
| examples of this. Jack Daley, president of the | | | | dollars, because it includes a national distribution via |
| Triarch Group, a San Diego-based consulting firm | | | | PR Newswire). |
| that works with tech-driven companies to | | | | Finally, no public relations expert would ever say |
| systematize their approach to innovation, delights | | | | there isn't at least some element of chance |
| in telling a rags-to-riches story from his own | | | | involved in what stories get picked up and which |
| experience. His client, the company that eventually | | | | ones don't. It's best to take a "water drip" |
| became Network Solutions (still the biggest | | | | approach. Every little bit makes a difference, even |
| registrar for domain names on the Internet) was | | | | if you can't see them for each droplet. Still, after |
| started with a cash advance on a credit card and | | | | a while, water will wear away a stone, and your |
| eventually grew into a multimillion-dollar monster. | | | | story can break through the clutter in the same |
| Now that's a story. | | | | way. |