When asked by the Gift & Home Channel to write a blog on publicity, I was excited but stymied.  Publicity?  What a huge subject!  I didn’t know where to begin, which seemed strange considering that I spend every day entrenched in the world of “publicity”.  If I am having trouble writing about it, I can only assume that retailers are having trouble doing it.  So it occurred to me that this blog could be a virtual oasis in the mighty PR desert.

The Gift & Home Channel is a kind of digital Main Street, a community of retailers sharing ideas and offering each other solutions to problems.  So I am imagining us around a table in our very own digital coffee shop, just having a chat.

Let’s start with talking about PR itself.  What is it?  Well, it’s Public Relations, a way to relate to the public.  It lets customers know who you are, what you have to offer and how you can make their life better.  And what is one of the best vehicles for getting this information to the public?  The media, of course.

The media can be intimidating, but look at them as the bridge between you and your customer.  Over the next months we will discuss how you can best build this bridge and more importantly – how to maintain it.  If someone asked me how best to start creating a great PR plan for their business, I would say without hesitation: start by creating great relationships with the local media.

So, let’s begin this blog with a challenge.  In the next week take notice of all the media opportunities available in your community.  Collect local papers and magazines.  Make note of local news shows and radio programs.  Find out what websites serve the same customers that you do.  Then become familiar with what they write about.  Create a database of editors’ and producers’ names and contact info.  Think about how your business could be of interest to their readers, because that’s what it’s really all about: in the simplest terms, editors are constantly looking for information that their readers want to hear about. 

So, get to know who these readers are.  It’s not enough to tell an editor or producer how great your store is.  You have to show them why their readers or viewers need to know about the services you provide.  What makes you unique among other stores in your community?  Begin to think about these things and throw a notebook in your bag to jot down ideas.  Once you figure out who you are going to approach and what you have to tell them, my future blogs will help you develop a strategy for getting your story to them.

Meanwhile, don’t be shy.  Feel free to ask questions, discuss problems and mostly, please share stories about your own personal successes.  We all want to hear some good news!

Until next time … spread the word!

Brenda