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Looking for a way to promote your small business without spending a great deal of money? There are plenty of steps small business owners can do to generate media and non-media publicity for their companies. You'll need to do a little research to find out what types of publicity opportunities there are in your particular market. Once you have a solid media list, you'll be on your way to spreading the word about your company's products and services to a wider market.

1. Make a Local Media Contact List Find out the names of relevant editors for your local daily and weekly newspapers, as well as any magazines that may be published in your local area. Contact your local media outlets and ask for the contact information you need. For example, if your product is in the healthcare business segment, it's in your best interest to get to know the health editor for your local newspaper. If you own an entertainment oriented business, you'll need to build a relationship with the entertainment editor.

You should also build a broadcast media contact list. Many television stations schedule local business owners to appear as guests on morning news programs, so it's a good idea to add the morning news producer to your contact list. It's also a good idea to put the news directors for your community's radio stations on your contact list, as well as hosts of talk radio programs that reach your target market.

2. Research Free Press Release Websites There are a number of different free press release websites. You can submit information about your company to these sites. In addition to looking for free press release sites, also research free classified advertising sites. They can also be excellent sources for online publicity. Assuming the information you send meets each site's requirements, you'll be able to generate online publicity and create backlinks to your website.

3. Distribute News Releases When something newsworthy happens at your company, be sure to write a news release that you can distribute to the appropriate media contacts. The types of things likely to help you get publicity include: new product or service introductions, employee promotions, new hires, and more. In addition to distributing your announcements to the local media, you'll also want to submit them to the online press release websites you identified.

4. Host Free Informational Seminars If you host free seminars that provide valuable information, you may be able to get free coverage in your local news media and on local websites that publicize community events. Distribute press releases at least a few weeks before each event for maximum publicity benefit.

Learn more about this author, JQ Adams.
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