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Yes there is such as thing as bad publicity, and that is no publicity. Confused? Then let me explain. Businesses who do not seek publicity, especially in their local area, are doing themselves a disservice. In other words to operate a business with NO publicity is denying the business growth opportunity, especially if that business is just being started.

Whilst there will be costs attached to some areas of publicity, other options will involve little more than time, effort and dedication on your part, and it can bear fruit by bringing an increase of customers and business if handled correctly. There are a number of ways that you can achieve publicity for your business, both by using a free and low cost route.

FREE LOCAL PUBLICITY

Local papers and magazines are always on the lookout for good editorial content for their publications. If there is something unique about your business, or you can discuss it in an interesting and appealing manner, then this provides you with an opportunity for free business publicity. All you need to do is sit down, plan an article or series of articles, and then approach the editor with your ideas. On a personal basis, I would make contact by phone and arrange a meeting, offering to pay for a lunch if you feel that will help. If the editor likes your idea, they may give you an opportunity of publicity by trying an article to see what the reader response is, or alternatively provide you with a regular column in the publication. Whilst you may not be paid for this, and in reality, this is not an important issue, it will provide benefits in terms of increasing local awareness of your business, which could increase your customer base. A variation of this route could be to offer an advice column on issues that relate to your business. For example, if you are a builder you could offer DIY advice to householders. The same approach could be used with other media, such as local radio or television.

Another aspect of free publicity is to become involved with your local schools and colleges. Using this route, you could offer to give talks to students about your particular area of business. This could prove particularly useful to the section of these institutions that deal with giving careers advice. What you will need to do is ensure that you have prepared an interesting and exciting presentation, one that will catch the attention of the students. Furthermore, using a similar scenario, you could approach local clubs and organisations and offer

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