It can seem daunting when you are starting to learn about promoting your business. I’ve written a template to help you plan PR, marketing and advertising. On the same page, you can also find a template to help you write a press release. I hope these free tools make it easier for you to learn to promote your business, reach more customers and build sales.

Antonia Chitty struggled with post natal depression after the birth of her daughter. She thought returning to work might make her feel back in control, but she found she didn’t see enough of Daisy. After 9 months and a chat with a life coach she took the plunge and set up her own business, ACPR, helping mumpreneurs learn to promote their business. Antonia has now written a book which makes it even easier for every businessmum to get the word out about their enterprise.

A guide to Promoting Your Business is created with busy business parents in mind, and can be worked through in short sections when you have a few minutes - perfect if you are running a business round the kids. Clear explanations, examples and exercises make it easy to pick up the essentials skills to boost your business. (more…)

Visit My Baby Radio to hear me talk about A Guide to Promoting Your Business.

www.findatvexpert.com gives experts who want to be considered for TV&Media opportunities the chance to showcase their expertise to the industry – and gives the industry a fast and easy way of finding experts to comment on a subject or be part of a show. TV&Media companies might go to the site to find a specific expert for a specific article or programme - or they might go to the site to browse through the photos and profiles and get the inspiration for a new series or the next ‘big thing’. (more…)

Miranda Levy, formerly of Grazia, is the new editor of Mother and Baby Magazine. Kyrsty Hazell joins Junior as Editorial Assistant, always a good person to start with for your PR efforts.

To find out more emails and addresses for contacts at pregnancy and parenting magazines and websites, buy the Parenting Media Contact database. It is bigger and better than ever, putting you in touch with the people who can write about your products and services.

When you are writing your own press release it can be hard to be sure that you have hit the mark. Here are 12 quick checks you can do to make sure you are writing a press release that will get coverage for your news:

1. Have you read the publication before writing the release? Make sure you are writing in a similar style to what is on the pages of the magazine or newspaper that you are targeting.

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Visit our sister site, www.prbasics.co.uk, and download a press release template.

A piece of press coverage won’t always lead to sales. Just like a single advert won’t always make people buy, or sales at an event don’t always cover the cost of the stall, one article may not create an increase in business.

 So, why bother with PR?

Well, all the different ways you get exposure for your business WILL add up to sales. It can take 6 or 7 sights of your business offer before consumers actually buy. It takes time to build up trust in a brand, and being seen in a magazine or newspaper gives consumers a third party opinion that they do trust: they can see that a journalist rates your products or services.

If you do feature in a magazine, make the most of the coverage by asking the mag if you can use a favourable quote from their review, link to their coverage or put ‘as seen in…’ next to the item. See our article on Using Clippings on Your Site for more ideas and guidance.

Just a quick reminder that you have until 31 March to enter the competition to win a copy of Working Mothers - the perfect guide for anyone who needs a bit of motivation when juggling family and work. Simply email antonia@acpr.co.uk to enter.

You also have until 31 March to buy ‘A Guide to Promoting Your Business’ for £9.99 instead of the usual price of £15.

Since the last newsletter, we have also added a brand new database of contacts at crafts magazines. If you want to get in touch with women who love crafting, this database contains 29 of the UK’s most popular crafting magazines. Use the database to get in touch with craft magazine editors at the click of a mouse, and send press releases to the right people to get them in to print. Just £90 until April 30th - usually £100.

And don’t forget the brand new E-Book, The Beginners Guide to TV Interviews. Not just a guide, this great book by Joanne Mallon will help you get in TV in the first place.

Finally, I’m in need of a Scottish case study, someone who offers a service like freelance gardening, or dog walking, or laundry or ironing. This is for a feature in the Sunday Post. Please email antonia@acpr.co.uk if you can help.