ACPR Blog

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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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.

If you want to promote your business, you need to know all about your target media. Magsite is a top site for keeping you updated on new publications and closures, and filling you in on the publishing industry. It is not a beautiful site, but you can’t beat the content. For more of the inside story, read what the media makers read at Press Gazette.

You’d have thought after running my own business for five years (and writing a book on the subject) that I’d have  this family friendly working business sorted. However, Mothers’ Day saw me setting off for Birmingham International Conference Centre to talk to 600 opticians about PR. It’s one way to promote my PR book, but radio interviews are easier and impinge less on the family.

When planning and carrying out your marketing and promotion, think about who you are targetting with your message. Make sure you focus your activities on the right group or you could be wasting your efforts.

If you want people to change how they behave (more…)

Do you need to:
attract more customers
maximise marketing opportunities
run a PR campaign on a shoestring
make sales calls with confidence
understand web-based marketing
encourage web-based sales
If the answer is yes then GLE oneLondon can help. On Thursday 20th March, 10.00 - 17.00, GLE oneLondon are running a FREE event in south London aimed at small businesses who have been operating for at least 18 months offering tips and quick wins that you can apply to your business TODAY.

Come and listen to Antonia Chitty, author of “A Guide to Promoting your Business”, provide practical tips on how to generate more business, through cost effective marketing and PR.

AND

Simon Kincaid, web services specialist, will be sharing his own experience of how to set up a website, manage your web content, and interact more effectively witth your customers.

For more information or to book your place, click here

This week has been pretty slow going - I have done lots of admin but struggled to make progress with a few big jobs. However, I have had a nice boost with a couple of bits of coverage for A Guide to Promoting your Business, in Craft Business Magazine and In House magazine. The later goes out with every Viking Stationery order, which is a great way to get news out about the book to thousands of small business owners who I would not reach otherwise. If you want to BUY this practical guide to business promotion, read the first chapter for free or download templates for a press release, visit www.prbasics.co.uk

I got both bits of coverage after responding to requests on Response Source. Journalists place requests for information on the site - a very useful place to know about. It is a subscription service, but if you are serious about promotion, an investment of a few hundred pounds a year is worthwhile.  

If you don’t want to work 9 to 5 now you’ve got a family, but would like to earn some money or continue using your skills, starting your own business may be a solution. Here are some pointers from a short article I wrote for Mum and Working to get you started.

• List your priorities - e.g. earning money, using your brain, or staying at home with your children.
• Write down your skills, and ask others what they think you’re good at.
• Think about the hours you can devote to working. Be realistic, as children may not understand “mummy’s working”.
• Research the market for your business. Will people buy your product or service? Is it unique enough to be appealing?
• Prepare a business plan. Set out aims and objectives, and the steps to take to achieve your goals.
• Pop into a local Business Link for free and low cost advice, and help in getting grants or funding. The Inland Revenue can also send an advisor to your house to advise you.

Have you joined Facebook or MySpace? Are you blogging? These fast growing social media have been touted as a great way to reach new and different groups of customers. You may be wondering if they are going to work for your business.

Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer. Every time you add something like a blog, or set up a profile on a new networking site, you will definitely reach new people. Actively networking on Facebook by joining relevant groups, or linking up with likeminded folk on MySpace will put your business name in front of people who haven’t come across it before. But there’s not guarantee that this will lead to sales. Michelle Lawrie, who runs babysigning company Chelltune set up a MySpace page and says, “I haven’t looked there for weeks. I did get a phone call from a chap who had found my site from MySpace but it hasn’t resulted in any sales to my knowledge.”

However, what you are doing, is building potential customers for the future. The users of many social networking sites tend to be in the 16 to 30 age group. Michelle says, “I’ve had plenty of hits from Facebook but again no sales. I am yet to see if it is worth while or not. I’ve had more sales from forums such as those aimed at Childminders.”

And people who see your MySpace page may not be looking at some of the other media you use to reach new customers. Like every promotional activity, neither Facebook nor MySpace nor the best blog in the world will give you a booming business on their own. Successful business promotion is based on lots of small bits of promotional activity.