With the economy forcing many businesses to cut costs

wherever possible, a growing number of companies are

stretching their dollar by handling their own PR rather than

hiring a firm. And while you can certainly be successful

with DIY PR, it's almost always challenging.

 

If you're DIY PR campaign just isn't getting results, it

could be because you're making one or more of these 5 common

mistakes.

 

1. You're mass mailing your press release regardless of fit

- Writing a press release and blasting it out to a list of

thousands of journalists isn't the best way to go about

getting media coverage for your company. Rather than

throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall to see what sticks,

try sending your press release to a smaller list of highly

targeted publications. You need to know which stories will

work be a good fit in which publications. Targeting your

distribution will help you improve your batting average and

avoid annoying thousands of journalists and editors.

 

2. You're not planning ahead - A successful PR campaign

requires careful planning. You need to have goals, and you

need to create a specific strategy for achieving those

goals. Playing things by ear will often lead to mistakes and

a lack of direction.

 

3. You're ignoring the power of new media - Too many

companies think that PR success means an appearance on TV or

in a major newspaper. The truth is that bloggers wield a

great deal of influence and power, so getting positive

coverage on a popular blog can often have a bigger impact

than you might think. Try to start building relationships

with bloggers in your niche. It can go a long way to

building your brand.

 

4. You aren't thinking like a reporter - Thinking like a

business owner isn't always the best idea for running your

PR campaign. That's what leads to overhyped press releases

and thinly-veiled sales pitches. You need to think like a

reporter. Reporters are looking for stories that interest

their audience, not stories that help you get more sales.

Ditch the gimmicks and hype, and start focusing on adding

news value to your stories.

 

5. You don't have time for PR - If you're like most small

business owners, you already have too much on your plate as

it is. Adding the responsibility of managing your PR

campaign could just be too much to handle, forcing your to

spread yourself too thin. PR success requires more than

dabbling in it here and there whenever you find extra time.

If you don't have the time for it, let a PR expert do it for

you.

 

Do you handle your company's PR duties? If so, what

struggles have you experienced?

 

Salut,

 

Mickie Kennedy
Founder, eReleases.com
CEO, eReleases.com & Press-Release-Writing.com