When it comes to generating publicity for a product,
business or website, one of the hardest decisions entrepreneurs
have to make is whether to launch the campaign themselves.
What makes it tough is trying to determine the amount
of time it might take to launch and maintain a successful
publicity campaign. This article will help address a
couple of those critical elements: the length of your
publicity efforts and; the respective number of
hours it may take to get the job done effectively.
In my PR career, I have launched campaigns that needed
the blast of just a few weeks of publicity and I have
also maintained lengthy campaigns that generated media
exposure for years. From my professional experience,
I can tell you that a single distribution of a media
release is rarely effective. Most times, editors and
reporters are working on multiple stories at once
and need some time to consider your pitch. Although
your release may indeed be interesting and newsworthy,
the editor may simply not have the space to use your
pitch at that point in the media outlet's editorial
calendar. So make sure he/she sees it again when that
editorial calendar opens up a few weeks down the line.
Keep in mind also that because media outlets receive
so many media releases and story pitches these days,
it can sometimes take them weeks before they actually
get to something you may have sent their way. That's
why it's important to conduct extensive media follow-ups
over the
course of several months to ensure media reception,
proper media digestion and hopefully media acceptance
of your release or pitch.
If you have the time, staff and expertise to launch
your own campaign, then take advantage of the media
and get your message to them. But if your expertise
lies in another area, and you or your staff lack publicity
generating skills (or have little or no experience
in dealing with the media) it might be best to hand
it off to someone who can make sure its done right
- the first time. Ask yourself these questions when
deciding whether
you can handle your own publicity campaign:
Do I have the expertise and time to get it done effectively
without hampering my current workload or that of my
staff?
Do I have the writing capabilities to put together
a media release or feature pitch to which editors,
reporters and producers will respond?
Do I have the resources to conduct the media research
and distribute my release to those media outlets?
If you answered "yes" to all, not just some
of these questions, then perhaps you can benefit from
launching your own publicity campaign. Best of luck!
-Todd Brabender
President/Spread The News Public Relations, Inc
