Recently we were contacted by an aspiring new business owner who wanted help “getting the word out” about her new coaching service and a book she has written, to help her grow her business.
“Getting the word out” is a phrase deeply embedded in the culture, especially the business world, that is based on expectations that you can hire someone to “get the word out” for you, something like a “publicist” or a “marketer.” And time was, we could prepare a good press release or press kit for targeted newspapers and other media, send it to them, and expect coverage.
That is just not the case in today’s fast-paced Internet-driven world. News media, especially newspapers, have shrunk to smaller staffs in order to survive. They are only interested in significant stories relevant to their readers. And the Internet, in addition to taking business away from traditional media, has also made it possible for anyone who can string words together to self-publish a book through CreateSpace, Lulu.com and other sites. In fact it doesn’t cost you a dime to publish your own book! Copies are printed on demand, you get a cut, and the publisher (and/or amazon.com) gets a cut.
Now writing a book that demonstrates your professional expertise can be a valuable tool for impressing and gaining new clients. It also helps you organize your thoughts and present your unique content to show what’s different and valuable about your approach. And if you hit on a hot topic that is REALLY interesting to millions of people, you might even get some media interviews to talk about it.
But the best way for most entrepreneurs to “get the word out” today is to take advantage of social media. We recommend that all our clients create or utilize a blog on their website (like this one), and use some additional free software (JetPack is a good example) to automatically post a condensed version of your blog post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, and other social media. Even if you don’t like or use Twitter or Facebook, posting valuable content to the social media is a no brainer. Now you are a publisher, instead of depending on the news media, and each post goes out not only to the social media but also to Google and other search engines. A good blog post is often listed in Google within hours of being put online.
If your content has real news value, such as the launch of a new product or service, we also recommend distributing it through Internet press release distribution services. We have been able to get literally thousands of copies of a client’s press release posted on Internet news websites all over the world using this approach. And the cost is under $100! (Contact us to learn more.)
So now you see, “getting the word out” cannot be delegated like housecleaning or building a website. As Smokey the Bear would say, “Only you can get the word out.” Yes a good marketing-communications company like Lawrimore can help you, but the core content has to come from your brain or someone else in your company. Blog writers can be hired, and we serve in that capacity for some clients, but mainly for those who have a basic business, easy to understand. One of our clients is an international chemical manufacturer, and there’s no way we can make that stuff up. We have to rely on their staff to provide at least the core content for us to build on.
So get that blog fired up folks, and let us know if you need help! Let’s “get the word out” the 21st Century way!