When you get publicity, you will be seen for as long as that show or publication is available. Although you may continue seeing benefits from a story for weeks or months after it appears (for example, as a magazine is passed from person to person) a particular story can literally be “here today, gone tomorrow.” To keep getting benefits from your publicity successes, follow these tips:
Mention your publicity successes in your bio and on your web site. For example, my bio mentions that I have been featured in publications including the Houston Chronicle, The New York Times, The Associated Press, Black Enterprise and Woman’s Day. I also mention that I have been interviewed on radio and television stations from coast to coast.
Put links from your website to online articles about you.
Get reprints of articles. Many publications offer a reprint service where you can get high-quality reprints made. Use them in your media kit, proposals, client mailings, etc.
Ask for permission to post audio or video of broadcast interviews on your website.
Keep in touch with reporters, editors and producers you’ve worked with. Let them know when you have another story they might be able to use.
Ask radio producers and interviewers if they would mention you to others at their sister stations or online.
Use publicity to get publicity. When I was featured in Woman’s Day magazine, I sent a press release to local newspapers announcing that a local woman (me) was featured in a national magazine. Typically, this would not be a story, but these were all papers in my small hometown. You probably don’t care who is in Woman’s Day magazine, but if it’s your neighbor, you’re interested. Neither of the two local papers that did stories mentioned the Woman’s Day article, but I did get two nice stories in the local papers. After all, that was really my goal.
Include a call to action that allows you to capture contact information about potential customers, then keep in touch with them. For example, if you get addresses, send a newsletter or other mailing to them. When I was featured in The New York Times, they included my call to action encouraging readers to come to my website and sign up for my free online course and follow-up tips. That meant I added lots of people to my email list, and had their permission to email them regularly.
Publicity does not have to be a one-time event. You can use your publicity successes to generate more publicity, get more customers and make more sales.
