Free Publicity

Free Publicity

Here's a list of the best ways to get free publicity for your small business. 

We are continually updating this article to share new ideas for free publicity.

Join the conversation and share your ideas! 

Free publicity

1.  Learn about stories reporters are working on...

• Help a Reporter out (HARO) www.helpareporter.com, is a website that alerts you via email to stories that print and broadcast reporters are working on for which they need sources to interview who are experts.  It's free. Journalists from reputable publications use this. We know of a small business owner and consultant who was interviewed by a writer for the Wall Street Journal through HARO.  You'll need to respond immediately to requests from reporters since they are on deadline.  We use HARO and can highly recommend it.  HARO was started by Peter Shankman in 2008 and now connects over 100,000 sources with nearly 30,000 journalists.
• ReporterConnection.com is a similar free service like HARO
• ProfNet is a similar service from PRwire (but costs a lot)
• Media Kitty is older than HARO
• Others:  FlackList, NewsBasis

2.  Create a marketing "stunt" that gets press and YouTube coverage

Like what Supercollar.com did to demonstrate it's leash within the collar can hold large dogs.  They created a video showing how it could pull a Honda Civic!  That got picked up by the local news covering the trade show they were attending of pet retailers.   They also posted the video on their website and YouTube to get more free publicity and visibility. 

• Social Media Success Stories
• YouTube Marketing
  

3.  Bypass the reporters.  Tell your own story. 

Create a how-to video explaining your product or service and post it on your website and other sites for free. 

• Video Marketing explains how to do this

4.  Look for opportunities to guest blog

This is where you write a short article on someone else's blog.  They have to approve for you to do this and they may expect you to reciprocate. 

Guest blogging is a great thing to do with another person you know (and trust) who sells to the same target audience you do but isn't a direct competitor.  For instance, you're a realtor and they're a mortgage broker.

• Blogs & Blogging How-to Guides
  

TIP:  If you are marketing to start-ups and small businesses, StartUp America Partnership is allowing people to submit a guest blog.

More ideas for free and low cost ways to market yourself, your business, your products and/or services!

• How to Get the Press to Cover Your Business
• You'll find all the MarketingZone How-to Guides on PR here
• Local marketing best free and low cost ideas
  
• Business to business marketing: best free and low cost ideas
• Business networking - this is a free and effective way to grow your business
• Social media marketing - this is free
• Promotions for Marketing - lots of ways to use coupons to attract new customers via joining programs like Groupon, Living Social or using printed direct mail coupons or printing and sending your own coupons via direct mail postcards
• Online marketing best free and low cost ideas
  
• How to Get Customers to Sell for You
  
• Where you can get Advertising for Free!
• Best Free and Low Cost Advertising Ideas
  
• Trade Show Marketing:  Best Free and Low Cost Ideas

• Create a free Company listing on MarketingZone!
  • Give great advice and people will be able to know how to learn more about you by visiting your website, blog and/or following you on Twitter. 
  • This is free online advertising!
  • Your company or personal listing will look like this. 
  • Create Your FREE Listing
    

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MarketingZone.com Editors