Creating Buzz with Newsletters and Media Kits

Smart companies use newsletters to create buzz around their brand. Routinely sending target audiences pertinent materials has consistently proven its value in turning prospects into customers. Media kits, also known as press kits, are a great option for keeping your company in front of editors who work for publications or media outlets your prospects and customers follow.

Create a theme. Creative concepts can break through the clutter of information on the Internet. Theme-based newsletters and press kits are great attention grabbers that can help personify your company. Press kits must capture the spirit of the product, company, organization or event.  They need to contain timely, newsworthy material, appropriate for the publications that receive them. The same is true for creating newsletters or any print collateral. Always inform, not just dazzle.

Start small. Some new companies send out massive mailings of print materials – newsletters, flyers, media kits – without first establishing a relationship with the receiver. Wrong approach. First try small, more traditional methods such as a telephone call or a personal introduction so your prospects are more likely to read the material you send them later.

Get it right. Mass distribution of materials can be expensive and ineffective. If you inundate people with non-informative clutter it turns them away from what you really want them to know. Especially when distributing media kits, you need to focus on what you’re trying to accomplish and selectively send mailings to your target editors or reporters.  For smaller media outlets, a smaller packet or just a press release may work; for larger national media, individualized mailings are more appropriate.

Follow-up.  Follow-ups are just as important as the initial mailings. Experts agree that three days is the standard waiting time for a follow up call, unless breaking news or time-sensitive information is involved. Be ready to explain why your company should be profiled. And be patient – it can take time to build relationships. But the reward is a chance to keep the powers that be buzzing about your company or brand!

How often do you use newsletters and media kits to reach your audiences?

Leveraging Community Guides and Business Resource Directories Advertisements

If you are not taking advantage of a business directories and community guides to advertise your products and services, you are missing many great opportunities to expand your business. These tools are a goldmine.

Think about the benefits and evaluate your options:

• The goal is to get listed in a good directory or guide that reaches many of your target audiences. An important feature to look for in a directory or community guide is having it edited by a real person who will place the content in the best suitable categories. This personalized attention will put your message in a more valuable and precise position.

• Directories can be a two-way connection. Make sure your company’s listing has valuable content and that the directory has quality principles.

• If you would like to submit your Web site to top directories that reach your primary decision makers, look for ones that offer a manual procedure. This is more accurate and generally higher level listing than an automatic directory submission.

• Manual directory submissions can be time consuming, but are worth doing. They offer the best opportunity to match categories and descriptions to your business so that you attract more prospects that are in need of your type of product or service.

Is your company listed in any directories or guides? If not, what steps are you taking to get listed this year?