PR at Work 4 of 4: Consumer Press

In general, I find consumer advertising expensive. Like, buy-a-new-BMW expensive. That’s why I generally opt for consumer PR. Because the right product at the right time can triple traffic to a web site and impress the heck out of vendors and retail partners.

The downside to consumer PR is you lose control of your message. A product review might be good and it might be bad. Your web site address may or may not get included. The information may end up wrong. You are not in charge, and just about anything can happen. Plan for the best, be optimistic and talk your product up. But keep in mind most products are not going to change the world. Most products are not, in fact, the best things since the iPod. So try not to say your idea is the BEST EVER. Of course, unless it is.

In general, go from the angle your product or service is going to make some people’s lives better or easier. But prepare yourself for a less than stellar write up.

Consumer PR is a bit tougher because everyone wants it. When someone thinks of PR, it is nationwide magazines, newspapers and television they are thinking.

For newspapers, go for the big guys. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Seattle Times, etc. Allsop had a small mention in a Washington Post article that resulted in two or three dozen mentions in smaller town papers. That being said, soliciting PR coverage in several smaller newspapers is a little more work, but is usually pretty effective. Just make sure you are sending your information to the correct editor (usually the business editor).

For magazines, target the ones whose readers shop at the stores your products are sold. Go to Barnes & Noble or Borders and look at the magazine section. Think about your subject and think about what kind of magazines your consumers would read. Buy a few magazines (come on, spend the $20). Read the articles and find a writer who might fit. Send them a release and a sample. Better yet, email them the news release in the body of a message. Then follow up with a sample and release in a third-day FedEx envelope.

It helps if you can get an editorial calendar. It’ll give you an idea of planned feature articles throughout the year. If you time it right, you can get your product mentioned in a longer feature story, which has way more impact than a product review.

For television, send it to the right person. Don’t just send info to the newsroom. Send it to the on-air personality who talks about your technology, market or hobby. There are lots of hosts, so spend some time on Google and find the right person.

If you’re lucky, someone from the consumer press will call you. These are reporters. They are just people doing a job: looking for new and interesting things to write about. In general, they have lots of writing assignments going on at the same time, and they can use the help. They may have seen you at a trade show. They may have seen an article in a trade magazine. They may have had someone they were interviewing mention you in passing. If they call: respond. Answer their questions, call them back, be honest, tell your story, offer anecdotes, be prepared to offer other resources. After you’ve spoken with them, ask them to let you know when the article is published.

One final note on this: nothing will drive your web traffic up and drive your conversion rate down more than consumer PR. Put more simply, tons of people will come to your site and see your offering, but the vast majority will not buy. Don’t worry, because the traffic alone will generate sales in the long run.