Beyond the Press Release Develop a public-relations plan that will keep your business in the spotlight.

If you build it, they will come. This abstract concept workedfor Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams. His character, an Iowafarmer, built his dream baseball field. Eventually, his visionturned into reality as the players came, followed by an audience.Hollywood makes it seem so easy! But if you want to attractemployees and customers to your new business, you must publicizeyour field of dreams.

Trouble is, while you know that you must do more than fire upthe old computer and hang out a shingle, you're not exactlysure what you should do. So you place an advertisement inyour favorite magazine. Or, in a marketing frenzy, you try topromote your company on every level possible, which is as futile astrying to boil the ocean. As a result, you spend a lot of money andtime, and garner very few results.

Owners of thriving ventures know that, just as they must startwith a good business plan to launch their businesses, they mustdevelop a solid public-relations plan to promote theirenterprises.

If you have a good plan, and devote enough time and energy tocarrying out that plan, you will obtain a great deal of positivepublicity for your company--at very little cost.

What Is Public Relations?
Public relations--or PR--is, literally, the relationship yourcompany has with its public. Your public includes your currentcustomers, your future customers, and even potential customers.Your employees, if you have any, are a part of your public, as areyour neighbors and the local press. All these people have aninterest in your company--in the prices it sets, and in theproducts and services that it provides.

The relationship you create with these people will have aprofound effect on the future of your business. The function of PRis to publicize your company to these people, and to create apositive image of your business which will translate into salesdollars. No one will know that your company exists if you don'ttell them, but you must tell them in a systematic, planned manner.If you don't plan what you want to say, and how and when youwill say it, your public will be left to develop their own opinionswithout any guidance from you.

It is important to remember that PR is not marketing, althoughit can play a key role in marketing your products and services.Defined literally, marketing is the use of pricing and distributionto sell a product. Certain PR practices can aid the marketingprocess, and as a new business owner, you can learn to use PR toenhance your marketing plan.

Do I Really Need a Plan?
Imagine yourself in a car, beginning a long road trip. You want todrive from New York City to Las Vegas. So you throw some clothestogether, point your van southwest, and head off. You don'tknow how long the trip will take. You don't know what theweather will be like along the way. You don't have a roadmap.

You don't have a plan.

You may get there--eventually. But it will be much easier if youfirst research what you want to accomplish, and plan how you willachieve this feat.

Planning the publicity for your business is similar to planninga trip. It may require a little extra time, initially, but it willsave you time--and money--in the long run. You may be successfulwithout the plan, but you have a much better chance of arriving inLas Vegas if you have a map in the glove compartment and consult itregularly during your journey.

Craig S. Rice, former president of Royal Crown Cola Ltd. Canada,and author of Marketing Without a Marketing Budget, saysplanning should be an ongoing part of your day-to-day businessoperations. "When should you plan?" he asks. "Allthe time. You should always be thinking about next steps, just as asports coach or combat commander is constantly evaluatingtactics."

All good planning begins with research. Consider your road trip:In planning for this journey, you must first decide on yourobjective (in this case, Las Vegas). You should then consult a map,select the roads you would like to travel and the places you wouldlike to visit along the way, and determine how long it will take todrive there. Once you've determined these basics, you can planthe best method for achieving your goal. You will plan when toleave, when you will stop along the way, and when you will finallyreach your destination.

Similarly, in creating a PR plan, you must first do yourresearch. What does your public know about your business, ifanything? Who are your competitors? How do they publicize theirbusinesses? Understanding your competition will help you rival themin the marketplace.

With this information in mind, determine your objectives. Whatdo you wish to accomplish with your PR plan? Of course, you want toexpand sales volume. However, what other things do you want toachieve? Perhaps you want to increase the number of repeatcustomers your company has. Maybe you want to introduce a newproduct or service. If your company is very new, your initial PRplan may include simply getting the word out about your business.Write down your objectives. Look them over. Rearrange them. Putthem into a logical sequence. Naturally, you cannot increase salesvolume before your potential customers know about you. Put yourgoals into an orderly list of achievable objectives.

How Do I Create a Plan of Action?

Now that you know what you want to accomplish, you must create aplan of action--a way in which you will achieve your objectives.Let's begin with a time chart.

Your time chart should be a weekly calendar of things that youwill do to promote your business. Each promotional effort should belisted, with its start and completion dates indicated.

It is important to remember that the media, whether print orbroadcast, all have lead times--the time between when they receiveyour promotional material and when it appears. For this reason,your promotional materials must be released well in advance. Forexample, suppose your new company is going to introduce a newproduct. Obviously, you want people to know about it. Once you senda press release to a publication, however, it can take from two tofour months for that release to be printed. Therefore, your timechart for promoting your new product should begin four to sixmonths prior to the release date, if you are to realize any benefitfrom your effort.

If you're running a one-person show, you must be realisticin your action planning. It's best to keep your initial plansimple, and expand it later, when you have more people andresources to assist you.

What Is a Press Release?
The press release is the most common communication tool used in PRefforts. It is an informational letter describing a newsworthy factabout your company. Written correctly, the press release can bevery effective in promoting your business. Also, unlikeadvertising, which can be very expensive, magazines and newspapersdo not charge for editorial coverage. That means you pay only forthe cost of postage (and photography, if you choose to include aphotograph).

Of course, editors receive many press releases, and there is noguarantee that yours will be printed. Therefore, you must try tomake your release stand out from the crowd. How? Be professional.Remember these tips when issuing a press release:

1. Keep your target audience in mind. The worst thing youcan do is to inundate all publications on your mailing list withthe same press release. Research the publications first. Make sureyou tailor your release to their respective markets.

2. Start with the most important information.Publications rarely run press releases word for word. Editorsusually cut from the bottom up, so make certain you've includedall the necessary facts in the opening paragraphs.

3. Keep it factual. The fastest way to diminish yourcredibility is to put gushing, biased copy in your press release.Editors want the facts, not your opinion.

4. Make sure it's news. Editors want to createpublications that are interesting to their audiences. Find theangle. Is your company new, unique or unusual? Tell them howrunning your release can benefit their readers.

5. Photos help. Editors love photos. Supply a caption,identifying any individuals pictured, and type it on a separatesheet of paper. (Never write on the back of a photograph.)And make sure you have a digital copy at the ready to e-maileditors in need.

What Other Low-Cost Tools Can I Use to Promote My Business?

The ideas are as limitless as your imagination. Offer in-persondemonstrations of your service or product. J. Patrick Borders,president of Neuton and Associates, a sales-training company inMahwah, New Jersey, spends much of his time giving freeconsultations to companies that are considering using his services."I find that visiting a potential customer in person is muchmore effective than mailing them a brochure," he says."He can ask questions and get immediate answers. When I speakdirectly to a customer, I can sell my services much more easilythan I possibly can with the written word." Giving awaysomething for free, whether it's a product sample or your time,goes a long way in creating a positive company image.

Remember to communicate with past customers. Many may place neworders if you remind them that your company still exists. Rememberthe last time you canceled a magazine subscription? The publishersent you a note every few months to say that he missed you. Thatsubtle reminder of a company's existence gets many formercustomers to return to active status. Believe me, if it didn'twork, companies wouldn't waste their time and money doingit!

Take advantage of free publicity. Never send anything out ofyour office without a promotional message attached to it. Eveninvoices should include some vehicle for reordering, or apromotional piece describing another product in which your customermay have some interest. If you can't include a separate flier,simply print your message on the invoice. Many department storesuse this approach with their monthly credit-card invoices.

If a press release generates a major story in a newspaper ormagazine, call the publication and request reprints of the article.Ask permission to use these reprints as promotional fliers for yourbusiness. How many times have you been in a restaurant and seen aframed review from the local paper? When you get someone else tosay that your company is great, potential customers willnotice!

If your budget permits, sponsor a local Little League team, orany local youth sports group. You'd be amazed at the goodwillbusiness that will come your way when your company name isemblazoned on the front of the team jersey.

Getting involved in local organizations and institutions cangreatly enhance your company's reputation. Why not sponsor acharity event? Giving away products or services as door prizes atactivities conducted by your town's community center or seniorcitizen's center can reap double rewards: You'll generategoodwill by participating, and you'll also allow new customersto sample what you have to offer. A simple phone call to a localcivic club or neighborhood organization will get you started.

Evaluating Your Results
Evaluating the results of your PR campaign will help you spendmoney more wisely.

Make a chart for tracking your results. List the press releasesyou sent out and the names of the magazines in which they appeared.As you get responses, keep track of how many came from whichmagazine, and the month in which they appeared. When your businessgrows and you consider advertising, you can use this information tobegin developing that plan.

Catherine A. Reilly is a public-relations consultant andfreelance writer who lives in Dumont, New Jersey.