But what should you do if you have little to no public relations experience not to mention an already overextended schedule?

Unless you are in the business of marketing and PR – and even if you are -- publicizing yourself isn’t what you do best. You also have no one to hold you accountable or steer you in the right direction. Sometimes all you need is a marketing and PR coach, someone to hold your feet to the fire and walk you through the steps. And voila. You have established a publicity machine.

Recently Marx Communications worked with an entrepreneur who runs a small business consultancy. The client had little experience with PR and marketing, so our goal was to get him started on the basics.

We coached our client through the steps of getting visiblity: from the creation of advertising, to preparing press release, to working with the media.

We also assisted him in finding public speaking opportunities, writing and placing articles and updating his website to more compellingly tell his story. Our coaching led the client to land local press, and even a major story in a regional business magazine. The result? More new business opportunities and a higher close ratio.

If you need help getting yourself more visible to prospects and clients, then our three month coaching service will get you off and running. You’ll get hands on help from two pros, Marx Communications President Wendy Marx and top PR expert and UConn professor Martin Arnold, including all the steps, feedback and implementation you need to see results. Click here to schedule your *FREE* introductory consultation.

Do-It-Yourself PR

By Tori Brown

In the old days, the best way to deal with public relations was by hiring an agency- after all, that’s their specialty. However, with the advent of the internet, PR efforts are being transformed for large and small companies alike. Today, the internet can provide you with many avenues to get your message heard. From PR distribution services to blogs and Google alerts, there is now an abundance of tools right at your fingertips.

If you’re ready to start getting the word out about your company, take a look below at some of the services you can take advantage of.

• PR Distribution Services: While sites such as PRWEB and BusinessWire are well-known, they are not the only distribution services out there. Many public relations websites, from prleap.com to pr.com, now offer press release distribution. Most of these websites offer tier payment methods, where the more you are willing to pay, the more services you receive. These prices are often deeply discounted from you might pay using a “big name” distribution service, and will often give you expanded benefits, such as search engine optimization, that can greatly increase your visibility.
• Google Alerts: Now that you’ve got that press release out, how will you monitor who picks it up? Google Alerts is a great way to track not only mentions of your company in the media, but that of your competitors as well. It’s like having your own free clipping/media monitoring service. Google allows the alerts to be sent to any e-mail address, and you can customize how often alerts are sent. The alerts may also help you find new media outlets to reach out to or even new customers.
• Blogs and Networking/Community Websites: Another great way to keep in touch with your customers is to start a blog or create a presence on a networking or community website. The best part of these tools is they allow constant two-way communication, which means customers can reach you at their convenience. You may also find other companies to do business with on networking sites, like LinkedIn.com

The sites mentioned above make it easier than ever to dip your toe in the PR pool. So get out there and get noticed!

Tori Brown is an Account Executive with Marx Communications, a public relations and marketing communications firm that helps B2B companies and individuals build their brands. For more information, please contact Tori tori@marxcommunications.com or 203-445-2851.