Marketing on the Cheap: Write? Right!!

We all know the value of writing articles for promoting your website or online store. However, writing articles to promote your old-fashioned, traditional brick and mortar business has been around forever.

Contact your local newspapers, and chances are, depending on what business you are in, they may be interested in giving you your own column. Most small or medium-sized media markets will have at least one daily serving the communities and probably at least one weekly newspaper. Offer to supply a weekly or even a monthly column for free. They are always looking for editorial content and "free" is always attractive. Be careful about a daily commitment, this can get overly demanding in a hurry.

It may be a little more difficult to approach the Los Angeles Times or the New York Times, but in major media markets there are any number of regional weeklies that can be approached.

Other considerations may be regional or even national trade publications, Chamber of Commerce newsletter or other professional associations and organizations you may belong to.

If you can't get the column for free, don't be afraid to pay for it. But make sure the layout is designed to look as much as possible like a regular story or editorial content. The paper will probably require that you put some sort of disclaimer on your column like the word "advertising", but this is not a big deal.

Have a professional photo taken and include it in you articles whenever possible. Don't use your high school photo or one that is touched up to make you look totally different than you actually do. You are trying to build recognition and credibility. After your column has run for some time, you will be surprised how many people will easily recognize you. People like to do business with people they know.

Okay, so now you have own column; make good use of it. Give it value. Do not make it a blatant advertisement and/or sales pitch. In fact, except in extremely rare occasions you probably don't want to sell anything directly in your column at all. You want to write real content, stories that are either of real value or entertaining. I had a friend once that owned a restaurant. He paid to have his own column in our local newspaper. He never once wrote a story about his own restaurant. Instead he wrote about his world travels, famous chefs, and the wonderful restaurants he had enjoyed.

Another approach you may want to consider is a "How To" column. I once supplied a weekly column for an art gallery/picture-framing studio. We wrote a series of how to buy and frame your own artwork.

Check you local newspaper and you will no doubt see examples. If you are writing the column for the newspaper and not paying for it, make sure you retain editorial control and copyright to the work. If you are paying for insertion, ask your ad representative or ad agency for samples. As you travel around, pick up the local newspapers in the area you are visiting and see what others are doing.

If you don't have the time or the feel you are not capable of writhing your own column, check with an ad agency. You should be able to find one that provides this service. If you belong to a professional association, check with them and see if they supply "ghost" stories. I have worked with accountants, stockbrokers, lawyers and others using ghost stories.

I will suggest that if you are not writing the story yourself, you may want avoid the by line that says "by" and use "furnished by" or "supplied by" or something of that nature. The last thing you want to do is get caught taking credit for writing something someone else wrote. If you pay a copywriter for original copy, this is not as likely to happen. But if you use ghost stories from an association, you are more then likely not going to have exclusivity. Someone in another publication may be running the same story.

When you start this project, think long term. It takes a commitment. It will take some time to build readership. You are establishing yourself as an expert in your field to people that don't know you. This will not happen overnight.

I mentioned retaining editorial control and copyright. After you have created a number of columns and/or stories, you may want to consider putting them all together in a book. Keep this in mind in the early stages. If you are working with a ghostwriter or ad agency, make sure they understand your intentions so proper preparations can be made and taken into consideration from the very beginning. If your traditional non-web based business does have a web site, and it should have, make sure you prepare your writings for distribution on the net as well.

Once you start writing you can use the materials in any number of different ways.

So?go write something!

To learn more about writing to promote your business visit http://sbmag.org/writing

No permission is needed to reproduce an unedited copy of this article as long the About The Author tag is left in tact and hot links included. We do request that we be informed of where it is posted so reciprocal links can be considered. Email floyd@sbmag.org.

Floyd Snyder is the founder and former owner of Executive Advertising, Camera Ready Art and Strictly Business Magazine. Currently he is the owner of Strictly Business Magazine at http://www.sbmag.org, http://www.FrameHouseGallery.com, http://www.EducationResourcesNetwork.com/ and http://www.TraderAide.com.

---

4 Alternative Ways To Gain Lifetime Customers

You will always have more people that turn down your... Read More

Sell Big Ticket Items Now! - 1 Simple Step To Keep Your Fears From Holding YOU Back

First, some background on today's topic. I've had a terrible... Read More

How Nearly Going Broke Taught Me The Value Of Niche Marketing

If you want to learn how effective Niche Marketing can... Read More

Marketing Got You Stumped?

It's not unusual for entrepreneurs to find the whole idea... Read More

7 Ways a Copywriter Can Help Your Business Succeed

Think you can't afford to hire a copywriter? Think again.... Read More

Test Marketing--How to Increase Your Direct Mail Marketing Response by Using the Internet to Test

I've discovered a really fantastic way to discover what works... Read More

Multicultural Marketing ? Taking Care of Business At Hand

Multicultural marketing mirrors the changed face of America and is... Read More

Guerilla Marketing Lesson 2: Why Do People Call Me?

Before we begin, I want you to think about how... Read More

The Seven Deadly Sins of Ineffective Nametags

Your nametag can be your best friend. It can be... Read More

Design, Design, Design

You need only one card, but make it noticeable. Make... Read More

Direct Mail Leads - Brand Identity Guru

Direct mail can be one of the most effective tactics... Read More

Is It Time To Kill Your Marketing Program?

Ouch . . . sounds pretty drastic I know, but... Read More

Lessons Learned at the Harvard Business School

"If God wanted to create a perfect punishment for a... Read More

Cave Paintings, Baseball and Connecting

There's no such thing as a captive audience--any of us... Read More

Website Promotion Strategies For Targeted Web Site Traffic

If you're looking to drive more targeted traffic to your... Read More

How to Turn Your Promotional Products Expense Into a Profit Center

If you use promotional products you probably already know the... Read More

Does The Market Really Want It?

At the very heart of any successful marketing strategy is... Read More

Marketing: Can I Trust You?

We live in an unprecedented era of communication. Because of... Read More

Should You Clap For Your Customers?

Does it make sense to clap for your customers? It... Read More

You?re In Charge. Now What?

For years now, you have been waiting patiently for that... Read More

30-Minute Marketing

Marketing your small business takes tons of time, years of... Read More

Are Corporate Awards and Corporate Gifts Beneficial for Your Business?

With the increased challenges that all companies are faced with,... Read More

How to Measure the Benefit Your Product or Service Offers

Measuring the benefit of your product or service means putting... Read More

Maslows Marketing Filter

One of the basics of all marketing and advertising training... Read More

Alarming Marketing Trend

One key discipline of successful direct marketing has been to... Read More

Marketing 101: The Power of Marketing

When you hear the word "marketing" what comes to mind?... Read More

Money Making Real Estate Marketing Ideas

Real estate marketing is a lot simpler than most Realtors... Read More

How to Brief a Marketing Agency

A new client recently emailed us a brief here at... Read More

Tradeshow Booth Cures - Ancient Cures for Modern Day Problems

At first glance, nothing seems more chaotic than a trade... Read More

Using Demographic Data For Your Direct Mail Marketing Campaign

Targeting high potential markets with a direct mail marketing campaign... Read More

Spring Cleaning: How To Do It In Your Business To Make More Room For Success

With the arrival of Spring, I decided to get outside... Read More

Marketing Hesitation Costs Dearly

Timing is everything. Hate to be late? The early bird... Read More

The Benefits of a Marketing Plan

What is a Marketing Plan? Marketing is to do with... Read More