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Have you seen your competition mentioned in magazines, leading newspapers, or as guest on TV shows? Why not you? Have you tried? Do you know how to make this happen for you?

On getting publicity, here are some things to consider.

• When you have a third-party endorsement from the media, you gain credibility in the marketplace and will be perceived as an expert in your industry.
• Most of the company news you see is planted by that company. You can do this for yourself or hire a public relations (PR) agency to handle for you.
• Firms specializing in PR who actually know what they’re doing are not cheap.
• PR agencies cannot guarantee coverage (with reputable media), regardless of the money you spend.
• You need to be relevant and have a different take on a story in order to get noticed by the media.
• In order to get quoted in the media, it needs to be obvious that you are an expert in your field.
• Journalists are super busy and will not return phone calls, reply to emails, or respond to faxes.

So knowing all this, what can you do?

SCORE Atlanta had a conference earlier this month where we focused on building sales and marketing skills of people already in business. I conducted a seminar titled “Shameless Self-Promotion: Do-It-Yourself PR.” The slides from that presentation are available online at www.slideshare.net/scoreatlanta.

This presentation will give you a lot of ideas…ones that have worked for me in landing mentions in/on O-The Oprah Magazine, Fortune Small Business, The TODAY show, and more. The key is not to try contacting the media but to position yourself so they call you.

All of my ideas take you down the road to more publicity by improving how you show up in organic searches on the Internet (usually referred to as SEO or search engine optimization).

Check it out and add to my ideas with your comments. (Since doing this presentation, I’ve added several more ideas to my list.) Let’s see if you have more.

-Peggy Duncan, SCORE Atlanta
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New Entrepreneur Resources

Are you an adventurer with a vision? Do you imagine a new product or niche service? Businesses do thrive in tougher economic times. It’s a combination of the right idea & sound execution.

If you are thinking of staring a business, here are some resources to help you start the planning:

Fast Track: 5 Tips to Jumpstart Your Biz
From Entrepreneur.com: 10 Traits of Entreprenuer’s
Quiz: Are You Ready to Be Your Own Boss?
10 Tips: 10 Resources to Help You Start Smart.

You can talk to a mentor even as you are thinking about a business. Is it right for you? What does it take to get started? How do you fund the first year? You may plan to own a business, but you don’t have to be alone in business. Ask a SCORE mentor for advice online.

Do you have some tips & links for new entrepreneurs? Add a comment.

-Christine Banning, SCORE
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