How to Use Public Relations Strategies to Your Advantage

Business publicity is the "secret pathway" to business success everyone wants. In simple terms, product publicity is a kind of advertising that costs you nothing, yet brings in the orders for you.

Regardless of what kind of business you are operating, you should want, and strive for, as much publicity for your business and your products or services, as possible. After all, it's "free advertising" that is essential to the growth of your business. However, your publicity efforts should be well though out, and preplanned for maximum results.

The first, and basic form of running public Relations PR Campaign is through what is known as the press or news release. This is generally a one page story about your business, your product/service or an event/happening related to your business that is about to, or has recently occurred. These publicity stories are generally "shot-gunned" to all the various media: local newspapers, radio and TV, and trade publications.

Problem number one is getting the people to whom you have sent these marketing publicity stories, to use them - publish or broadcast them. And this leads us back to the "right way" of writing them and sending them in.

In every case, send a short cover letter addressed to the person you want your material to be considered by... This means that you send your story to the city editor of the newspapers; the news directors of the radio & TV stations; and the managing editors of the various trade publications. It will do you no good what-so-ever, to send your material to the advertising, circulation or business managers - describing how you are a long-time advertiser, subscriber or listener. The most important thing is that you make contact with the person who has the final say as to what is to be published or broadcast, and at the bottom line - this person's use of your material will somehow make him a "hero" to his or her readers, viewers or listeners.

Public Relations (PR) Campaign

Begin with the date across the top - skip a couple of spaces and then quickly tell the recipient of the note, the attached material is new and should be of real interest to his readers, viewers or listeners. The publishers of MONEY MAKING MAGIC - a publication for wealth builders and extra income seekers - ask their customer and suppliers to send the following note to the editors and news directors of the media in their area:

"Here's something that is new, and for a change, truly helpful, to people trying to cope with inflation - the soaring costs of living - and those engaged in building extra income businesses of their own. Should be of real value - interest - to your readers. Please take a look - any questions, or if you need more info, give me a call at: (503) 666-5824..." Then, of course, you skip about four spaces, type your name, your business name, and your address - sign your name above where you have typed it, and staple this note in the upper right hand corner of your news release. This note should be typed and double-spaced.

Now you need the actual publicity release, which also must be "properly" written if you expect it to be used by the media. Above all else, there is a proper form or style to use, plus the fact that it must be typed, double-spaced, and short - about a half page in total length.

About an inch from the top of the paper with an inch and a half margin on each side of the paper; form the left hand margin, type in all capital letter: PRESS RELEASE: Then, underline these words. Immediately following the colon, but not in all capital letters, put in the date. Always set the date forward by at least one day after the day you intend to mail the release.

On the same line, but on the right hand side of the page, and in all capital letters, write the words, FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Underline this, and immediately below, but not in all capital letters, type your name - your phone number - and your address...

Skip a couple of spaces, then in all capital letters - centered between the margins - type a story headline, and underline it... Skip a couple of spaces, and from the left hand margin, all in capital letters, type the words, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: From there on, it's the news or publicity story itself.

Marketing Public Relations

You can write the headline before the story, and then a story to fit the headline - or the story before the headline, and then a headline to fit the story - either way, it's basically the same as writing a space ad or a sales letter... You attract attention and interest with the headline and fill in the details with your story.

Here is an example of the headlines used on publicity blurbs for MONEY MAKING MAGIC:

HELP IN MAKING ENDS MEET

NEW PUBLICATION FOR EXTRA INCOME SEEKERS

Notice how they continue to sell or involve the editor - His readers are always looking for better ways to make ends meet, and he's specifically interested as to what the promise involves... He wants his readers to "think well" of him for enlightening them with this source of help, so he reads into the story to find out who, what and how...

Suffice it to say that your headline, and the story you present to the editor, must sell him on the benefits of your product or service to his readers. Unless it specifically does this, he will not use it. You must sell the first person receiving your materials. Keep this fact uppermost in your mind as you write it. The person you send your press or publicity release to, must quickly see and understand how your product or service will benefit his readers - thereby making him a hero to them - and he must be assured it will do what you promise in your headline.

Prior to opening your Company you must decide upon the general price Amount you expect to maintain. Are you going to cater to
individuals buying in the high, moderate, or low budget? Your choice of location, look of your establishment, quality of
merchandise handled, and services to be provided will depend on the clients you would like to bring, and so will your costs.

After establishing this overall price level, You're ready to price Individual products. Generally, the purchase price of an item
has to cover the price of the product, all other costs, plus a profit. Therefore, you will have to markup the item by a certain
amount to cover costs and make a profit. In a business that sells few things, total prices can easily be allocated to each product
and a markup quickly determined. With many different things, allocating costs and determining markup might require an accountant.
In retail operations, goods tend to be marked up by 50 to 100 per cent or more simply to make a 5% to 10% profit!

Let us work through a markup example. Suppose your organization sells 1 product, Merchandise A. The supplier sells Product A for
you for $5.00 each. You and your accountant determine the costs entailed in selling Product A are $4.00 per item, and you desire a
$1 per item profit. What is your markup? Well, the sale price is: $5 plus $4 plus $1 or $10; the markup therefore is 5. As a
percentage, it is 100%. So you need to markup Product A by 100 percent to make a 10% gain!

Many small business managers are interested in understanding what Industry markup norms are for a variety of products.
Wholesalers, distributors, trade associations and business research firms publish a massive variety of these ratios and company
statistics. They are useful as recommendations. Another ratio (along with the markup percentage) significant to small firms is
your Gross Margin Percentage.

The GMP is similar to your markup percent but whereas markup Refers to the percent over the price to you of every product that you
must set the selling price so as to cover all other expenses and make profits, the GMP shows the relationship between sales
revenues minus the cost of the product, which can be your gross margin, along with your sales revenues. Exactly what the GMP is
telling you is your markup bears a certain relationship to your sales revenues. The markup percent and the GMP are essentially the
exact same formula, together with the markup speaking to individual product pricing and GMP referring to this item prices times
the amount of items sold (quantity ).

Perhaps an illustration will clarify the purpose. Your company sells Product Z. It costs you .70 each and you choose to sell it
for $1 each to cover costs and profit. Your markup is 43%. Let up state you sold 10,000 Merchandise Z's Last month thus producing
$10,000 in revenues. Your cost to buy Product Z was $7000; your gross profit margin was $3,000 (revenues minus cost of products
sold). Additionally, this is your gross markup for the month's volume. Your GMP would be 30%. Both these percentages utilize the
exact same basic numbers, differing just in branch. Both are used to establish a pricing method. And both are printed and may be
utilized as guidelines for smaller firms starting out. Often managers determine what Gross Margin Percentage they'll need to earn
a profit and simply go to some published Markup Table to discover the percent markup that correlates with that margin condition.

While this discussion of pricing may appear, in certain respects, to Be directed only to the pricing of retail product it can be
applied to other kinds of businesses as well. For services the markup must cover administrative and selling costs in addition to
the immediate cost of performing a specific service. If you are manufacturing a product, the costs of direct labor, supplies and
materials, parts purchased from different concerns, special tools and equipment, plant overhead, selling and administrative
expenditures have to be carefully anticipated. To calculate a price per unit requires an estimate of the amount of components you
intend to produce. Before your factory gets too large it would be wise to consult an accountant about a cost accounting system.

Not all items are marked up from the average markup. Luxury articles Will take more, staples . For instance, increased sales
volume by a lower-than-average markup on a certain item - a"loss leader" - can bring a greater gross profit unless the price is
reduced too much. Then the consequent increase in earnings will not raise the entire gross profit enough to compensate for the
minimal price.

Sometimes you Might Wish to market a certain item or service at a lesser Markup in order to increase store visitors with the
expectation of increasing earnings of Regularly priced merchandise or generating a high number of new support contracts.
Competitors' prices will also govern your prices. You Can't market a Product if your competitor is greatly underselling you. These
and other reasons May make you vary your markup one of items and services. There's no magic Formula which will work on every
product or every service all of the time. But You ought to keep in mind the general average markup which you want to generate a
Gain.

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