6 Steps To Get Publicity For Your Event Business
READ TIME: 3 minutes
As an event professional, you have likely spent a great deal of time getting publicity for the events that you produce. Planners are so focused delivering ROI for their clients that they often forget to work on their own businesses. Not to mention, of course, that getting publicity isn’t always easy. Here are 6 strategic steps to help you get some publicity for your event business.
Determine your goals
Before spending time reaching out to the media, you need to establish concrete marketing goals. Start by figuring out who is your target audience, then find the magazine, TV station, or blog that reaches those same people.
Find the story
To be featured in the media you need to tell an engaging story. Journalists always look for something new, interesting, and unique. Don’t tell them about your website update. Instead, share a valuable news announcement, a growing trend, or a human interest story that will grab their readers.
Determine your expertise
One of the easiest ways to get publicity is to offer journalists your expertise. They often interview experts for their stories, so once you determine all the areas of your experience, you can offer them your knowledge.
Invest in relationships
Before approaching any journalist, read what they write and only pitch them if they cover your topic. Once you find a reporter interested in your story ideas, invest in building a long term, mutually beneficial relationship by becoming a helpful source. That way, they will be featuring you for years to come.
Pitch wisely
Email your story idea to the right journalist and make it well-targeted, informative, courteous, and concise. If you don’t hear back right away, don’t take it personally. No one has a more flooded inbox than reporters. To make sure they see your story idea, follow up after a week.
Stay on top of it
When a journalist gets back to you, your job is to respond quickly. There is nothing they hate more than a slow or no response. They work on tight deadlines, so even if you need some time to get back to them, always tell them when they could expect it.
