Free Advertising – It Works

It never ceases to amaze me how many companies don’t take advantage of free advertising. I have met owners of small ‘Mom & Pop’ type businesses that are struggling to increase sales and awareness of their product. I always ask them how often they send out Press Releases. In 9 out of 10 cases, they tell me they never have sent any out. They don’t know or realize the value of this free marketing tool.

I’ve always had extremely positive experiences with using Press Releases as part of my marketing plans. One small company I worked for was just starting a marketing department. They had previously been paying a lot of money to an advertising agency that was putting expensive ads in the Wall Street Journal that were not bringing in new business. We did some research and made up a list of all the magazines and periodicals that pertained to that business. We got fax numbers for every one of them and sent out a Press Release announcing the latest developments of the company. Within a month of the faxes, we started receiving phone calls from potential customers who saw our information in a magazine. We took note of what magazine they had viewed and determined that there was one in particular that was bringing in the most calls. Now we knew where to place our paid advertising that it would get the most exposure to our potential customers. This was before the internet and all it took was a trip to the library to research periodicals. A small investment in time produced a huge result.

Press Releases continue to assist all businesses in promoting their company and products. Don’t forget to make them part of your overall marketing strategy.

The author, Marge Bonura, is the Director of Sales & Marketing for New England Machinery, Inc. (NEM). NEM is a leading manufacturer of bottle unscramblers, cappers, orienters, retorquers, lidders, pluggers, pump sorter/placers, scoop feeders, hopper elevators and much more. The company has been in business since 1974 selling to the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care, chemical, household products, automotive and other industries. For more information on NEM, visit their website at http://www.neminc.com/.