Tips to Get Back Into the World of Offline Marketing

How to Tap Into Offline PR for Increased Traffic and Exposure

Social media is taking over the marketing world, right? More and more, people are communicating online every day. Yes, it has made things easier but are we missing that human contact element? I mean, social media is social but it can never replace face to face contact. Here are some tips to work that into your marketing again.
There is a great big world, out there. Promoting your business online is great but a lot of us miss the mark of reaching out to people in the “real world”.
Online marketers tend to ignore the traditional press as a source for traffic and brand recognition. They’ll get exposure on social networking and social bookmarking sites, and they’ll try to get their content written up on other people’s blogs. But by and large, they don’t contact the offline public relations world.
Yet getting exposure in the offline world isn’t any more difficult than the online world. The difference is when you get exposure offline, the traffic is often both higher in volume and higher in quality than the traffic you get from online sources.
How do you get attention for the traditional offline PR world? Here are some tips that successful marketers use:
==> Identify Potential Publications
Don’t do mass press release submissions. Don’t fax in press releases and don’t do online bulk press releases. While these may be good for backlinks, editors and writers at successful publications typically find their stories from other sources.
Instead, it’s much more effective to take a direct approach. Start by figuring out which publication(s) might be interested in the things you’re doing. If they’ve written about things in the past which are similar to what you’re doing, chances are they’ll be interested in the topic.
Try to identify both mainstream publications and smaller distribution publications. A great resource is the Standard Rates and Data Services publication (SRDS), which lists every newspaper and magazine in the country. You can find the SRDS at your local library.
Get copies of newspapers or magazines you might want to get in contact with. Find the specific names of the editors and/or writers who would be interested in your topic by seeing who wrote about the topic in the past.
==> Come Up With a Newsworthy Story
Before you approach a magazine, make sure you have a newsworthy story that they will catch their attention.
A newsworthy story is essentially an angle on what you’re doing that’ll make someone stop and actually want to read the whole article.
Think of it like a one-line sentence or a headline that will make someone stop and say “What?”, and then keep reading.
Brainstorm different angles on your business or product to make it as interesting to potential editors as possible.
==> Making Direct Contact
Once you have an idea for a newsworthy story, just email the editor/writer who you think might be interested publishing it. Mention that you read their article about topic X in the past and thought they might be interested in your product/business.
Make it clear you actually know who they are and what they’re about, and that you’re not just spamming them. Keep it short and spicy. Convey your newsworthy angle, add one or two lines, then attach your contact information.
Not every publication you contact will get back to you. But, the percentage of editors and writers who’ll actually call you back might surprise you.
Remember, newspapers and magazines need to find good stories just as much as you want to get published. If you find publications who’ll be interested in the kind of things you’re offering, it’s also in their best interest to build the relationship.
I love social media but to me, nothing beats talking to a person face to face.
Do you market yourself out in the world? If so, what are some ways that you get noticed? Share in comments: