Getting free publicity for your product, service, business, cause or issue can very quickly change your life and your fortune. On this web page you'll learn the basics of getting publicity for anything you desire.

Okay class, have a seat, pull out a piece of paper and start taking notes. We're going to start at the very beginning and try to get as much in as we possibly can in the limited amount of space a web page allows.

Before going any further, let's define our terms. We're talking publicity here, not advertising. Advertising is what happens when you buy an ad in the paper. People see that you have something special on sale and they shrug it off along with the other couple hundred ads in the same paper.

Publicity is when a reporter says you have something special to offer, and people sit up and take note. It's a news story. It means it's going to be of interest.

The fact that a newspaper or radio reporter stamps your product with a seal of approval immediately translates into the mind of mainstream America as the ultimate endorsement.

And the good news is, publicity is free! It's worth much more than advertising, it's remembered much longer, and it comes free of charge. So why, then, don't more people push for publicity? Good question. And the answer is simple...

They don't know how.

So let's get busy creating a publicity machine for you.

It all begins by you taking a close look at what you have to offer. Remember, reporters, talk show hosts and program managers don't typically enjoy sponsoring advertising. They aren't interested in whether or not they'll be able to sell some of your product for you. They want to know if what you have to offer is really news.

Is it fascinating? Is it captivating, unique, entertaining? Can you imagine it becoming a headline in USA Today? If not, you'll have to figure out something about what you do that is newsworthy.

As a rule of thumb, the common isn't usually considered news. That's not to say the common can't be made into news. It can, very easily.

I can show you how to make an ordinary kitchen knife a newsworthy story. But unless you're doing something different from the crowd, chances are you won't get noticed.

We don't have the room to dive too deeply into the details of writing a press release here, but you can find a lot of information on the subject at: www.PressReleasesMadeEasy.com.

Once you've figured out how to make yourself a news story, be sure you have a product or service to back up your talk. Make sure your customer service and product quality will support the good reputation you're hoping to develop.

Finally, you'll want to practice being a character. Stand in front of a mirror and practice being animated. No, I don't mean act like a clown. I simply mean look at yourself smile when you talk. Even on the radio people can feel a smile.

Learn to be personable and knowledgeable about your topic.

You might want to buy a set of headphones for your telephone. I use them all the time. Being free to pace around the room swinging your arms might help make you sound more alive on the air.

Most of your radio spots will probably be call ins (the radio station alls you at home), so you can put on some slippers and go live, nationwide, while still walking around in your underwear if you'd like.

Once you're ready to appear and you have a powerful press release in hand, you're ready to tell the world you're alive. Fax or mail your release to as many contacts as possible.

You might want to start with smaller stations, but don't limit yourself to your hometown. In fact, you might want to avoid doing your hometown on this first run. If you fax smaller radio stations around the country, you'll be able to do a few interviews and get used to the experience before allowing your neighbors to hear you.

After you get a few interviews under your belt, you might decide to aim at some of the larger radio stations outside of your town. It may sound like a waste of time to have a station a couple thousand miles away do an interview with you, but it really isn't. Anyone in that town who knows anyone in your town is sure to stop and listen. Once the show is over, they're sure to call their friends in your town to find out if they know you (or of you).

People from your town visiting that larger city and hearing your interview are also sure to remember your name.

Nothing yells "star" more than having someone across the country, in a larger market, wanting to hear your story.

Anyone can get their two inches in the local paper (and most everybody has). A full page article about you in the Miami Herald hanging in your office will not only get you a good solid local reputation, but will guarantee any coverage you need in the local paper. Even reporters are "star struck" at times.

So you put together your press release, you send it out to papers and radio stations around the country and you do a few interviews. Then you have to figure out ways to keep the ball rolling. Come up with new angles that make what you do sound like news.

Find ways to keep your story fascinating. And be sure you don't shy away from being fascinating yourself. Julia Childs, Susan Powter, Dr. Ruth, The Crocodile Man, Matthew Lesko and Richard Simmons all have that game mastered. Tiny Tim managed to sell a terrible voice by just being a character. Although it's not necessary, if you can be entertaining and unique, you can count on getting lots of interviews.

But you won't want to wait for them. Once you shoot your flag up the pole, you need to keep waving it. Find new ways to promote what you do. Look for tie-ins with current news stories. Make it a hobby to stay visible in the local community.

A promoter friend of mine who used to do a seminar for entertainers on how to promote themselves suggests that you find something that'll make you a memorable character. If it's part of your personality, wear interesting clothes like Matthew Lesko. Always wear fancy hats. Have your hair cut in a pleasing, but memorable way. People may not remember your name, but you want to be sure they know who you are when they see you. When their television clicks on they need to immediately remember you're the gal who does whatever it is you do.

If you're a typical blond, wearing a typical outfit and talking like every other guest that's ever been on the program, chances are there isn't a person alive who would be able to pick you out of a line up an hour after the program.

Be memorable, and say something worth remembering. Be alive and a bit on the humble side. Nobody is more boring than a person who spends an hour talking about how great they or their product is. Learn to just be another person.

Watch some of the celebrities on talk shows. These people spend a lot of money learning how to laugh at themselves in public and how to charm crowds of viewers. You can save yourself lots of money by just watching them and learning to imitate what they do well.

Finally, the last bit of advice I can offer when dealing with the media is to be consistent. You're probably going to be talking about different aspects of your product as time goes on. Stations need to know you can deliver an entertaining show without repeating too much. Find new information and fascinating ways to present it. Never forget that you're getting all the free publicity because you're an entertainer and not a salesman.

Granted, if you happen to be the only representative in the world for the pill that doubled a person's lifespan, then I guess the fact that you're a sales person might be fascinating. But if that were the case, you wouldn't be looking for help in promoting yourself.

The real trick here is to carefully schedule and orchestrate your plan of attack. What you're going to say, how you're going to say it and to whom?

Would you like to have everything you could ever need to run any type of publicity campaign right in front of you? Then take a look at my complete, do-it-yourself publicity kit at www.Hartunian.com/prkit It includes samples, templates, all the information you'll need to book and do your own interviews and turn them into dollars in your bank account. It also contains a comprehensive list of radio stations and newspapers around the country and all kinds of help in designing and delivering press packages that will stop reporters in their tracks.

You can find out more about my do-it-yourself publicity kit at: www.Hartunian.com/prkit.

It takes a little effort to get organized and push out the first batch of releases, but once you get the hang of it it's very easy to become a regular in the news, at no cost to you.

Want to find out more about how publicity can help you? Click on the links on the left side of this page.

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Paul Hartunian, Box 43596, Upper Montclair, NJ 07043 - (973)857-4142

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