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Understanding_Niche_Publicity
| Understanding Niche Publicity
Everyone keeps their radio tuned to station WIIFM - What's In It
For Me. This fact and its implications hold a valuable secret
for multiplying publicity opportunities.
Let's put ourselves first in the position of the editor of a
magazine for floral shops. His assistant has collected the day's
press releases for her, and he gives each headline a scan before
either reading more carefully or tossing it. His foremost
concern during his five-second screen: Is this relevant to
florists, my readers?
Naturally anything with the word "florists" or "flowers" in the
headline commands a thorough read. And since his readers all own
or operate a small business, anything with "small business" in
the headline catches his attention as well. Without these key
words or phrases in the headline, the editor is forced to
translate, to think whether a general message about a trend, a
law, a new service or an event holds significance for her market.
Likewise, when the editor of a portal site for financial service
professionals peruses the day's business releases, anything with
"finance" or better yet, "financial professionals" compels her
to click through. In browsing mode, her brain might not think
quickly enough to see "E- Learning Grew 40% in 2001, Expected to
Double in 2002" and understand that this relates to her readers'
ability to obtain continuing education more cheaply and
efficiently. However, if she saw "Financial Services
Professionals Keep Skills Tuned Through Rising E-Learning
Trend," she wouldn't ever ignore it.
Now let's explore what this means for the smart publicity
seeker. If you want to maximize your media coverage, begin by
making a list of professions, industries or consumer segments
that would benefit from what you're promoting. Then craft a
general press release and change the headline and at least part
of the contents for each niche so that the relevance to that
group jumps out unmistakably.
For instance, a few years ago a client of mine released a new
video on the home and family life of the Amish. I watched the
video and took notes on the kinds of magazines that would be
interested in different aspects of the material, then fashioned
a headline for each angle. The reference to "happiest" in three
of the headlines refers to a scientific study mentioned in the
video narration.
1. Travel - New video, "Amish Values & Virtues...Plain &
Simple," reveals the everyday life of America's happiest, most
picturesque community
2. Country - New video, "Amish Values & Virtues...Plain &
Simple," reveals the beliefs underlying America's happiest rural
lifestyle
3. Parenting - New video, "Amish Values & Virtues...Plain &
Simple," reveals the child-rearing practices underlying
America's happiest lifestyle
4. Christian - New video, "Amish Values & Virtues...Plain &
Simple," shows Christian values shaping a way of life.
About half of the release text stayed unchanged from version to
version, and the rest elaborated on the travel, country,
parenting or Christian content. Thanks to the niching, this
video took off faster than any of my clients' previous releases.
About the author:
Marcia Yudkin is the author of the classic
guide to comprehensive PR, "6 Steps to Free Publicity," now for
sale in an updated edition at Amazon.com and in bookstores
everywhere. She also spills the secrets on advanced tactics for
today's publicity seekers in "Powerful, Painless Online
Publicity," available from www.yudkin.com/powerpr.htm .
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