This week,  I am talking about how to use the press to build your jewelry business.  While the media can sometimes seem like an unapproachable ogre that just snatches random designers up and shoves them in front of the public, there is actually a well-oiled press machine working in the background, and once you understand how this process works, there is no reason why you can't be a part of it. 

Although it might seem incredible to get your name in print, remember that the media is always hungry for news.  There are millions of square inches of paper and websites to be filled, blog posts to be written and broadcasts to be put together, and journalists love any help they can get!  One of the easiest ways to promote your company to the media is by sending out a press release.

Press releases are wonderful because if you do them yourself, they are free.  That said,  if you really want your story to be used, it is a good idea to either hire a professional to write and distribute one for you, or spend some time learning about what a press release is and isn't, who you should send it to, and what to send with it. 

Your press release can be sent directly to the publication where you want it to appear, or you can send it to a news syndication site such as PR.com  Stories from these sites often find their way into mainstream news, and are picked up by Google News searches too.

In general,  a good press release should be written as if you were a journalist covering a news story.  It should be well written, ordered, easy to understand and interesting.  It should NOT be purely promotional.

Lets say a Deli owner in Charleston has decided to put a percentage of his profits back into the community by hiring only local suppliers and buy only from other small businesses.  An example of a good introduction would be:

"Despite the economy causing hundreds of small businesses to fail,  one Charleston entrepreneur is thriving, thanks to his philosophy of giving back to the community."

This introduction however, is less likely to catch a journalist's eye:

"I have been in business for six years, and I am tired of people only buying cheap stuff from mass suppliers.  I am announcing that I am only going to buy goods and services from local businesses and want people to know about it."

You'll note I said less likely.  There will always be instances where the story is more important than the press release,  but if you are competing with many other businesses to get your name in print, then you have to go the extra mile and make it easy and enticing for an editor to run your story.

If the journalist or editor likes your press release then they may run it as is,  or they may contact you for some follow up questions in order to write the story in their own words.  Either way the outcome is that you get a nice article about your business in the news for free!