22. You Are Your Best Publicist: Cost-Saving Strategies for Effective PR

Unleash the power of publicity! Pitching your own story and business can be intimidating when starting from scratch. Toa Green has been there. She’s opened several stores on a shoestring budget, and discovered organic ways to get her story out in the world. She now shares her most valued PR tips and strategy for how she's established her business as a go-to story generator for content-hungry journalists. 

Toa reiterates that publicity does not necessarily require a hefty budget or a PR firm. You can create impactful press releases without breaking the bank! Drawing from her own experience, she recounts how simple things can get local coverage; like the recycling efforts in her restaurant which resulted in her first magazine feature. 

In this episode, you will learn:

• The importance of aligning the brand with current news trends 

• How to think about PR in terms of internal and external relationship building

• How to build relationships with journalists and media leaders to benefit your brand's visibility 

• Tips to craft influential press releases that will get picked up by the media  

The takeaway is clear - a strategic, resourceful approach towards generating publicity can significantly enhance the trajectory of your business.

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Thank you to our sponsors!

Goldbelly | Find the most famous, most regional iconic foods from around the country–including Crank & Boom Ice Cream–and ship it all right to your door at goldbelly.com/  

Holly Hill Restaurants | 9 unique locations in Kentucky that celebrate the connection of family, to farm to table. Find stories, recipes, how-to's, and curated gifts by visiting hollyhillandco.com

Resources We Recommend

 

• Canva — (We’re always talking about Canva around here!) They’ve got a bunch of cool press release templates if you are writing your own. 

• Newswire — If you’ve written your own press release, submit it through Newswire or a number of other press release distribution services online. 

• Prowly – PR & Media Relations Software - Prowly helps you write, create and distribute your press release. They offer a 7 day free trial.

Quotable Moments From the Episode 

“When someone asks me to do something, the answer is almost always ‘yes.’ Be someone who is on their ‘yes’ lists. Respond quickly. Usually when someone needs something, they're on a deadline. Get them the information that they need.” - Toa Green

 

“It's a two way street. They are looking for content to fill in the pages of their publication or the minutes of their TV production. People are always looking for interesting things to fill up their time. So I think being able to be a solution for those news outlets, being that go to person, if you can get to that place, becomes a very beneficial position to be in.” - Toa Green

 

“I think building your community with customers, your team, and your different vendors, and strengthening those relationships is important, because those are the people who are going to go out there and be your advocate. It's nice to be included in the media, but I think building strong relationships with the people you're interacting with all the time is also very important.” - Toa Green

Connect with Toa!
C&B Podcast website

C&B Ice Cream website

C&B Podcast's Instagram

*Production by Four Eyes Media*