Thursday, September 25, 2008

How to Easily Appear In a National Magazine...for Free!

by David Frey
Marketing Best Practices




How would you like to have your own advertisement appear in a national magazine with a huge circulation?

Imagine what that could potentially do for you business.

Well, it's not only possible, but it's very simple to do.

A Sneaky Little PR Secret that Can Get You National Exposure

There's a little marketing tactic that anyone reading this newsletter can do that can get you some national exposure in major magazines and newspapers.

It's called an "op-ed."

An op-ed is an editorial space in a magazine or newspaper where that publication gives you an opportunity to express your opinion on a topic that they recently covered.

Hence, "op" = opinion and "ed" = editorial.

You've probably read them before but never knew how easy they were to appear in.

My Recent Op-Ed

While reading Inc. magazine, I came across a franchisor that was having trouble. In my opinion, it stemmed from his inferior marketing system. I decided to write Inc magazine to share my opinion with them. So I shot off an email to the publication.

Less than a few days later I received an email asking for permission to publish my opinion.

Sure enough...they did. Here is a copy of my op-ed...

http://www.davidfrey.us/recommends/inc

When it came out I noticed a sharp increase in traffic and subscriptions to my newsletter.

Here's another great example of an op-ed that probably resulted in some new business for the person that wrote it.

http://www.davidfrey.us/recommends/maill

Some Tips On Creating a Powerful Op-Ed

Here are a few tips to help you generate op-ed's that can get you results.

Tip # 1 - Submit op-eds to publications in your target market

There's no use getting publicity in a market that does not have a high propensity of buying your product or services. Submit your op-eds to magazines, newspapers, television shows and any media that allows op-eds to be published in YOUR target market.

Tip # 2 - Don't submit a stupid op-ed

Be smart about what you're going to say. If you submit an insightful, though-provoking, and interesting op-ed, it will almost assuredly get published. Take some time to think about what you're going to say before you submit.

Tip # 3 - Be controversial

The media loves controversy so you might want to consider stating an opinion that is controversial, and perhaps, in opposition to the article that you're commenting on.

Tip # 4 - Follow the exact instructions for submitting your op-ed

This usually involves just submitting your opinion to the person who moderates the op-ed column. At the end of ever op-ed there are instructions on how to submit your own opinion. That's how I got my op-ed in Inc. magazine.

Tip # 5 - Use the right credentials

Always try to use your website address as the name of your company. This way, when the op-ed comes out and your website address is placed under your name, people will know exactly where to go to get more information about you and your business.

You'll be surprised of your results when you simply submit your opinion to target publications. Try it out this week and see what I mean.

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