Public relations firms: Use newspaper column to promote yourself

Attention PR people at agencies large and small, and sole practitioners who need more clients. 

Writing a column for your local newspaper is a fabulous way of demonstrating your expertise. Land a gig as a regular columnist and it’s akin to being anointed by the publishing company.

That’s what happened to PR practitioner Nancy Juetten who’s writing a new monthly column called “Media-Savvy-to-Go” for the Snohomish County Business Journal in Everett, Washington.

She’ll be writing about my favorite topic: how small businesses can get free publicity.

“Her practical insights into how to publicize a company’s products, services and achievements in the news media convinced us that she had valuable views that could benefit the readers,” says John Wolcotte, her editor.

If Nancy’s experience is similar to that of other freelance newspaper columnists, I’m guessing that she’ll have more business for her PR practice than she can handle. What a great way to attract clients.

Nancy, by the way, did something else to bring in more business. She published two tips booklets called “97 Powerful Ways to Profit from Free Publicity” and “50 Powerful Publicity Resources to Build Your Business.” Her ideas are fabulous, and I wish I had written them.

If you’re a PR practitioner who needs more clients, here’s another tip courtesy of PR expert Marcia Yudkin and me. Speak about the importance of public relations before service groups, business groups and other groups in your community. Speaking and writing are among 24 ideas we came up with when we recorded a teleseminar called “24 Ways to Attract Clients to Your PR Practice.”