Publicity can be a very valuable way to spread the news about your online business. It is much cheaper than advertising and often holds more weight because the story is reaching the customer via a trusted 3rd party, which holds much more credibility than any message that might come directly from you.

The media, by its very nature, is always in need of good stories that will benefit their readers. If you have something that is newsworthy then you have a good shot at creating some publicity. If your business is not something innovative or totally new, then brainstorm ways to make it newsworthy. For example - are there any charities you could partner with? there are lots of ways to add an angle to any business to make the business more attractive to the media.

One of the hardest decisions you will have to make when it comes to publicity is whether to launch the publicity campaign yourself or to use professional help.

Nobody can force the media to use your story, but with the right approach and follow-up you can be certain the media will know about your business. Media editors are often very busy and swamped with news stories, so it can be important to allow for 3-6 months for any media campaign to run it's course.

If your company has local interest then it may be easier to get some publicity. Even if your business is national or global, you may be able to generate some local publicity along the lines of "local company launches...."

To approach the media you will need to create a publicity kit, that contains your press release and also a fact sheet about your company.

In the resources section below there are some very useful links. The 1st link for a very detailed document that explains every step with a lot of detail and also has example press releases.

• Press Release Network
• URLWire
• Internet News Bureau