Neil F. Anderson, Founder/President, The Courage Group, Inc.

Being Your Own PR Firm

I recommend learning how to get free media publicity yourself. And then going out and trying to get it yourself, vs hiring a full time PR firm. (which is usually not cost effective for new start-ups, on limited budgets) Take a page out of Donald Trump’s play book. He is his own PR firm.

Famous PR Quotes

If I only had two dollars left I would spend one dollar on PR.

Bill Gates — Founder of Microsoft

If your staff works enormously hard to create something they are proud of, it’s foolish if you don’t let the world know about it. Using yourself to get out and talk about it is a lot cheaper and more effective than a lot of advertising. In fact, if you do it correctly, it can beat advertising hands down and save tens of millions of dollars.

Richard Branson — Founder of Virgin Airlines

Using The Power of Free Publicity

Like many entrepreneurs and small business owners before me, I discovered the power of getting free publicity early on. And was able to survive and grow my business, despite competing against much larger and more established competitors throughout the country. This despite having zero dollars for advertising.

The secret, developing and executing a publicity campaign. Not just on an ad hoc basis, but on a weekly basis. It pays to carve out time on your schedule each week, devoted exclusively to publicity efforts. 

Remember, if you " don’t toot your own horn," no one else will.

Getting free publicity does not come easy. But with some effort and a great story on your part, you can get you and your company’s name, products and services in lights.

More importantly, create awareness in front of your potential clients and customers. And the bottom line, making the cash register ring.