The Dog Days of Summer are an easy time to relax as a small business owner. It feels like there’s plenty of time left in the year to reach your annual goals. Everyone you know is either going on or just returning from a vacation. The days are long and it’s easy to rest in a poolside lounger and sip lemon shandys.
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking good enough is good enough. There’s always something more you can do to boost your business. But that being said, not every new level you reach has to come at the top of a long ladder. Sometimes a simple addition to your marketing toolbox can make your job easier while making a noticeable difference.
Let’s check out some tools you may not have heard about.
Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
I bet you thought I was going to start this blog with the newest Silicon Valley whiz-bang mobile app that all the kids are on these days. But nope. This two-way resource has been around since 2008.
Help a Reporter Out (HARO) matches news media people with subject matter experts so that they can connect with their audiences.
Why does it work? Because the best stories are told through the eyes of real people. Professional journalists have been trained since the dawn of time that a story is easier to connect with if there’s a recognizable character delivering the message. The best reporters have the biggest Rolodecks. They have sources everywhere. They’re connected to university professors who can weigh in from an academic point of view. They have doctors and scientists that can explain complex injuries or wild natural phenomena. They have lawyers who can dissect legal issues. They have principles and teachers who can tell us what’s happening in the schools. But sometimes they don’t have anyone ready to go on speed dial in your industry. When that happens HARO helps journalists beef up their stories by putting them in touch with experts who are ready for their close up.
Here’s where you come in. As a small business owner you’re an expert in your field. When your industry is making news a reporter needs to be able to talk to you, (or your competition) about it so they can relay your insights to the general news-consuming public. You get free publicity out of the deal, the reporter gets an informed opinion to share and viewers get to meet you.
For all those reasons, getting quoted in a story is marketing gold!
HARO has existed in a few different forms since 2008 and is most recently operating as a free email newsletter. Using it is easy. Reply to a relevant query and be quoted (and often linked) in a real publication. This costs you nothing and can quickly get your name in front of potential customers already reading and learning about your industry.
Source of Sources (SoS)
If HARO sounds like it could be a useful tool in your marketing toolbox, here’s another one. Sign up for this free email newsletter and twice a day you’ll get a list of journalists actively looking for an experienced business owner like you with a topic in mind and the need to fill their pages and airwaves 24/7. The strength of this one lies in the man that hosts/writes/creates it. Peter Shankman is a longtime Public Relations person and ensures this model is in good hands by placing guardrails in place so that it doesn’t get overrun by AI slop coming from either side of the reporter/source equation.
Industry Specific PR Leads Providers
Those first two tools are open to anyone in any industry or covering any beat. On both HARO and SoS you’ll regularly find a lot of travel, retirement, pets, health, and home goods inquiries coming your way. That’s great if you’re an industry expert or in any of those sectors. And the reporters are writing for well known publications that often include The Times, New York Post, Associated Press, Fodor’s, Afar and other wide reaching outlets ranging from print magazines to blogs to podcasts. But you might wade through a lot of those before coming to one that you’d make a good fit for the reporter. Luckily HARO and SoS aren’t the only options.
For example, my micro wedding company subscribes to OFD Collective’s PR Leads membership from the wonderful weddings public relations expert Meghan Ely. Meghan has spent many years in the wedding public relations space and has helped coordinators, planners, photographers, florists, and other wedding industry experts get quoted. Journalists writing for the wedding sections at big time publications like the LA Times, New York Times, New York Post, Martha Stewart and others come to her when they need a micro wedding expert like me.
Meghan has a stellar reputation in the industry, is a well spoken panelist at conventions, and is really just an all around wonderful person to work with. Multiple times a week she sends requests for submissions to her members and all I have to do is write up answers to the journalist’s questions for a story they are actively working on. Using OFD Collective’s PR Leads I’ve been quoted 80 times in less than 18 months. Getting quoted helps my Search Engine Optimization statistics and the membership has been well worth the cost. If you’re not in the weddings industry I’m sure there’s a PR Leads membership out there for you. For instance Las Vegas landscaping companies might find offerings similar to OFD Collective’s from Garden Communicators International or the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) Media Networks.
QWOTED
Like OFD Collective’s membership, Qwoted does charge for access. The good news is you’ll get a more curated experience than on HARO or SoS. When you’ve outgrown the free options this is where you’ll turn. Qwoted bridges the gap between brands, experts, small businesses, and the media. You can sign up for free but there’s enough meat to the paid membership that you’ll get your money’s worth if you select the paid tier.
If you run the marketing for a small business and you want meaningful press coverage that puts your company on the map this is one of the most popular ways to get there. Qwoted makes it easy to connect with the people that are telling the stories your business needs to be included in if you want to keep growing.
Here’s the step-by-step way to make it a useful tool:
Lead with What You Know
Create a profile that highlights who you are and what you know so journalists can find you.
Let the Media Find You
Get discovered by thousands of journalists and creators who will reach out when your voice fits their story.
Create Lasting Relationships
Share thoughtful commentary, respond quickly to journalists, and build connections with media professionals in our network.
SCORE
Any of the above tools would be a good addition to your marketing toolbox. But what if you’re not ready for them yet, or you’re feeling lost and need some guidance. Can I interest you in some free mentoring?
SCORE mentoring is a free service offered to any aspiring or established owners of a U.S.-based business. They’re mentors will partner with you and support your success by providing experienced advice, consulting on best practices and educating you on small business topics that can boost your company.
SCORE is a national nonprofit affiliated with the Small Business Administration and their goal is to foster small business through free and unlimited mentoring to small business owners who need a little lift.
10,000 volunteers located across the country means there’s someone in your neighborhood or just down the road that knows the things you don’t about your industry. They may not know it all, but I’ll guarantee they know a lot.
I should also mention they have free workshops, an on-demand learning academy and templates for business/financial planning. That’s like a Swiss Army knife or a Leatherman multi- tool for your marketing tool box.
Chamber of Commerce
Another one not to forget about is your local chamber of commerce. These organizations work to further the interests of businesses like yours. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate for the business community. If you’re not a part of your CoC you should be. As a member you’ll get a team that advocates for business-friendly policies, provides networking opportunities and offers marketing and educational resources to its members.
I’m a member of the Vegas Chamber and it’s for sure been a useful tool for me. I’ve used their community calendar to share Taylored Photo’s upcoming Content Happy Hour sessions and find networking events to attend. In fact, the Vegas Chamber runs more than 100 events a year and you’ll find much more than just ribbon cuttings.
Your business will gain credibility and trust by being a member. Customers appreciate you showing your local roots and will seek out businesses that are chamber members. Plus your company will be findable to other small businesses owners through the member directory.
You Don’t Need All These Tools, Just Pick the Right One
You don’t have to sign up for all of these as soon as you’re done reading my blog. Nobody builds a fully stocked toolbox in one trip to Ace or Harbor Freight.
Start with the free stuff. Sign up for HARO and Source of Sources this week. Watch your inbox for a couple weeks or a month or two and see how it goes. If you’re getting all the marketing leads you need from one of the general freebies, that’s great!.
If not, do a search for a PR leads group for your specific industry. And once you’ve felt what it’s like to see your name in a real publication, decide whether a paid option like Qwoted is worth the upgrade. You might not be able to pull off four or five quotes a month, but any publicity you can get will be good.
Don’t sleep on your local chamber of commerce. It’s one of the easiest wins on this list because odds are good you’re already eligible.
None of these tools are magic. They won’t replace a good product, a solid reputation or showing up for your customers day after day. What they will do is put you in front of people who are already looking for someone exactly like you, whether that’s a journalist on deadline or a neighbor scrolling the chamber’s member directory.
So, put down the shandy and pick one tool from this list. I urge you to sign up and see what it can do for your small business by the time the leaves start to turn this fall.
Want to keep building your visibility once you’ve got these in place? Why Google Reviews Alone Aren’t Enough to Build Trust is a good next read. It covers why leaning on just one channel is risky and a few easy ways to round out the rest.
