I recently asked “My Pet’s Butler” founder, Shawn Amerlinck A.H.T., R.V.T. which methods he has used to secure the media attention that he has received.
His response: “In order to get my voice heard in the news I developed a press release, was persistent and once a relationship was established, the e-mails and calls from the media were received. I did my homework and found the editors or journalists who report on my type of business. I then reached out to them with an interesting story and focused on statistics and facts. It is important to establish your reputation as a business with good news to share and a heartfelt story. I carefully sent out a consistent positive message in order to gain the public’s confidence. I wanted to portray a certain level of professionalism and deliver on what I said when the public views my name or logo. I provided the materials necessary and prepared any content that was needed to prevent my story from going into the recycle bin. The media and newsrooms don’t always have the resources, so I provided it to them in order to gain their interest. My goal was to appear on the front page of a major newspaper or community paper. I decided to target my story to smaller, specialized markets or specific reporters. My business is news that is on the lighter side of life. When speaking with the reporter, it was important to grab his attention by having a strong pitch, being creative, having fun, and using visuals. I felt it was important to highlight the personal connection between pet and pet owner. It was important to me that the reporter had a strong sense of what I was selling to the public. The result was having a great spokesperson who was able to deliver my message. I felt it was also important to find a news reporter that was reputable and articulate. I also shared ideas with others within the community to see what worked for them in the past and spoke with others in social media. The last thing I did was push my content out via Facebook, LinkedIn, website etc. in order to increase my chance of getting noticed by the media. The media has become a powerful marketing tool. It has impacted my business in the following ways: helped to build my brand and reputation, it created a stir and got the public interested, increased traffic to my website, and it created conversation among the public. It immediately got the phone ringing and generated sales.”
I will be featuring Shawn in a future blog, based on the length and quality of his comments. Stay tuned.
