Heather's Home, is an affordable, three bedroom, 2,000 square foot home located in Texas that was built by Ferrier Custom Homes.  The home was built with environmentally friendly products, is near being a zero energy usage home, and was recently featured in the fall issue of “O at Home” Magazine. 

“O at Home” and Oprah are definitely in the big leagues and might be out of your reach but you might be surprised how easy it is to promote your company and projects in your local newspaper.

Why should you take advantage of your local newspaper?  First and foremost, it's free advertising.  If your local paper covers a new project or event that you are hosting, it’s free advertising that will reach the circulation of the newspaper. And depending on the size of your community – that could be a lot of folks.

Two, it’s never a bad idea to show that your company is active in your community and causes that are important - especially now that “green” is in.  Thanks to Al Gore, interest in the environment is at an all time high and now is a great time for you to tell others what your company is doing to make the world a better place.  

Third, free advertising.  This cannot be emphasized enough; media outlets offer you the opportunity to get your name in front of potential customers.  It’s that simple.

The idea of venturing into promoting your company through public relations can be daunting.  Here are a couple of things to keep in mind.   Media outlets, whether a newspaper or television station, are always looking for news.  Unless there is a natural disaster or presidential election they are looking to fill their schedules.  And you just need to tell them your story.

But remember, your story needs to be newsworthy and interesting.  Whether it's a new commercial building that has the latest and greatest products or a new home that has received every “green” certification - you need to communicate why it’s important to the community. Because a reporter or editor is not interested in promoting your product but in writing a story.

So where do you start?   First, you're going to need a press release.   A press release is pseudo-news story, written in third person that seeks to demonstrate to an editor or reporter the newsworthiness of a particular person, event, service or product.  Ideally you should hire someone that has experience in public relations but if that’s not an option, you can write one yourself.  The internet can provide a wealth of information on how to write a press release. 

Once you have a press release, you should send it to your local newspaper.  A little research online can provide you with all the contact information you need.  Until you develop relationships with staff at the newspaper, the editor and news desk are a good place to start. Feel free to contact them, ask questions and follow up.

You might not be ready for Oprah but now is a good time to start practicing your public relations skills, you might be amazed at how it could transform your business.  In the meantime, you can read more about Heather’s Home online .    

Some other ideas for promoting your company and projects:

• Host open houses.  Invite community leaders and the media.
• Participate in community and networking events.  Get to know community leaders.
• Make news pitches to local television stations.
• Don’t just advertise.  Communicate to previous customers, community leaders and networking contacts through other forms of communication – postcards highlighting projects, custom letters of congratulations, unique holiday cards, etc. 
• Think outside the box.