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8: Do Good Deeds
Volunteering your time and expertise to charitable organizations not only enhances your networking opportunities, but it also gives you great copy for a press release. And publicity can bring forth new customers you never thought of courting.
Feel squeamish about tooting your own horn for doing good deeds? Don’t, says Robert Grede. Grede is author of Naked Marketing: The Bare Essentials (Prentice Hall, 1997) and owner of The Grede Company, a marketing consulting firm.
“Small-business owners should take every advantage of publicizing their charitable work,” he says.
Your work doesn’t have to be earth shaking. Even a small gesture rates acknowledgment in a press release. Graphic artists can design logos for charitable groups. Accountants can complete a year of tax returns pro bono. Hardware stores can provide free fix-up materials for a charitable group’s facility. Booksellers can deliver a few free books to a school.
But Grede advises that you choose your charity carefully. “Think of people you’re trying to attract as customers and get involved with organizations that attract the same type of people.”
When writing your press release, focus on the charitable organization first and your contribution second. Post your release on your Web site. Send it to local papers as well as other organizations you’re involved in, such as the chamber of commerce, alumni association and civic groups. Getting your story in those types of newsletters puts you and your business in front of the organization’s members, many of whom can be potential customers.
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