Get Noticed 

By Kim T. Gordon

    Special MLM events are an effective and affordable way to gain high visibility for your growing firm. Couple your event with a comprehensive publicity program, and you can reach new audiences, enhance your image or brand, or even catapult to national prominence – like the tiny cheesecake company that held a pie-eating contest to raise money for a national charity and landed coverage on the Today Show.

    To achieve your network marketing objectives, it’s vital to give your publicity campaign as much effort as the event itself. And it takes planning to pull it off right.

Ways to Make News in MLM.

    The first step is to decide what makes your event newsworthy. Each type of media has different requirements. Magazines, including trade press, have lead times of as much as three to five months and are generally interested in advance features on industry-noteworthy events and stories about celebrities or causes, while newspapers and radio stations are looking for local angles. Many radio personalities are available for special appearances, and hiring one guarantees you’ll get lots of on-air mentions.

    Television is a visual medium. So you’re less likely to gain TV coverage of a speaker standing behind a podium – unless he or she is there to make a highly newsworthy announcement – than if the speaker is met at the airport by 200 schoolchildren, for example. Because more TV crews are assigned during the week, weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. are the best time to schedule your event.

    To communicate with the press, you’ll need an mlm media alert or press release and a press kit. A media alert is used to announce the event and provide specifics, including when and where it will be held, what will happen and who is involved. The function of a press release, on the other hand, is to carry news or information, and it should include facts and short quotes from key individuals. Whether you send a media alert, a press release, or both, they should each be on your letterhead, include a contact name and phone number, and conclude with a short paragraph about your company.

The Secret to Getting Press for Your MLM Business.

    The goal of your mlm media relations efforts should be to acquire pre-event publicity, coverage of the event and post-event stories. If you’re planning a September event, begin working on your press list this month and contact magazine editors and other journalists to discuss advance stories.

    The real secret to winning coverage is to send your information numerous times to the same media outlets over a period of a month or more. And then follow up each contact by phone to “pitch” your event.

    For example, it’s best to send your media alert by fax or mail two weeks to a month in advance of your event, fax it again a week ahead, and yet again on the day of the event. Direct it to journalists who cover your field, the editor of the newspaper’s events calendar, public affairs directors at television and radio stations, newspaper city editors and general assignment editors, and the assignment desk at TV stations.

Working With the Media in Network Marketing.

    During your network marketing event, have a designated media area managed by fully-briefed members of your staff who can distribute press kits to reporters. And be sure to collect business cards from the press or have them sign in.

    After the event, follow up with all the reporters who attended to thank them, and send thank-you notes to those who run stories. Media that were unable to send representatives may still be interested in doing post-event stories, so be prepared with terrific photos and a summary wrap-up to distribute to select press. This persistent attention to detail and follow-up will help ensure comprehensive coverage.

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Kim T. Gordon’s columns and articles are read by nearly 3 million small and home-based business owners each month.  She is the author of two books, including Bringing Home the Business: The 30 Truths Every Home Business Owner Must Know.

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