Boomer Marketing
Sharon Sultan Cutler of MatureResources.org asked this for discussion our recent teleseminar about getting publicity with Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound:
"Our audience is baby boomers through seniors. Since we are a small e-publisher with a for-profit business directory within our website, do you have any publicity to get national news stories describing how we can set up seniors in their own business?
"We will be offering seniors the opportunity to become their own bosses as independent business contractors at MatureResources.org to sell Internet advertising profiles to companies of all types wishing to reach local, regional and national consumers looking for their type of products or services. Sales territory is national.
"They will pay a fee for the start-up kit which will include training, sample consumer rack cards, promotional , business cards, etc. Every sale they make will have an excellent commission structure, which is annually commissionable to the sales associate. [ Editor's note...I'm not sure what annually commissionable means. Does this mean the commission is paid annually, or the payment structure is reviewed annually?]
"Are there any news angles you can suggest? Do you have any about what you can call this type of contractor as I realize it is not a franchise. A unique title like "Senior Advertising Consultant" or something really clever?
"I understand more and more seniors are starting new service businesses and this is a great way for a senior to become his/her own boss working for the benefit of helping seniors via resources, referrals, etc."
And Lois responds...
Let me see if I understand this correctly. You want to essentially hire seniors to sell advertising for your website, and you want them to pay you for the priviledge? AND you want to get P.R. coverage in national magazines because you are hiring independent contractors to sell Internet advertising?
Hmmm. There doesn't appear to be a news angle here.
But having said that...I suspect what you really want is publicity for your website in general, and you want to find some good independent contractors to sell advertising for you. Let's look at the question from these angles.
Sharon, what will interest the media is facts, figures, trend stories, and perhaps unique lifestyle stories. Do you run a weekly or monthly poll of your website visitors focusing on some issue of importance to seniors, and then release the results of the poll to the media? For instance in January each year, you might ask your Boomer and senior visitors, "How much did you spend on gifts during the recent holiday season? Is this more or less than in previous years?" Ask them to fill out demographic information, as well, so that you know age, gender, what part of the US or what country they are from, and whether they are retired or employed. Then tally all the responses and issue a news release saying "X% of respondents to a recent survey by MatureResources.org said thus and so about their holiday spending."
Each month, run a different poll on questions related to important issues for seniors, such as finances, love, marriage, being in touch with relatives, online purchases, and so on. The next year you can use some of the same polls and compare them to the previous year's results.
Create a Top 10 list of media, too. These would be the top 10 publications, broadcast outlets, and Internet sites that you feel your audience will frequent. Get to know the media and the editors and reporters who work for the media outlets. Focus most of your publicity efforts on them.
When you notice a trend in your market, notify your local media and issue a news release on one of the wire services: PRWeb.com, PRNewswire.com (requires payment) or BizWire.com (requires payment). Remember that sometimes local articles are picked up by the national AP or other wire services, so local exposure can be helpful beyond your community, too.
Write articles about trends that you are noticing or issues of importance to your target market and post them online. One great place to do this is with Ezine Articles. See if you can write a monthly column on seniors in your local newspaper. You may also work to get this column placed in other papers, or possibly syndicated, too. Remember that you will have to keep your copyright to do this.
Always include a resource box in your articles that links the reader back to your website. You can also include a statement saying you are looking for independent contractors to work with you selling advertising space, as well.
To get exposure on the national scene, you will need news that is of national importance, or you will need to create expert status for yourself, and then work your way up the "media food chain." That is, you'll need to publish the information locally, then regionally, then a bit wider, and finally nationally. To create expert status, follow the steps listed in the white paper from the National Speakers Association (link is halfway down the page on left), "The Expertise Imperative White Paper."
I'm afraid that you will likely have to run paid advertising to find your advertising reps. But you can add a link to your website, "Job Opportunities," and have it link to a page that provides more information. That would be an easy way to begin recruiting sales reps.
I hope this helps. Good luck with your publicity efforts.
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