Publicity Marketing on a Shoe String Budget – Find Your Hook

By Kelli Calabrese

I have always been a fan of having a smaller dollar, but larger time investment in marketing. If you get creative you can get a lot of mileage out of marketing using publicity, word of mouth, referrals, testimonials, creating buzz and simply pounding the pavement (or the internet) to get the attention needed to sell your services and products.

In my experience trainers are quick to print out flyers and direct mail pieces as well as take out ads or expect business cards to sell their services. When is the last time you bought something from an ad, post card or business card? I am not saying they don’t have value, but it’s an expensive lesson for many trainers who spend thousands and can measure very little return. Print ads are where most companies large place their most marketing dollars. They do have a place, but for the personal trainer selling a service everyone needs, there can be a more cost efficient and effective approach.

Word of mouth is the single most powerful form of marketing communication because it has more sway over a purchase decision than advertising or any other form of marketing promotion. Think back to a friend raving about a new sports bar, great hair stylist or the very best preschool. You are much more likely to act on the advice of a friend than any post card, bill board or ad.

To attract publicity, you want to get attention in the editorial portion of any news medium. For example if your paper has a special health and fitness tabloid, write or call the editor and offer to provide a story for that section. Also include a list of topics you can write about. You can also offer to be interviewed if they would like your comments on a particular product or service. This is one of the times it’s a good opportunity to place a ¼ page add in the upper right hand corner on the same page your article appears. For example, if you write an article about children’s obesity, have an ad on the same page for your children’s fitness program beginning within weeks of the article hitting. The topic you choose should tie into the services and programs you are offering.

Journalists will be interested in covering a product or service because it’s new or better or worse or different in some way. If you have a personal training system, program or class that has been very effective with clients, that is news worthy. A good story is anything that has enough public interest to attract readers, viewers or listeners. Health, fitness, weight loss and wellness are areas most everyone is interested in and needs clarity on.

A few words of advice when contacting editors: avoid submitting or requesting stories about your company or anything too self serving and never put competitors down.

To get started, scan your national and local papers for top stories. Notice what catches your attention and creatively think how you can craft a story based on new information that is relevant to your products or services. Hooks catch your attention by surprising you with something you were not expecting. The hook which is also the headline will promise some benefit to you. One example of a hook I recently saw was worn on t-shirts at Lifetime Fitness. The trainers are all wearing shirts that say such things as “53% less stressed”, 27% more confident” and so on. Of course when you read this you are self prompted to ask what it means. The trainers will cheerfully tell you that they surveyed their clients after so many personal training sessions and these were the average of the results they found.

Use the hook to attract attention and then use a thin line to tie in your products or services. Most forms of media today have a multitude of components meaning they may have a hard copy magazine, an electronic newsletter, a web page, as well as archives, links and so on. Suggest your article also appears on the web so that you can have inbound links to your website.

Journalists will happily use any articles that are well written, current and have effective hooks. Journalist are typically always working on tight budgets so they are happy to receive ready to go articles that need little if any editing.

Before you construct an entire article, write an abbreviated version in a word document with a clear headline, sufficient facts, quotes, supporting evidence, a company or personal bio, and contact information. The more your release stands out from the junk the more likely it will be to make the headlines versus the trash bin.

A few more tips that have helped me garner 3 - 5 interviews a week are:

Be fast – Journalists are always working on a deadline. The ones to respond the quickest win. When journalists call, put them at the top of your list.
Be “tight and bright”. The editor at eDiets taught me about the importance of getting to the point in a concise manner with pertinent information. This is key when working with journalists
Be timely – as soon as you see a story to respond to or have an idea, act on it or some one else will.
Read your article or release for any corrections. Then have a professional or friend review it with a fresh set of eyes.
Make sure all contact information is complete
Give the journalist what they are asking for – we may have our own agenda in mind, but if you go off on a tangent, the journalist will quickly lose patience and move on to another expert to help them meet their story needs.

Word of Mouth
If you surveyed your clients, ten to one will tell you a friend referred them versus an ad compelling them to sign up. Word of mouth is the number two most credible source of communication second only to the person experiencing personal training for themselves first hand. You can influence word of mouth and encourage customers to speak highly of your services and products. For example at the time of a re-assessment when a client is reporting improvements and you are measuring them, their feelings are positive and emotions are heightened. This is a perfect opportunity to encourage your clients to tell co-workers and others seeking positive physical change about your experience. You should also document them in writing. Once clients have positive results, they typically become advocates and want to help others. It’s also interesting how the client spreading the positive word of mouth remains a happy customer for longer than your average clients. It makes sense that if they are singing your praises; they are not going to want to give up your services.

Doing monthly re-assessments, providing constant feedback, surprising them, empowering them and sharing your vision for the future are all fantastic ways to get and keep your clients talking about you. You can also generate talk and positive publicity by connecting with a humanitarian cause. For example if you donate a percentage of your profits to cancer research, battered women, special Olympics or mistreated pets, people will talk about the good you are doing in the name of your products and services.

Some other ideas that are news worthy are contests, a unique giveaway, doing a makeover on a local celebrity, following a DJ’s transformation on the radio, or special events.

There is no shortage of ideas to positively shine the light on your passion for helping people become more fit. Spend at least one hour a day on marketing your products and services. Contact your local newspapers, radio stations, convention centers, associations, schools and other groups to let them know of your expertise in providing timely fitness information. You never know what that next e-mail or phone call may bring.

As I was writing this article I received a call from Martha Stewart’s executive producer asking me to be a guest on her radio show next week. They found me through an article I wrote on staying fit through the holidays. You never know whose eyes may see your writing, audio or videos. Continue to focus your efforts on capturing positive publicity and you will attract it.

Kelli Calabrese, MS, CSCS. Kelli is the editor of Personal Fitness Professional and Wellness & Fitness Entrepreneur magazines. She is the co-author of Grocery Shopping Tours & Other Profitable Promotions, The Science and Business of Weight Loss, Remote Coaching, Online Training Success and an affiliate for PurFoods Fitness. Kelli has focused her consulting business on raising the standards in the fitness industry by coaching personal trainers to reach the next level in business success. She is reachable via e-mail Kelli@KelliCalabrese.com or phone 817-490-1296. For more information go to www.KelliCalabrese.com