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By Sherry Alpert A Story Worth Telling If you can identify what makes your business both interesting and unique, the chances are good that others will be eager to read all about it You've just launched your new company, the only slow-motion, high-intensity weight-training studio in Massachusetts. The clients who come for one-on-one sessions do so only once a week, and for no more than 30 minutes, in which time they get the same benefits to be gained from daily workouts at the gym. You know you've found a niche in the fitness business, but how do you get the clients to come? Advertise, you're told. Buy ads in the local newspapers -- from the Boston Globe to The Improper Bostonian, Boston Magazine, and Jewish Advocate -- maybe even on local TV. Then you bump into a public relations consultant at a networking event, who thinks you're news! A light bulb goes on. If you're as unique as you say you are, maybe PR is the way to go, and you won't need pay for advertising at all. Now, full disclosure: The PR consultant was me and my client was Josh Golder of Cutting Edge Fitness, in Newton Centre, Mass., whom I met at a networking luncheon in September, 2002. I told him that a time-saving, high-intensity fitness program would be an easy sell to the media, especially if he could come up with published research to back his claims. He provided two such studies. Within four months, he had been featured in a slather of local media outlets and a segment broadcast by Boston's ABC affiliate. SNOWBALL EFFECT. But it didn't stop there. That publicity generated more publicity. The Fox affiliate saw the Globe story and did its own story for the evening news. A local freelancer saw the Boston Magazine article and featured him in an article in Family Circle. The Boston Center for Adult Education saw who-knows-what publicity and recruited him to teach a one-night course, with a full-page free ad in its catalogue for three months in advance. Eventually, Metro Sports Boston did a story, too. Golder never paid a dime for advertising. Within three months, Cutting Edge Fitness moved into larger premises. Now, it has so many clients that, in less than a year, Golder has hired two more trainers and added a nutrition component to his program. Don't get me wrong: I'm proud of what I did to raise my client's profile, but this column isn't an attempt to get him just a bit more publicity. At this stage, with business booming, his goals have been achieved. The point I'm making is that the episode holds an invaluable lesson for all entrepreneurs debating how best to invest their promotional dollar. Golder could have spent four times his PR budget on advertising and not reached a fraction of the people. Furthermore, paid ads could never have conveyed the same credibility -- that vital stamp of approval -- without clever headlines like "On the Slow Track to Fitness" and "Slow Train" accompanying the interviews, photos and/or video of himself, his operation, and clients. My colleague Todd Brabender, president of Spread The News Public Relations puts it this way: "Publicity placements have always been a cost-efficient way to market a product/business and generate clients or customers, but because of lack of knowledge or a misunderstanding of what publicity is and does, many entrepreneurs don't take full advantage of publicity opportunities. TAILORED PITCH. "A positive editorial placement such as a product profile in a magazine or a newspaper can be much more persuasive than a glossy, over-hyped advertisement -- and at a fraction of the cost. Editorial placements are often the overlooked marketing vehicle for a business, and entrepreneurs should understand the full benefits to make the most of their marketing efforts," Brabender says. I couldn't have said it better. So remember, before taking the paid-ad route, list one or two things about your business that make it unique, ask yourself if others are likely to think the same way, and tailor a pitch to the appropriate media. When it works, it's the sort of credibility money just can't buy. The principal of Sherry Alpert Corporate Communications & Graphic Design in Canton, Mass., Sherry Alpert, has been representing clients ranging from corporations, retailers, and nonprofits to books, trade shows, and entrepreneurs for 25 years.  Have a question about the best way to promote and publicize your business? PR pro Sherry Alpert is here to help. Clickhere to e-mail your queries, or write to Spread The Word, BW Online, 45th Floor, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Please include your name and phone number in case we need more information. Only your initials and city will be printed.
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