Understanding Niche Publicity

Everyone keeps their radio tuned to station WIIFM - What's
In It For Me. This fact and its implications hold a valuable
secret for multiplying publicity opportunities.

Let's put ourselves first in the position of the editor of a
magazine for floral shops. His assistant has collected the
day's press releases for her, and he gives each headline a
scan before either reading more carefully or tossing it. His
foremost concern during his five-second screen: Is this
relevant to florists, my readers?

Naturally anything with the word "florists" or "flowers" in
the headline commands a thorough read. And since his readers
all own or operate a small business, anything with "small
business" in the headline catches his attention as well.
Without these key words or phrases in the headline, the
editor is forced to translate, to think whether a general
message about a trend, a law, a new service or an event
holds significance for her market.

Likewise, when the editor of a portal site for financial
service professionals peruses the day's business releases,
anything with "finance" or better yet, "financial
professionals" compels her to click through. In browsing
mode, her brain might not think quickly enough to see "E-
Learning Grew 40% in 2001, Expected to Double in 2002" and
understand that this relates to her readers' ability to
obtain continuing education more cheaply and efficiently.
However, if she saw "Financial Services Professionals Keep
Skills Tuned Through Rising E-Learning Trend," she wouldn't
ever ignore it.

Now let's explore what this means for the smart publicity
seeker. If you want to maximize your media coverage, begin
by making a list of professions, industries or consumer
segments that would benefit from what you're promoting. Then
craft a general press release and change the headline and at
least part of the contents for each niche so that the
relevance to that group jumps out unmistakably.

For instance, a few years ago a client of mine released a
new video on the home and family life of the Amish. I
watched the video and took notes on the kinds of magazines
that would be interested in different aspects of the
material, then fashioned a headline for each angle. The
reference to "happiest" in three of the headlines refers to
a scientific study mentioned in the video narration.

1. Travel - New video, "Amish Values & Virtues...Plain &
Simple," reveals the everyday life of America's happiest,
most picturesque community

2. Country - New video, "Amish Values & Virtues...Plain &
Simple," reveals the beliefs underlying America's happiest
rural lifestyle

3. Parenting - New video, "Amish Values & Virtues...Plain &
Simple," reveals the child-rearing practices underlying
America's happiest lifestyle

4. Christian - New video, "Amish Values & Virtues...Plain &
Simple," shows Christian values shaping a way of life.

About half of the release text stayed unchanged from version
to version, and the rest elaborated on the travel, country,
parenting or Christian content. Thanks to the niching, this
video took off faster than any of my clients' previous
releases.