Bringing in a PR agency can prove an expensive affair - those flash HQ’s and expensive murals don’t pay for themselves you know - taking a huge sum of money out of your business.

Getting your name in the press can prove integral to your success though, helping to bring your business to the forefront of the public’s mind, thus increasing sales and developing your brand.

Ultimately this leaves you with a conundrum; Do I lavish money on PR, taking away money that could better spent elsewhere, or do I bring it in-house, handling the PR side of things myself?

Having worked in the industry, I think the latter option is most definitely possible, so long as you’re willing to spare a little bit of time and do a bit of groundwork.

It’s tempting to think that it’s something that should be left to the experts, but it’s possible to get you and your business in the press without the assistance of an agency, you just lead a little know how.

So, drawing upon some of my expertise, here’s a few tips that’ll help you take PR into your own hands...

First off, research your target market

Before you set about sending press releases and the like, you’re going to need to know a little about your target market; research who they are, what magazines they read, what websites they visit and what radio stations they listen to.

This will ensure that you target the right publications and websites, helping your message get over to the right people for your product.

Secondly, research the people behind the news

Spend some time researching who the editors and journalists are in your target publications and construct a list of the people and publications you most want to target. Ensure you’ve got all the relevant telephone numbers, email addresses and twitter handles, then, in a spreadsheet, construct a press list so you’ve got a range of potential contacts at your disposal.

Develop relationships with the relevant people whichever way you can, be that via picking up the phone, attending networking events or a bit social media savvy (more on this next).

Establish an active Twitter presence

Twitter is an excellent asset for the small business attempting to take PR into their own hands. From your contact list get following all those editors, journalists and blog owners. Interact with them regularly and try to establish a relationship with them, getting to know them and their work.

Use tools like Tweetdeck to make your Twitter use more efficient and, elsewhere, search the site using #journorequest in order to find stories or features that you or your business can help with. Play your cards right and you can get some good exposure for free.

Hone your writing skills

Integral to getting your name in the media is the press release, essentially a short, compelling news story designed to develop interest in your product or service.

In this you’ll need to include the who, what, when, how and why, ensuring that journalists are left clear with what you’re offering and what the crux of your proposed story is. There’s enumerate resources on the web that can help you write your release, along with examples of the good, the bad and the downright ugly. These will give you an idea of tone, style and what information to include.

Personalise your pitch

The journalists email inbox is often burgeoning with press releases, those of the templated and mass sent variety likely to find themselves ignored. With that in mind, ensure that your product, service and story is relevant to your targets and try to convince them that your product fits in with their publication.

A bit of groundwork will make the pitching process a lot easier, a personal connection established via phone, email or Twitter making them a lot more likely to listen to what you’ve got to offer, whatever that may be.

Be current and be different 

With the pitching process in mind, it’s worthwhile occasionally thinking over and above the standard press release, as these can often get missed in the avalanche that a journalist receives every day. Consider sending over feature ideas, competition ideas, reader offers and invitations to sample your service.

Sending over examples of your product to review is also a good way to get your name in the press, just make sure you’re in their good books so you don’t get a bad review!

Above all, be creative and try to stand out from the crowd.

As your business and your aspirations grow along with your bank balance, it may be worthwhile bring an agency in. A big agency with their wealth of media contacts can really help take your business to the next level, whilst PR expertise can prove an integral part of reputation management.

In the early days though, when you’re merely try to get some media exposure and funds are tight, it’s possible to take your PR affairs in-house, thus saving a fair amount of cash.

Author Bio:
Mark James is a former PR professional who now writes in-house for online accountants Crunch and limited company formation agents, GoLimited. You can find him writing regularly at Freelance Advisor.

Picture credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/harshilshah/1261040258/  (Harshil.Shah)