Editors Note

Hi Everyone,

For those of you who follow this column regularly you will know that I have a healthy fear of public speaking – one that I will once again embrace tomorrow as an invited panellist at a Whitsunday Chamber of Commerce and Industry Event.

I am writing this on Wednesday and, by the time you are reading this, my very public contribution on the subject of ‘Get Free Media for Your Business’ will be complete.

For those of you who missed my moment in the spotlight, here is a snapshot of what I said:

When I was 25 years old, I had a café business near Byron Bay and I wrote to the local newspaper, The Echo, and told them excitedly about my new business.

I was saddened when I heard nothing back, but instead was approached by a sales rep looking to sell me an ad.

At the time I didn’t grasp that I was asking another business to give me a free product, much like if they asked me to shout them lunch at the café.

I couldn’t always give away free lunches could I?

Of course, now I understand this implicitly working for a free newspaper – while we would love to give every business a free shout out, we simply cannot – it wouldn’t be fair to our advertisers, or to ourselves!

There are, however, a few ways we can open the gates a little.

You can do something charitable – we love stories about kindness and will publish your do-goodings where possible.

You can sponsor an event or hold a community gathering – if you have a marketing budget we would appreciate you giving us a slice, but if not we will still get behind you in some way where space allows. If you book an ad, however, we can really maximise your exposure.

Lastly, you could become a member of Whitsunday Chamber of Commerce and Industry or Tourism Whitsundays – each member receives one free editorial in the paper.

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Rach

Quote of the Week: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it enough” (Albert Einstein)

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