your attention. Then you look at the left hand page. There’s a heart-warming story about
an altruistic dentist who fills cavities in the teeth of under privileged kids on a couple Sat-
urdays each month. Which piece is more believable? You know the dentist on the right
shelled out a load of dough to buy that slick color ad. He or she likely hired a profes-
sional copywriter to craft some poignant prose and a graphic designer to put it all to-
gether so your eyes would stop in their tracks when you saw the ad. But the story about
the dentist on the left hand page almost brought a tear to your eye. Odds are, you’d tend
to believe the story rather than the ad. Yet, that story was probably written by a p.r. pro
and ended up in the publication due to the p.r. pro’s relationship with the editor of the
publication. And, it more than likely cost a lot less, overall.
Publications need to fill their pages. They typically work on a percentage of news to
ads. For example, a city magazine might run 30 percent ads and 70 percent news stories.
Many tap into the services of freelancer writers and public relations firms for content that
would be of interest to their readers. This is particularly important now, since ad revenues
have been continually declining over the years and many pubs don’t have the budgets
they used to for staff writers, photographers, etc.
Unless it’s a “shopper’ type of publication, the stories get in for free. Shoppers often
sell packages that include a cover image and a story written by their staff. Those are gen-
erally tied to an ad and can be pricey when all is said and done. They’re also to be
avoided. We’re going for low and no cost marketing, p.r. and promotion.
By having clear goals, a captivating story to tell and a solid relationship with some
key editors, you can reap the rewards of public relations, get your act promoted, aid in
building your fan base, ticket sales and merchandise.