Free publicity is when journalists and editors produce stories through their media outlets about you or your business. This could be newspapers, radio, television or websites. How is it different to advertising? All media outlets have two departments, advertising and editorial. When you take out an advertisement, you deal with the advertising department. You can say what you like in the advertisement within reason, and pay a fee for the privilidge. On the other hand, with publicity, you deal with the editorial department which consists of journalists and editors. If you can convince them to produce a story and use you as a source within it, that's publicity. This is free of charge because journalists and editors produce the news for people to read, watch or hear, while the advertising department is responsible for bringing in the income. What are the benefits of  free publicity?

• If you don't have to pay a PR consultant to get your publicity, it's free.
• It's far more credible than advertising, because the audience know the decision to use it lies with editors, not your money.
• It portrays you as an expert in your field.

How do I get this publicity  You can either pay a PR consultant, or learn the process yourself. While Media Training NZ teaches professionals and business owners how to master media interviews and live presentations, it also runs courses for small business owners and marketing managers to become their own part-time publicity officers.Click here for more details.