DIY Public Relations: Telling Your Story on a Zero-Dollar Budget

If you want to get media attention, you don’t need to spend a dime—and you definitely don’t have to pay someone to do the work for you. Here’s how to do it yourself.

In DIY Public Relations, PR and marketing expert Dan Shortridge lays out a roadmap for your local organization, small business, or nonprofit to tell its story and spread the word. If you don’t have a communications and marketing staff, if you’re just getting started in your PR career, or if you’ve just been told to “get us on the news,” this is the book to read.

Full of hands-on advice scaled to the local level, it draws on the author’s more than 20 years of experience in community journalism and state-level PR to show how to ace a media interview, organize a successful press event, and steer your organization through a crisis.

“Getting your news out there isn’t about making friends with reporters or having a giant list of contacts—it’s about having a good story and telling it in the most effective way possible,” says Shortridge, who’s helped advise nonprofits, small businesses, and government agencies. “You don’t need a lot of money—or any money—and you can do it all yourself with some simple tools and by following these techniques.”

Business owners, PR and marketing professionals and nonprofit leaders will share their insights and tips to maximize positive publicity. You’ll learn about how to research targeted media outlets, pick the best time for reaching out, handle all the tiny details with confidence, and write a news release so an editor will run your story without changing a word.

With field-tested advice on every page drawn from newsrooms and PR people from around the country, readers will get practical guidance on how to:

Pitch a story and stick the landing for success
Adapt one of 14 specific story angles perfect for local organizations
Make those first connections with local reporters
Use bridging statements to handle a tough question
Write well and clearly using seven simple steps
Avoid saying “no comment” even when you don’t want to comment
Attract and take care of elected officials and other VIPs
Define, research, and reach your audience
Be consistent with your media outreach
Build a crisis communications plan that will let you sleep at night
One key chapter focuses on repurposing materials for the media into content for annual reports, social media, website copy, and newsletters—showing how PR can fit seamlessly into an overall marketing plan. Another chapter contains 16 tried-and-true tips on what not to do when working with the media, including playing secretive games or falling for scams.

As a bonus, it features a toolkit with examples and templates for writing a hard news announcement, event preview, media advisory, calendar item, staff promotion or hiring news, and crisis statements. DIY Public Relations is your complete guide for media success.