How to Get Free Advertising for Your Foreclosure Cleanup Business - Real Estate - Foreclosures

One of the best forms of advertising for a foreclosure cleanup business is non-paid advertising: public relations ("PR"). There are several forms of PR, but one of the most effective forms is the writing of a press release.

Tell the World

When you first open your company's doors, announce your grand opening to the world via a simple press release. This will be a story that you will write and pitch to local media outlets. You don't need to pay someone hundreds of dollars to create a press release for you. With a little research, you can easily do it yourself.

The trick to writing an effective press release (one that will get picked up by the media) is to have the story focus on something else and NOT your business. You will plop your business' name in the story "as an aside." Make sure the story is newsworthy, timely, and interesting.

Contact Journalists Directly

A good way to get media coverage is to contact local journalists directly. Our foreclosure cleanup company landed a story on a local television station because we pitched them with a story idea via email. Within the email, we gave them two angles from which they could report the story. Below is the actual email we sent to several local television and newspaper outlets:

"Dear Sir or Madam, Are you interested in doing a story on foreclosure cleanup in Clayton and South Fulton counties? (Another angle could be "Local Business Owner Assists with Voter Registration Drive." I've blogged on the voter registration drive volunteer effort and uploaded photos from the drive at this link. Feel free to use the photos on the blog as necessary.) Simply give me a call at OUR PHONE NUMBER for a verbal quote. Thank you for consideration. Sincerely, MY NAME."

We received a call from a reporter at a well-known television station less than two weeks after sending the emails. We set up a television shoot at a local home needing foreclosure cleanup work. The story ran a few weeks after, all thanks to the simple email pitch we made to local journalists.

Win-Win

Free press is a win-win for your company and media outlets. Television stations, newspapers, magazines and radio stations are in the business of reporting information: information that is of interest and that is timely.

Easy to Write

Press releases are easy to compile and very effective. Just remember these key points when pulling together a press release for your foreclosure cleanup business:

--write about something timely, newsworthy, and interesting;

--try to keep your press release to one page;

--proofread the press release thoroughly;

--mention your company name as an aside; and

--do your research if you don't feel you can churn out decent writing for publication.

Press Release Distribution

There are quite a few free press release websites where you can upload your foreclosure cleanup press release for distribution. You can sign up on websites like PRWeb, PR Log, EWORLDWIRE, and varying other similar press release sites.

Some sites are free and some have a nominal distribution fee. You can decide which ones to use based on your budget and needs. I suggest starting out with the free ones. That's the whole point of non-paid advertising.

Exposure for Your Business

Once you upload your press releases to the Internet via websites like these, news organizations (both large and small) will have access to them and may pick them up. Not only news organizations, but other relative websites may pick up your press releases and place them on their websites for their visitors (more exposure for your foreclosure cleanup business!). This tactic will get your company more visibility on the Internet.

For local visibility in your city, send press releases directly to your local media outlets.

Timely and Pertinent

Remember, a press release is not an advertisement; it's, quite frankly, a sly way to get a mention in the news media by contributing something timely and pertinent. Don't tout your foreclosure cleanup company, just write about something relative to your industry and mention your company's name, via, preferably, a quote.

Sample Paragraphs and Headline

See below sample headline and paragraph of a press release to get you thinking:

Sample Headline: Foreclosure Vandalism on the Rise in Fiction County

Sample Paragraphs: Almost 300 homes are in foreclosure in the 51st district of Fiction County. Abandoned homes fill over seventy percent of Any Street, once a thriving block running parallel to Main Street. The local police department has brought in extra manpower to keep up with the newest crime: vandalism.

According to Ms. Anybody of Anybody's Foreclosure Cleanup in Fiction County, "Most of the homes we clear out on have been vandalized. Ripped out HVAC units, kitchen cabinets, even missing toilets and sinks are not an uncommon sight."

See how you can just slip your company's name in there. It's the subtle mention of your company name you seek in a good press release. But, again, your press release needs to be newsworthy, pertinent to the area you hope to target, and professional in presentation.

Web Resources

There are tons of websites out there you can visit to see samples and to get more advice on setting up and writing effective releases. Surf the Internet a little using key words like "press release samples" or "how to write a press release." Soon you will be able to churn out timely, interesting, newsworthy content that will get your foreclosure cleanup company's name in front of potential clients.

Remember, press releases are free advertising -- "free" being the operative word, especially if you are in the start-up phase of your foreclosure cleanup business! Use them as much as you can to get needed exposure for your foreclosure cleanup business.

Good luck!

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