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magazines and even Sunday newspapers can also be relevant as people getting married or ordering funeral flowers read mainstream media too so think about your publication carefully. However always make sure that


the magazine readership is in line with your offering and write it in such a way that the editor is likely to feel the article is relevant for their readership.


If your shop


goes for the funky punky look and you send it to a horse riding, blue rinse brigade type magazines the editor will just bin it.


who has some celebrity status around them. If they love your product and


are happy to endorse it with a photo and a quote then this can be very powerful both for a journalist to use and for your business in the kudos it brings. This should also include


companies who are willing to endorse your product. When I had my florist business I supplied companies such as Microsoft, P&O North Sea Ferries and Hilton Hotels; all well-known brands that provided my business with credibility. Take photographs of your product in-situ in the company premises - making sure you have their logo in shot - and ask someone fairly senior for a testimonial quote you can use; for ease they can give it to you verbally and you can confirm it back in writing.


4: Enter competitions Certain businesses are always winning competitions and appearing in local and national press as shortlisted or runner up. Are they a brilliant business? Well maybe, but the real secret to this is that they enter the competition in the first place. Organisations and publications


3: Celebrity endorsement If you have a celebrity who uses your product or service this is a great story, just make sure you get a photo; publications love good photos with a caption. Remember though you do need to make sure that the celeb is happy being photographed with your product and gives you permission to use the photo. It doesn’t have to be a national


celebrity, it can be a local person who everyone knows like the mayor, or even someone like a head teacher of a local school who is often in the local press and


18 F&wb Summer 2013


that run competitions want to write about the entrants so you are highly likely to be featured if you enter. There is no limit to the number of competitions you can enter but try and make them relevant to your target audience. Because it doesn’t just have to be a competition that’s flower related - it can be business related. So for example if you were targeting commercial prospects it wouldn’t be a bad thing to be in a competition run by a facilities management journal. If you run a rural business take a look at housetohome.co.uk,


a website from the publishers of Country Living, and a number of other top quality interior magazines. Each year they run a competition for best rural startup. The reason they run competitions like this is to provide material for use in their publications but for you it is a great way to get your business in front of a national audience. Simply type into Google the


type of competition that you’re looking to enter and you will see a whole host of choices. The more you enter, the more publicity you’re likely to get! But if you enter make sure you let the local press know about awards that you have been nominated for or won, because even runner up places can create a story.


5: Put together a case study People love to read case studies so why not take a wedding you have been involved in and ask the bride after her big day if it would be possible to feature her wedding on your blog and in the press. Incorporate details about where she bought her dress, how she chose her theme and even why she chose where she got married. Of course you need to make sure


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