Cultivate some cost-effective local publicity for your business with tips for managing public relations efforts on a tight budget from the Young Entrepreneur article “5 Tricks for DIY PR.” Most independent salons can’t afford to hire an expensive PR firm or have employees dedicating all their time to it, but if you know the tricks of the trade, you can still get some great results at little cost.

1. Find a college student. They might not have the skills of a fully developed professional, but simply having someone focusing their undivided attention on the task is a big plus. You can likely get free or low-cost help from an intern because there are many students out there looking for valuable experience.
2. Focus on a select number of publications. Create a targeted list of newspapers, online publications and blogs that your target customers are likely to peruse. Don’t waste your time on media outside your immediate area. Keep it local and don’t overlook the value of smaller, independent newspapers, newsletters and blogs.
3. Scour the publications for contacts. A large part of the value of PR firms is their contacts, but at the local level this isn’t really necessary. Just identify the content creators, look for their emails online, and reach out to them with news about a special event, product or human-interest story.
4. Write contributed pieces. One of the best ways to get some media play and build relationships with the publications is to contribute articles about a topic within your expertise. It can be about something specifically relating to your business, or a more general business topic, or even something completely unrelated to your business that you’re passionate about. Just find a way to bring your business into the discussion of the topic in order to generate promotional value.
5. Embrace the template. If you don’t know where to even start with writing a press release or a media pitch, look for templates online. Having the correct format is vital for getting media personnel to give your story a chance.

Click here to read the article from Young Entrepreneur.