One of the least expensive ways to garner attention for your business is by writing press releases. Having a journalist write about you and what you do is an invaluable way to promote your business. Your business is exposed to people that it otherwise would not be, and you are saving yourself the time and expensive of running an often ineffective ad.

As an entrepreneur, the key to your public relations success is to come up with things about you and your business that journalists and their readers care about. There are some basic things that many businesses routinely write press releases about, that are easily and effortlessly put in the calendar section of the paper. If you have a class or event coming up - send a press release about it. This should be a standard press release that you incorporate into the routine of running your business.

What are some other things that you, as a small business owner, can do to generate some publicity for your business that's a little bit different - that is more likely to generate a feature article or a bigger mention than just in the calendar or what's happening section?

Here are five easy ideas to get you thinking...

If you are interviewing someone, doing a teleclass (especially a free one), a webinar, or other free something for your clients or subscribers, tell the press about it. Invite the general public to come or invite the journalist.

Partner with an unlikely business and teach a class together, or simply announce your joint venture and how that benefits people in your community. An example could be a chiropractor offering free health and wellness classes together with the city or county nutritionist or health office. The chiropractor is giving back to the community and the city is educating the community on health issues - something they just looooove to do.

Agree to write a short column for your local paper - for free. If you are a copywriter this could be on marketing tips to grow your business. If you are a dentist you could provide tips on oral hygiene. A tip - keep your tips educational in nature and besides your byline there should be no selling involved. This tip may not involve a journalist writing about you, but it does get you in the paper on a regular basis and it is an article rather than an ad - so it is much more likely to be read. It's very similar to an advertorial.

Have an open house or annual party. If you work from home and don't have a place to hold an open house, consider doing an open house over a teleconference line and you can give away prizes or gifts over the course of an hour. Another option is to partner with another business and hold your open house together. Both of you can do promotions to both of your clients and to the press individually. Another angle to the story is WHY you are holding the open house together.

Write a press release every time you have a new product, a new client (may not apply to all of you), a new volunteer position, a new award - anything you can think of. Read the papers and trade journals and get ideas from what other people do. Can you put a twist on what you read and write your own press release too?

Make a commitment to yourself to write a press release every two weeks or once a month. This will make you keep looking for ideas and have getting free publicity at the forefront of your marketing efforts. And just think how impressed your clients will when you show them your press clippings!