If you want to get free publicity, you need to send a press release to the media. But a press release is basically your calling card to the media. It is a sales pitch that contains the hook of the story and some basic facts. It covers the broad strokes, not the details. So if you really want to increase the probability that your press release will be read, you may want to add in a fact sheet as a separate item.

This is why many people who want publicity create a press kit, which may include a list of suggested questions, a photo and a fact sheet, among other items.

A great way to make your pitch to the media stronger is to augment is to include a separate fact sheet with the press release. Fact sheets are easy to create. Simply list of series of facts that relate to your story.

Let’s say you’re in real estate (perhaps a bad choice at this time). You might list begin your list with some general facts such as:

The median price of the average home in your area.

What the median price in your area was six months ago.

A statement about how long as house in your community was on sale this time last year vs this year.

If you are beating the competition, you may want to list some facts about your company, which might include:

How many homes you’ve sold so far this year, or the monthly average

The average number of homes sold by all the realtors in your area

Number of years in business

How many agents your company has

One of the many good things about fact sheets is that you can create as many different ones as you like, each of which can support a specific press release. Use them well and you will be able to get free publicity on a consistent basis. Just remember what the used to say in the old “Dragnet” movie and the TV show before that, “Just the facts, ma’am.

Danek S. Kaus is a professional journalist and publicist, and the author of You Can Be Famous! Insider Secrets to Getting Free Publicity. Check out his Blog Find out about his Services You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.

Most cities require the cable company that serves them to provide a means for people to create their own TV shows, using the company\’s equipment. You can take advantage of this situation to create your own show to promote your business or organization.

To take advantage of this, you must first take the TV production course offered by the cable company. Usually this course is offered for free or for a very small investment.

Not only will you learn a lot about production, you can also have a lot of fun. You\’ll learn how to use the cameras, put mike\’s on people and adjust the sound, as well as operate the \”board,\” the giant switchboard that controls everything. Many people who participate in these courses find an affinity for operating the equipment, which launches them on a new career.

It takes a lot of work to produce a show, so not everyone who graduates will want to create their own shows. But many of them will volunteer to be crew members of other people\’s shows. This is how a lot of local access producers find the people necessary to produce a show.

In order to get a regular, and hopefully growing, audience for your show, make sure it is entertaining and/or informative. If you do this, your show can be a great tool for getting free publicity.

Another advantage of having your own show is that it gives you material to use to make your \”reel,\” as it is called, You can use segments from your TV appearances to demonstrate how well you can perform in front of the camera. Having a good real can help you to get on local network shows, such as newscasts. You can also use your reel as part of your press kit. If you are thinking of trying to get publicity through national talk shows, it is critical to show them a good reel in order to get them to book you.

Appearing in your own show is also great practice, especially if you have someone else interview you.When you watch your show, it gives you valuable feedback on how you come across on camera. It gives you the opportunity to adjust your style before trying to become a guest on other, larger shows, which will of course help you to get even more free publicity by appearing on them.

Danek S. Kaus is the author of You Can Be Famous! Insider Secrets to Getting Free Publicity. Read his Blog and learn more about his Services

If you\’re on Twitter you know what a powerful marketing tool it can be. But the key to success is finding and keeping followers. Here are 11 steps you can take to get more Twitter followers.

1. Create a great Twitter bio. One of the key factors in whether or not people decide to follow you is the quality of the information in your bio. If you have a relevant website, be sure to include the URL. You only have 160 characters, as opposed to the 140 allowed in tweets, so use them well.

2. If you\’re a Twitter newbie, it\’s best to post about 10 interesting tweets before you look for followers. You must get people interested in following you first.

3. Links to interesting websites, articles and videos make great tweets. Because the URLs will be too long for Twitter, you\’ll need to create a short version. You can do this at tinyurl.com. Copy the long link and paste it into the appropriate window there and it will generate a short link that is suitable for Twitter.

4. Tweet inspiring or humorous quotes. You can find a lot of great quotes that your Twitter followers will enjoy at BrainyQuotes.com

5. You can also share YouTube videos. People love them.

6. When you read interesting tweets, re-tweet them to your followers. When you do this, the person you re-tweeted may repay the favor by re-tweeting your tweets to their followers. Some of them may then decide to follow you.

7. Join the conversation. Reply to other people\’s tweets, give them a compliment or thank them for sharing. These people may also decide to send you @ messages, which will also make their followers aware of you.

8. When people re-tweet you, be sure to thank them. It shows good manners and it increases the chances that they will do it again.

9. Participate in Follow Fridays by recommending others on Twitter to your followers. In turn, many of the people your recommend will then recommend you, which can grow your list of followers.

10. Read the rules of service and obey them. Don\’t become \”aggressive\” about following and un-following people. Doing so could get your account suspended.

11. Limit your marketing tweets. Try to keep a ratio of about one marketing tweet for every 10 regular ones.

Danek S. Kaus is a veteran journalist and publicist, and author of You Can Be Famous! Insider Secrets to Getting Free Publicity. Learn more Publicity Secrets and his Publicity and Writing Services