If an article is printed in a newspaper or blog and no one reads it, does it make any noise?

Yes, that is a hypothetical question based on the age-old line of “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it…” but there is a lot of similarity between the two ideas.

Many people get articles written about themselves via PR LEADS or their own pitching to reporters but they fail to do anything with it. In effect, the publicity has created one ripple in the pond, but that ripple hasn’t spread. It is up to you to make noise. It is up to you to create a tidal wave from the ripple.

You might be leaving a lot of opportunities go by the wayside.

Here are 10 ways to promote your publicity:

1. Tweet a link to the article. I do this for my clients, when they tell me about their publicity via PR LEADS. I use a p rovocative title to get attention. Here’s an example: Need writing tips for a job application? @prleads client Diane L Samuels gets publicity on Monster.com http://ow.ly/2tGcI Notice how I use the keyword “publicity” so anyone looking for “publicity” on Twitter will see this. Use your own keywords as well so more people will find your links.
2. Post the link on your Linked In profile.
3. Post the link to relevant groups on Linked In. Heavy emphasis on “relevant.” Don’t post it in places where people wouldn’t care. You’d be hurting yourself if you did that. Also, don’t say “I’m quoted here” and post the link. Tell people what they can learn by reading the article. Your focus should be on sharing information and not appearing self-promotional.
4. Send the link and article to your prosp ects, clients and followers via email.
5. Post the link and the article to your blog.
6. Frame the article and hang it in your waiting room. Consider highlighting your quotes and name in yellow so it stands out from the rest of the article. The highlighting will focus a reader’s attention directly on your quote.
7. Copy the article and print it in your sales or marketing kit. The media give you a form of credibility that is unmatched. Use it.
8. Include the article in your book proposal. Book acquisition editors want to know that you can create publicity for the book. Show them here and you’re more likely to get a contract and more likely to get a larger advance.
9. Create a list of headlines of articles in which you were quoted and post that to your website. Include live links to the articl es. Reporters and prospects will be impressed that you have so many media hits.
10. Use the front page of your website to let the world know you have been quoted. To many clients get PR and hide it! Let the first impression people have of you be from the media.

Please respect all copyrights when you post articles or reproduce articles. Contact the media to find out their policies for reprints of their materials in print and on websites and in emails or in other formats.

When you do these tasks, you’ll be letting your world know you are the thought leader and expert they seek to hire for their consulting, speaking and other new business opportunities.

If you don’t do these tasks, your publicity will be yesterday’s news and will line the proverbial birdcage. You must let the world know that you have gotten publicity. You must beat your own drum.

Publicity thought leader Dan Janal is Founder and President of PR LEADS PLUS which offers a variety of do-it-yourself tools to help small businesses get publicity, including media lists, press release writing and targeted article marketing services and press release distribution. For information on coaching and consulting services, go to http://www.prleadsplus.com. Do you want your press release picked up in major media?