“Are You Famous?”

Did you ever read an article about a Day Spa and think……….. “We do that” or “We do that better”?

So how did that spa get in the article instead of your spa? The answer is public relations.  PR, as it is commonly termed, is not advertising.  Rather, it is part of a strategy to get the word out about your spa to both the general public and the trade press.

What is the value of your spa being seen in print or on the worldwide web?  The #1 reason is capturing the attention of your audience.  In this day and age of information bombardment, potential clients take shortcuts.  They read headlines and click on key words that peak their interest and bypass most of the advertisements that all say or promise the same thing. 

Who develops the information or copy that is required to get in print?  You do!  I can already hear the universal groan from overworked spa owners.  You’re too busy.  You don’t know how to write.  Get over it.  If you want to succeed in a very competitive marketplace, your spa has to stand out and apart from the crowd.  You can’t possibly be too busy to take a phone call from a trade magazine or local newspaper that’s doing an article about day spas.  You don’t have to write the article.  The writer will write the article.  All you have to do is answer the writer’s question and provide accurate information.  Who knows your spa or the spa business better than you?

So, how do you get that phone call?  My first phone call, from a trade magazine, came as a result of a referral from the Day Spa Association.  Did you know that when requests are made from editors and writers for potential interviewees, the Day Spa Association refers the writer to spas that are Accredited Members of the Association?  We are a DSA Accredited Day Spa and have first hand experience at the value and benefit of this status.  After that first interview, the writer and the editor put The Brass Rose Spa in their rolodex for future reference.  Now we’re on their short list of people to call. In addition, the writer has also recommended us to other writers as a credible source for day spa information.

As a spin off to appearing in a major trade magazine, in our monthly newsletter, we made sure that our clients found out about it.  We have a regular feature called “Brass Rose in the news”.  We list every article or news item where we were either quoted or featured.  Our clients love it and view us as experts and celebrities, just because we appeared in print.  They also view it as validation that they are very smart to be associated with such a well known quality spa.

To get your spa in print, you can’t just sit back and wait for that call from a writer or a magazine editor.

You have to be proactive to seek out local opportunities to get exposure for your spa.  Your local newspapers, especially the small weekly community papers are always looking for material to fill their pages.  They particularly like stories and news about local events and businesses.  This is your backyard.  This is where your customers live.  From the very beginning, including the time before we opened our business, we started sending press releases to our local papers.  We always try to send along a photograph for that perfect visual about who we are.  This is an effective marketing tool and is free advertising for your business.

What have you done to help your spa become famous?  We’d like to hear about it.