Will Your Product Be One of the Breakout Hits of the Year?

The list of best selling products often feels like a re-run, with the same names seemingly dominating the marketplace. With so many fantastic products and services out there, I'm sure it's frustrating to some new companies that established names like Schiff and Country Life seem to have their products flying out of the stores all the time, while others are often left out in the cold.

What are these companies doing differently? The answer has everything to do with promotion, promotion and... more promotion! Established businesses understand that to stay ahead of the competition, they need to keep their company and product names in front of the masses. They tirelessly promote themselves to anyone who will listen. They understand the media is the pathway to the American public. People hear them on the radio, see them on TV or read about them in newspapers and magazines. And guess what? If they are interested, they buy the product!

The question is: how do you get the media talking about you and your product? The good news is that your spokesperson doesn't have to be a famous name (or your product an established brand) to get on talk radio, TV or print coverage. Your product simply has to tie into something going on in the news or into a national holiday or calendar event.

Did you know that there are hundreds of holidays or calendar events for each month of the year, each giving you a golden opportunity to be instantly newsworthy? For example, April is Cancer Control Month, Child Abuse Prevention Month, Couple Appreciation Month, National Humor Month, National Autism Awareness Month, Lawn and Garden Month, National Poetry Month and Alcohol Awareness Month. Also, April brings us Easter and Spring Break.

May is Clean Air Month, Creative Beginnings Month, Family Wellness Month, Fibromyalgia Awareness Month, Get Caught Reading Month, National Stroke Awareness Month and National Mental Health Month. Also May has Mother's Day, Armed Forces Day and Memorial Day - so anything having to do with mothers or the military is in demand by the media throughout the month.

The point is, if your product can tie in any way to any of these type of calendar events, the media may be interested in what you have to say.

If your product doesn't tie into any timely happenings, look for newsworthy angles that relate to your topic. If the media can see the value of your message for its audience you're in the promotion game!