Hybrid – Something having two kinds of components that produce the same or similar results, such as a vehicle powered by both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine as sources of power for the drive train.

Now I’m pretty sure you can’t get the picture of a Toyota Prius out of your head right? Well, I’m not talking about eco-friendly cars, but more so of what happens when you take your marketing, mix it up and go both online and offline.

The typical response to any sort of marketing is for a business owner to go, ‘Hey, I’ve got a new product, it needs a website!’ or ‘Hey I’ve got a new product, let’s try and get it into the newspapers or magazines’.

But that’s not the only option a business owner has.

Focus Your Offline Marketing On Your Online Presence

As a advocate of Internet marketing and having an online presence as a must-do for any and all business owners, my main focus is on a company’s website. The main reason is that with a website, you can pre-sell your product or service by telling them about:

• The benefits of the product
• The cost
• The product’s story

And a host of other bits of juicy information at a much lower cost than doing this solely in a magazine or newspaper.

So how do you go about doing it? Well there are a few ways, but possibly the best is just by asking the journalists in your local newspaper/ magazine if they could feature your new product or service. But specifically by telling them about your spanking new, well designed and useable website that showcases all your product’s benefits and abilities.

Firstly, the Press are always on the lookout for new and fresh content and they’ll be glad for a lead, any lead. Secondly, they’re more likely to drop by your company’s website instead of your office. (I bet you’re regretting not having a website made right about now…)

However, this method works better for some businesses (like my own, where the service is wholly online – Feedmelah.com) or if you have a very interesting product – tech/ health/ lifestyle products seem to generate the most buzz and interest when it comes to the media.

But you never know, so open up your local newspaper(s) and find the section which suits your business the most. You see those reporters email addresses and names? Go ahead, shoot them an email, it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Remind People Online That You’re Famous (well almost)

So maybe you’ve managed to get yourselves in the news using the above method, or maybe you just paid to place and advert (remember to list your website clearly!), but whatever, you’re now in the news! Congratulations!

But don’t stop there, it’s time to tell people that you’re a celebrity… ok that’s not the main point. Getting featured in the news, even if it’s a paid advert (I’ll discuss how to write a good advert in another article), will give you something which is sometimes quite hard to come by, credibility.

Imagine this scenario, John comes up to you and says, ‘Hey I’ve got the newest best gadget in the world, would you be interested?’

An alternative setting, Chris comes up to you and says, ‘Hey I’ve got the newest best gadget in the world, would you be interested? By the way, it was featured in Times magazine and I quote – This product could change your life!’

So which person would you be more drawn to?

Which person seems more credible?

I’m guessing you’re saying Chris, because that’s what my example wanted to demonstrate.

You see, credibility is hard to gain from a stranger who’s just stumbled onto your site for the first time. Sure, you may have a great product and so much so that your previous clients find your business the most credible in their minds. But what about the first timers to encounter you?

Imagine seeing “As seen in Times Magazine” or “As seen in [Insert your local newspaper here]”

So when you’re planning your next advertising campaign, remember to hit multiple bases at once. And ALWAYS, I repeat ALWAYS ask people to take the call to action of heading over to your website, for that is the place where you can persuade, nudge, impress and ultimately make your brand impression onto them.

Here’s to you being in the news,

-William