Recently I told a client that if their press release didn't get in the paper I would give their money back.  

I was so sure of myself, and the editor told me it would go in, that I had no problem giving the guarantee. You can imagine my frustration when the paper came out and only a small paragraph was used and I had to give the refund. 

It's disappointing when you try to use an article to build your business, and only a small portion, or none of it, gets used. But it's not a journalist's job to help businesses succeed... in fact, it would be unethical for them to pull strings or make promises on the pages that they print. The only way you can guarantee that your message will appear in a newspaper or magazine is to buy ad space. Does that mean that you should give up writing, or paying for other people to write, articles about your business? Absolutely not! 

Articles help you keep people informed and interested in your business and products and help you establish yourself as an expert. Rather than rely on editors to put the article in the paper, you need to give yourself an outlet for publishing them, and letting others know that they're out there. 

The simplest way to do this is to add a blog to your business website, or create a blog on Blogger or Word Press that you can connect to your blog. Once the blog is set up, start using it to make announcements about new employees, new products and special events. 

If you haven't already set up a profile on Facebook or Linkedin, now is the time to start. Once you have your account set up you'll be amazed at how fast you will make friends.  You can send out an invitation using the contacts in your inbox, browse through people in your hometown, your high school or your college. Once you make some friends then the site will start suggesting people for you. 

Every time you put an article on your blog, or on your website, cut and paste the link, or use the share tool if you have it, and post the link on your Facebook, Linked in and Twitter accounts.  The people who have friended you are also the people who care about you. Some of them will click on the link and read the article. 

Every business should attempt to get articles published in their local and regional papers as often as possible. But don't rely on it. Publish the articles online on your own website as well.