Well, you’ve probably read or heard the latest controversial stories on the news. First there’s the $14,000 dessert being sold in Sri Lanka. Then there’s the “study” that women don’t talk more than men. The “study” claims that both men and women say the same number of words each day. Finally, there’s the dating service that posted billboards saying: “Life is short, have an affair.”

Each one of these got millions of dollars worth of publicity. So, if you look at each of these simply as publicity stunts, they were all extremely successful.

You may have your personal feelings about each of these stories (so do I) but that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about the use of controversy as a tool to get tremendous amounts of publicity.

Let’s take a look at each of these. Do you really think the restaurant in Sri Lanka cares if they sell even one of the $14,000 desserts? Of course not. They wanted the publicity. They want to be able to say that they hold the world’s record for the highest priced dessert on earth. If they do sell any of the desserts, that’s icing on the cake – pun intended.

How about that “study” about men and women speaking the same number of words each day, refuting the commonly held belief that women talk more than men. I’ve got a serious problem with that. Based on what I know about this “study”, it was no study at all. It was actually the opinion of the person writing the press release. Sorry, I can’t buy this one.

If you are going to create controversy based on a study or other information you are quoting, you’d darn well better be sure the information is accurate. Picking information out of the air is unethical and quite possibly illegal. I’m not having anything to do with that nonsense.

If, for example, you want to make a prediction about the future of homes sales over the next year, that’s just fine. That’s your prediction, your opinion. But simply making up information without any basis of fact – leave me out. And now the last one – the one about the dating service encouraging people to have affairs.

That’s a very controversial stand. The interviews I saw this guy do were not soft, sweet and friendly. But the guy who owns the dating service stood his ground. Did he really believe what he was saying? I have no idea. If he did, he scored a huge touchdown for his dating service. If he simply made the comment to stir up the media, once again I’m out. I want nothing to do with that nonsense.

There are so many opportunities for you to get publicity. I don’t care what your product, service, business, cause or issue is, you have incredible publicity possibilities.

If you have a very controversial stand on an issue, get out there and let the media know. Be prepared for a whole range of response from the media. But if you truly believe what you’re saying, you should have no problems.

Several years ago when I was doing interviews to promote my book on dating and relationships, I sent out a press release with the headline: “Dating Expert Tells Women to Wise Up and Stop Whining”! The media went insane – especially the feminist media.

But I truly believed what I said in the release. In essence, my point was that women often complain about their miserable dating life, but they do very little to correct the problems. They typically wait for something to happen. They wait for men to call them. They wait for men to approach them. They wait for a long, long time, since little happens unless they take action.

When I did the interviews, I sounded clear, calm and well- reasoned. So, by the end of the interview every one of the reporters agreed with me and I wound up selling a ton of books.

Every single day of the year, you have publicity opportunities parade right in front of you. You can sit there and watch them pass on by. Or, you can learn the right way to get publicity and enjoy the life you’ve be hoping for.

The best source for reliable information on how to get publicity for your business (regardless of what type of business you have) is Paul Hartunian’s website – http://www.hartunian.com

The best source for reliable information on how to get publicity for your business (regardless of what type of business you have) is Paul Hartunian’s website – http://www.hartunian.com

Author Bio: The best source for reliable information on how to get publicity for your business (regardless of what type of business you have) is Paul Hartunian’s website – http://www.hartunian.com

Category: Business
Keywords: what is a press release, how to write a press release, how to release a press release, online pr,