What do you think of this list? What are the TOP and BEST words to use in a release? Are any of these words staples in your communications?

DEVELOP YOUR SOCIAL PROFILES

Yes, we all know it’s important to have a Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ profile (maybe even Pinterest and Instagram)– but the real important part is updating them regularly! This is a non-negotiable. If you want to expose your business to mass audiences – tweeting, making facebook posts, and contributing to Google+ regularly will help with both your SEO (search engine optimization) and with humanizing your brand. Don’t wait on this – start TODAY!

RELEASE A RELEASE

Get a press release formulated and distributed that features your business. The trick with this is really making sure you have a good story. If you can afford a small amount of money to set aside for this, it’s worth it. Get a PR firm to put together the release, and distribute it to media. PR pros have established relationships with media, and can help you get in the limelight. As a side note, Embrace Disruption PR offers these services at really reasonable rates, contact us for more info.

COLLABORATE

Work with other businesses in your industry– offer your assistance/services/products to help them out. This is a great way to network, and also help out your fellow peers. You’ll be surprised how many people will be open to partnering up and in turn, providing some fantastic advice.

GIVE THE MILK FOR FREE (ONCE)

Ok, ok, we’ve all heard the expression: “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” This is true, but it’s important to offer up some free services/product in the beginning stages. Don’t kill yourself by offering up a lot, but definitely give a little. If you do an outstanding job, or have a great product (which you SHOULD, if you really want to succeed in this venture) – these freebies can easily turn into advocates, consumers and clients. Start hawking yourself today.

GET ON THE STREET

This is a no-brainer, but just incase you forgot: NETWORK. You should be going to every single relevant event in your industry. Get some swanky business cards made (don’t spend a fortune on printing – but definitely get them designed), and start making new friends. The more people you meet, the more potential for sales. It’s a numbers game – if you know you can meet 5 people and convert 1 into a buyer or consumer, then you know how many people you need to meet next time to get a new client.

These 5 tips are a great starting point for promotion. Remember that the beginning is all about the hustle. The more you put in now, the bigger the pay off in the future!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 28, 2012

WORLDS APART: 3 COUPLES EXPOSE THEIR INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH EXHIBIT, ‘AT THE SAME TIME’

‘At the Same Time’ is an innovative and revealing group photo exhibition highlighting the personal relationships of six artists from the LGBT community. The exhibit will be accompanied by the launch of their new publication of the same name, which contains a compilation of content from their past exhibitions.

TORONTO, ON – On August 10, 2012, Steven Beckly and Dylan MacNeil (Toronto, ON), Ted Kerr and Zachary Ayotte (Brooklyn, NY), and Colin Quinn and Oisín Share (Manchester, UK) will draw and expand on a variety of photographic traditions through exhibition at the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives (CLGA).

The six artists have simultaneously discovered the nature and development of their romantic relationships from three different parts of the world. Private exchanges emerging from domestic, romantic, and sexual dimensions of relationships are openly explored, uncovering a collection of personal narratives and intimate realities.

This exhibition arrives on the heels of PRIDE celebrations the world over, and aims to pull the curtain away and expose the reality of same sex relationships in today’s culture. Karen Stanworth, Director at the CLGA comments: “As each couple has curated the photographs, their distinctive perspectives on the subject matter have emerged. I’m looking forward to seeing what Steven and Dylan bring to the Toronto installation of the photographs. We’re also pleased that the book will be launched at this final venue for the photographs.”

Join the ‘At The Same Time’ artists on August 10, 2012 from 7:30-10PM at the CLGA (34 Isabella St., Toronto, Ontario). The exhibition will run until September 24, 2012 and copies of the ‘At The Same Time’ publication can be purchased online for $25.00 at http://atthesametime.bigcartel.com or in person at the exhibit.

About the Artists:

Zachary Ayotte is an artist based in Edmonton. His work has been exhibited internationally. www.zacharyayotte.com

Steven Beckly is a photo-based artist living and working in Toronto. His work has been exhibited and published internationally. He has been collaborating with partner Dylan MacNeil for the past three years. www.stevenbeckly.com

Ted Kerr is a writer and artist from Edmonton. Currently living in New York City, he is attending the New School and working with Visual AIDS. Kerr was a founding member of Exposure: Edmonton’s Queer Arts and Culture Festival, and HIV Edmonton’s first Artist in Residence. www.tedkerr.org

Colin Quinn and Oisín Share are Irish-born artists, currently based in Manchester, UK. Their visual project, “Quinnford + Scout,” is a photo-documentation of their development as a couple. Their work has been exhibited and published internationally. www.quinnfordandscout.eu

For more information, interviews or high res photography, contact Cory Stewart

PLUS: WIN A $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO GLAD DAY BOOK SHOP!

ENTER HERE 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 26, 2012

TORONTO, ON – While most PRIDE attendees will be spending their weekend parading Church and Wellesley St. – an underground movement will begin for The Pin Button Project, an interactive website and gallery exhibition launching this Friday June 29, 2012 at the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives (CLGA). The project is an online gallery exhibition that features pin buttons from the archives’ vast collection, and invites visitors to share their personal stories and interact with the hundreds of pin buttons collected over the CLGA’s history.

For decades, buttons have symbolized political statement pieces worn by the masses to spread awareness during specific campaigns worldwide. Since its original design patent in 1896, the simple communication abilities of a single button have survived the test of time. Specifically for the LGBT community, buttons have been used for a variety of reasons ranging through forms of protest, to conveying messages without use of the spoken word. Creator William Craddock comments, “The Pin Button Project is about sharing history through the display of photographs of pin buttons that represent a range of causes, events, organization, and identities from our various pasts. It’s about provoking memory and inviting individuals to share their memories with others. It’s a place for discussion about the past – and about the present. And it is, of course, a place to look at and enjoy all of the visual appeal that these buttons from the past have to offer.”

The CLGA has a history of providing ground-breaking innovative exhibits to the Toronto art scene: The Pin Button Project marks a new online initiative to spread awareness and content. Dennis Findlay, VP of the CLGA remarks: “I have two major hopes for the site. First, that its existence allows these archival objects and the discussion around them to extend the reach of the CLGA across Canada, and even beyond. Given the limitations of access to the CLGA by individuals outside of Toronto, it’s important that we work to extend channels of communication and engagement with our fellow Canadians. My second hope is that the project, by engaging visitors in telling their own stories and sharing their opinions, that we will collect a wealth of diverse histories and ideas that help us to better know and remember the past. Our history books and documentary films are often filled with colourful accounts by our communities’ prominent figures, but I hope this website opens up these accounts to the stories of everyone else, those who weren’t necessarily on the front-line on a rally, but who may remember carrying a placard in the back of the crowd.”

The Pin Button Project launches on Friday, June 29^th, 2012 with a public reception at the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives (34 Isabella St., 3rd Floor) from 6:00 to 9:00pm. Complimenting the launch will be interactive button design stations and social media integration – providing a true multiplatform experience for all guests. For more information, visit http://www.pinbuttons.ca.

About The Pin Button Project:

The Pin Button Project is an online interactive exhibition and oral history project featuring pin buttons from the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives. Viewers engage by asking questions, stating opinions, and sharing their own stories.

About Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives:

The Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives was established to aid in the recovery and preservation of LGBT histories. Its mission: to acquire, preserve, organize, and give public access to information and materials in any medium, by and about LGBT people, primarily produced in or concerning Canada. To support this function, the Archives also maintain significant non-archival collections, which include a research library, international subject files, and an international collection of queer periodicals. It is the CLGA’s mandate to make this information available to the public for education and research. Over the years, the CLGA has helped hundreds of people – students, artists, journalists, lawyers, filmmakers complete numerous projects inside and outside of the LGBT community.

Website: http://www.pinbuttons.ca (official site launch: June 29, 2012)

Twitter: @PinButtons

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ThePinButtonProject

For interview requests or high-res photography, please contact:

Cory Stewart

Embrace Disruption Promotions

cory@embracedisruption.com

647.638.1586