Nova Scotia stretches 500 kilometres on a southwest-northeast axis from Cape Sable to Cape North, the shape of the province is often compared to that native delicacy, the lobster, with Cape Breton Island representing the outstretched claws, preparing to nip unsuspecting Newfoundland across the Cabot Strait.
The coastline of the uplands region is deeply indented, forming many good harbours, some of which are considered outstanding. Hundreds of islands dot the landscape along the entire Atlantic coast, most notably at St. Margarets Bay and Mahone Bay. Reefs and shoals abound, accounting for the many lighthouses erected along this coast. In many ways the Atlantic uplands coast epitomizes the North Atlantic coastline with its bare granite sheets plunging headlong into the raging surf to produce an awesome cataclysm between land and sea. When people think of Nova Scotia, they usually envisage the rocky granite shores of the uplands. Getting The Word Out
Press Releases or Public Service Announcements
A press or public service announcement (PSA) is often the most economic way to promote your event. However, there is no guarantee your PSA will appear in the paper. News editors may choose to run your PSA as it is written, call you for an interview or for more information or they may ignore the information completely.
How your PSA is written will determine whether or not it earns a spot in the news. Your PSA should include a catchy heading, the date the information is to be released, your name and phone/fax number and the 5 w’s (who, what, where, why and when). You will lose the editor’s attention in the first three or four lines so keep up all the pertinent information at the top. Keep your PSA one page in length and conclude it with the number-30- at the bottom of the page to denote the end of message. An example of a successful PSA is included.
These are the basics of writing a PSA but there is more. Keep in mind the news media is in the business of informing the public of what is new, not promoting your event. So, tell them what is new.
Are you the first farmer in your township to become a part of the agri-tourism program? Are you expecting an interesting group from another province or country? If you are involved in a new commodity, you may be hosting a large number of groups. That’s a story. If you are hosting your 100th tour, invite the media and show how your attraction and agri-tourism has progressed since the first tour. If they don’t attend your event, send another PSA reporting on the event and make yourself available for an interview. Newspapers, especially weekly newspapers, have few reporters. Sometimes they simply don’t have time to cover your event and your report is appreciated.
Different news media will be interested in different types of stories. Write your PSA’s accordingly. A daily newspaper will be interested in the unique phenomenon of visiting a farm. Invite the media to take a tour and lots of photos. Your weekly newspaper will likely be located in a nearby small town and its subscribers are probably your neighbors. They will know about farm tours, but they won’t know you are involved or how successful it has been for you. They are also interested in seeing their children in the newspaper so be sure to call the editor when a local school group is visiting. Keep in touch with the television and radio stations you watch or listen to for agriculture news. Some television stations have rural farm shows looking for stories in their area. If you are planning a large event, contact the radio station. It may send its special events and provide news reports back to the station.
If you have some newsworthy information, write a PSA. Don’t worry about flooding the newsroom with your PSA’s. If you have some interesting information, the editor wants to know. You are only wasting the editor’s time and ensuring a place in the blue box if you are sending generic information about which the public already knows. When you are finished writing your PSA, test it. If you find yourself thinking, “so what” and you don’t have an answer, rewrite it. However, if you are in doubt, send it out. If it doesn’t get in, you haven’t lost anything. If it does, then it was worthwhile.
Take advantage of the summer months for publicly. During July and August, councils, school boards and other public bodies are not meeting regularly. They are also not making decisions on which the media is reporting. The news media are looking for interesting stories to fill the space. If you have an idea you think is newsworthy, propose it in the summer months. The only drawback is readership. Advertisers reduce their advertising in the summer months because people go on vacation. There are fewer people at home in the summer reading their ads and a story about your farm. However, some publicity in the summer is better than no publicity at all, which may happen if the editor must choose between your news item and the latest scandal around the council table.
Publicity in the news doesn’t cost you anything. Advertising doesn’t have to cost a lot either. Most weekly newspapers have a coming events section. At a cost ranging from $5 to $10, community groups can list their events. Consider booking one of these ads once every two weeks or once a month. You can advertise an open house, a samplefest, or announce your farm is available for tours by appointment. You may end up with calls from the Girl Guides, church groups, women’s institutes or many others. They may become new customers for your farm gate products. Or they may bring out-of-town friends next time. Although the size of these ads is small, the exposure is great. Sometimes, this is the only place to find out about craft sales, a community group’s fundraising breakfast or where hockey registration will be held.
Be careful using these small advertisements. If you are expecting a lot of publicity from the newspaper, you might not get it with a $5 classified ad. You can’t buy news publicity by buying advertising space, however, it does earn you some co=operation. News outlets also must meet revenue projections. They won’t give you lots of publicity if they consider it a loss of potential revenue.
If you are advertising in specific newspapers and magazines it is beneficial to confirm your advertising and send your PSA at the same time to the attention of the editor.