Are you holding an event or seminar? One of the easiest, and possibly most overlooked, ways to get free publicity is through calendar listings. Despite checking the local paper and other neighborhood news forums when looking for activities to do, many people do not utilize the calendar sections when it comes time to promoting their own event. We recently ran into a friend of ours who is hosting the 35th anniversary of his business by throwing a party for the neighborhood. He had spent a fortune printing up flyers and advertising in local papers. But when we asked him if he had submitted anything to the calendar sections, he had not even thought of it.

There are a number of places where you can submit calendar listings, depending on your business and your community. Larger cities may be less inclined to print something in the paper if it’s not a big event, but online community blogs are a great place to get the word out. Neighbors want to support their local businesses, and people are always looking for fun things to do. There are also smaller community newspapers; for example, your city paper could be the Los Angeles Times, but your community paper could be the Beverly Hills Courier.

What goes into a calendar listing?

You want to include the following items:

Who: Your company

What: Self-explanatory, but basically, what is your event? Is this an anniversary? A sale? A seminar? Philanthropic tie-ins should also be noted.

Where: Provide the address and note any needed parking information

When: Day and time

How: Do people need to purchase tickets in advance? How much are they? Is there a website?

Finally, you want to make sure you include your own contact information so journalists can get in touch with you for any follow-up questions.