DIY PR by Penny Haywood Calder

Many business owners are sitting on marketing information that throws an interesting sidelight on their sector. Perhaps your company is bucking a recessionary trend? Or you've noticed that sales have changed in surprising ways?

That might be enough to be the germ of an idea for a press release.

Or you may have more in-depth information that allows you to demonstrate your expertise? In which case, an expert guide might be useful to prospective customers and a good marketing tool for your business. Not to mention creating some useful extra content for your website.

If you have a wealth of information and consider yourself at the forefront of some aspect of your business sector, you may consider a more in-depth white paper. These normally run to 10 or more A4 pages, using graphs and pictures plus graphical devices to underline your points.

There are some useful suggestions in a piece called 5 Ways to Create a more Engaging Introduction (http://www.whitepapercompany.com/blog/?p=4638).