For PR, enter competitions!

I read a post written by Erin Jacobs titled “How to compete with the Big Guys”. http://www.startupnation.com/blogs/index.php/2009/05/22/how-to-compete-with-the-big-guys/

Basically she is recommending that in addition to normal marketing techniques, that small businesses should sign up for contests and compete.

Her company actually did this. She works for Vertical Marketing, a company that does email marketing and postcard mailing campaigns. The company sponsored a contest, http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-2009 and got press from ABC news, who ran a story on the winner.

Entering contests for your business makes a lot of sense. If you win the grand prize, of course you will receive some PR for that, but even if you don’t then you will get valuable feedback on your product or service.

I like her idea and I’m going to look for some ways that I can compete, or perhaps I’ll hold a competition for business owners? Now I’ll just have to think of what the competition will be and what the prize will be.

What do you think?