Editor’s Corner: Getting Your Shop Free Publicity

Posted By Devlin Smith, September 6, 2011 in Editor's Corner

By Devlin Smith

“How do I get in your magazine?” That’s the question I get asked the most by Hotrod & Restoration readers eager to see their name in print but not sure how to make that happen. It’s actually fairly simple to get publicity for your shop, all you have to do is make a phone call or send an e-mail to let editors know why your shop is newsworthy.

For our upcoming September issue, I interviewed Chris Womack, owner of CW Restoration Shop in Huntington Beach, California, and a master of self-promotion. Womack has owned his business for just three years but has already gotten CW Restoration Shop featured on a national television show and in a local newspaper. How did he do it? In both cases, Womack sent an e-mail listing what made his shop special and worth featuring.

He hasn’t succeeded with all of his pitches, but the ones that have worked are delivering great benefits for Womack’s shop. Later this fall, CW Restoration Shop will be one of the featured shops on the latest season of “Chop Cut Rebuild”, a show that follows the progress of two custom builds per season and airs on the Speed channel in the United States and on Discovery Turbo in Europe. By appearing on the show, for which there is a few involved, CW Restoration Shop has developed relationships with new suppliers and will display a vehicle at the SEMA Show.

Womack anticipates having his shop featured on a national TV show will attract new customers. In the meantime, he’s used his future appearances on “Chop Cut Rebuild” to get his shop a feature article in the Orange County Register., an article that brought CW Restoration Shop interest from potential customers and partners. That article also introduced me to the shop and got me to send Womack an e-mail asking if he’d be interested in being featured in HRR.

If you’d like to follow Womack’s lead and get publicity for your shop, the first thing you need to do is craft your pitch. What’s your shop’s story? What makes your shop unique? Are you celebrating a milestone anniversary? Have you managed to grow in this tough economy? Are you hosting an event? Did you build a car for a celebrity? Did you win an award for one of your builds?

Once you know the story you’d like to share about your shop, visit the contact us section of the website for the newspaper, magazine or TV show you’d like to pitch. Because they’re constantly on deadline, most editors prefer to be contacted by e-mail. Keep your message detailed and concise, letting the editor know who you are and why your story would be of interest to their readers. A picture can help attract an editor’s attention, so send a picture of you with your award-winning build, last year’s open house or your celebrity client with their newly restored hot rod. Be sure to include your contact information.

As in Womack’s case, publicity has a way of building on itself. A short article about your shop’s fundraiser for local tornado victims could get the attention of a TV station or a national magazine interested in doing a bigger story on your shop. Generally, you should not have to pay to have your shop profiled in a newspaper or magazine. Editors need stories to fill their pages and are happy to provide your shop with free publicity if it makes for interesting content.

To learn more about CW Restoration Shop, be sure to check out our September issue.

CW Restoration Shop owner Chris Womack (center) poses with staff members Jason Jones and Ron Eagleton.

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  • Jim Barber

    I did not think appearing on Chop Cut & Rebuild was free, is it?

  • Anonymous

    Thank you for your comment. There is a fee involved with being featured on “Chop Cut Rebuild” but Womack did not have to pay to be featured in the Orange County Register or Hotrod & Restoration. The post has been updated to reflect this.

  • Chris Womack126

    Jim,

    You are correct, it will cost to be on Chop Cut Rebuild. But you still have to sell an idea to the show on a build, and you have to be able to complete the build. The car has a dead line, and it has to be ready for SEMA. I contacted the show, presented the idea of the Willys build to the producers. They had other shops intrested in doing a build as well. But they liked what our shop had to offer, and decided to go with us for the show. In the long run you have to decide if it will be worth the cost to be on TV. I will say that so far many other avenues have opened up for my shop, and it is because of doing a build on TV. Many of the sponsers have been great contacts, and are intrested in doing future projects with us. Only time will tell how this all turns out. 

  • http://kustomsandchoppersmagazine.com/ Kustomsandchoppers

    What about featuring blogs? Say I own a blog about Hot Rods could I get that featured?

  • Anonymous

    Hotrod & Restoration only profiles shops and builders in the industry, but there are likely other publications that would be interested in interviewing you as an expert on the car hobby or as the owner of a blog.

  • Stevebowden

    It never crossed my mind that it would cost tobe featured on CCR. Is it ok to say what it cost?

  • Jim Barber

    Steve…my information may not be accurate, however when I spoke with Dan Woods several years ago it was $50,000 to $60,000 for the build or about $5,000 per episode.  Sal Perez at American Muscle Cars in San Bernardino is a good one to speak with as well.  He did 3 seasons if I recall.  The other caveat Dan Woods talk to me about was this was Southern California based, at the time he did not want to do a east coast show as the production cost, travel and expenses would be higher.  Long story short, the reason I replied to Delvin’s story was I thought it gave the impression to other shops “TV” was free and it is not.  Just as doing a car for a magazine is not free, which is a whole other story……

  • http://kustomsandchoppersmagazine.com/ Kustomsandchoppers

    Haven’t found any yet but Ill keep looking.

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