We were on the front page of the Kerrville Daily Times last Monday.  It was exciting and we really enjoyed our interview with the reporter and photographer. 

I have previously been coached by others about marketing alpacas.  One thing that was mentioned was sending out press releases to local newspapers.  I have done this “trick” two or three times and almost every time we have been able to get something in the newspaper about our ranch. 

If you are looking for some free advertising you might try it.

Here is how I did it -  I send the following by email as an attachment along with a couple of pictures to choose from.

**Press Release**

Hill Country Alpacas

Medina, TX 78055

Hill Country Alpacas in Medina, TX is thrilled to announce the birth of their newest cria.  A cria is a baby alpaca.  This little girl was born on May 9, 2009 just in time for Mother’s Day.  The dam is Nirvana’s Sari, a color champion daughter of Dom Lucilio.  The sire is Escondidos Makulu, a multi color champion son of the recently deceased El Nino.

Alpacas are a fleece bearing animal native to South America.  Alpacas were imported into the United States in 1984 and have been increasing significantly in number in the last few years.  Raising alpacas can be a rewarding and much slower paced lifestyle, perfect for living in the hill country!

Hill Country’s Brazoria, Zori for short, is a beautiful chocolate brown color and already has a lot of presence.  She came in at a whopping 19.6 pounds – average size is about 15 pounds.  Look for Zori in halter competitions in the future.  She is spectacular!

Hill Country Alpacas can be reached by calling 830-589-7750.

We offer alpaca sales, mentoring, boarding, raw fleece and various alpaca products.  We are open by appointment and give ranch tours.

Contact:  Leigh and Chuck Thomas

The picture in each paper was done in black and white (color would’ve been better, but can’t really complain).  And the article that I wrote was written word for word in one paper and rearranged a bit in the other local paper.  But, it was FREE.