press release

50 Tips for Marketing Your Website

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As amazing as your website may be, it’s not going to market itself. If you want people to come to your website, you have to get the word out there. Once a few thousand people see your website, it can start to pick up steam and spread through reputation. In the beginning however, you have to do the ground work.

Here are 50 tips for marketing your website.

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1. Add a ton of original content. There is no better way to market your website than having content that people love to spread. This method doesn’t work overnight, but in time is extremely powerful.

2. Pick keywords and put them in your title tag. Use the Google Keyword Tool to find good keywords and put the in your title tag. Note: use only several relevant keywords.

meta-data3. Write a good META description tag. Your META description tag goes under your title tag in the search engines. It helps convince people to click on your ad.

4. Look at your analytics logs and see who’s sending you traffic. Use these traffic sources more readily.

 comments5. Contact people who comment on your blog. See if you can get them to link to you or talk about you in a blog post.

6. Start a YouTube channel. Upload videos that people in your industry would love and want to pass on to their friends.

7. Submit your site to directories. Use DMOZ and Yahoo! Directory for high powered backlinks and smaller industry specific directories for targeted traffic.

 news8. Write for offline newspapers and magazines. Reach out to editors and let them know that you’re an expert on a subject and would like to do an editorial or opinion piece.

 pressrelease9. Write a press release and submit it to online press release services like PR Web. Bloggers and editors will receive this release and potentially write about your company.

10. Get in contact with traditional press editors. Pitch them a story about why your company is unique, or find a way to help them in a story they’re already working on.

11. Submit a high quality piece of content to Reddit. Make sure you submit it to the right sub-reddit to get as many interested people as possible.

12. Submit your content to StumbleUpon. If your content is good, this can send tens of thousands of visitors your way very quickly.

 Facebook

13. Create a Facebook page. Use your website to promote your page. Your page will allow you to stay in touch with your fans, as well as launch new viral campaigns.

14. Use Twitter regularly. Befriend other Twitter influencers and ask them to retweet things when you’re doing a promotion. Likewise, do whatever you can to help others succeed, as eventually they’ll want to reciprocate.

15. Search for people to reply to on Twitter. Search for common questions people in your industry might ask and @reply them directly.

16. Join internet forums and contribute. Find relevant forums in your industry and post high quality content replies.

17. Put your site in your email signature. Anyone who interacts with you should see your content website in your email.

 email mkt118. Create an email newsletter. Use it to follow up with your guests, to build a long term connection and to make regular sales over the guest’s lifetime.

19. Do an online contest. Give away amazing prizes that people would want to fight for. If your prizes are really top notch, people are going to talk about the contest and pass it along to other people.

20. Advertise in other people’s emails. Advertising opportunities start as low as $25.

 affiliate_marketing21. Launch your own affiliate program. Get other people to promote your products for you.

 PPC22. Buy pay-per-click advertising. Buy relevant keywords for products that you’re selling and get traffic from Google and Bing.

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23. Contact local businesses about joint marketing opportunities. Look into advertising together, doing products together, doing local promotions, etc.

Nicole Munoz Speaking24. Speak at events related to your topic. Ask the event organizer to link back to you. Mention your site when you’re speaking to bring in more traffic.

25. Use Pinterest. It’s one of the hottest social networking sites at the moment. It’s great for attracting a female crowd.

26. Add your business to Google Maps. If you run a local business, it’s essential that you have a well setup Google Places page.

27. Post on newsgroups, Google Groups or Yahoo Groups. Don’t spam, instead look for ways to add value by giving advice and answering questions. Have a small link to your site at the bottom of your messages.

blog28. Comment on other people’s blog posts. Make well thought out, intelligent comments that add to the discussion and get people curious about you and your site.

29. Interview a well known person. Make the interview available for free.

30. Have great guest blog posts. Often times your guests will link to their own article, driving a lot of quality traffic.

RSS feed31. Create an RSS feed. This makes it easy for people with RSS readers to follow your blog.

32. Advertise on Craigslist. If you run a local business, this could bring a lot of targeted traffic.

33. Use My Blog Guest to find opportunities to write for other websites. Write for those sites and include a link back to your site.

review34. Review products and books. Especially try to review products and books while they’re hot.

35. Answer questions on Quora. Not only can you get good traffic from Quora, but you also position yourself in front of a very high powered crowd.

36. Cover a live event. Update frequently, once every hour or so. People who can’t make it to the event can still feel like they’re there by reading your coverage.

37. Post on portfolio sites. Look for places where you can showcase your work or your ideas. If you get good reviews, a lot of people will come to look at your site.

 Podcasting38. Start a podcast. Publish once a week to start. Build a list of fans who listen to you every week.

 website redesign39. Get a custom designed header. It can really make a big difference on how people see your website.

40. Comment on current events. If a major shift is happening in your industry, talk about it and give your opinion. If you have a unique take, it could gain a lot of traction.

41. Give something away for free. Give away a free eBook, a free audio MP3, a free DVD, a free software package, etc. Free stuff always gets a lot of attention, especially if there’s a high perceived value.

42. Break a record. Pick a record in your industry and try to break it. If you do, you’ll get a ton of press and blog coverage, which will all translate into website traffic.

43. Ask your customers what they want. Then give it to them. When you do this, customers will often be so surprised and thrilled that their request was heard that they’ll tell a lot of their friends about you.

44. Do a weekly roundup of your industry. At the end of each week, go through and pick out the best posts in your industry and link to them. You can write a small summary as well. Make your blog a resource for people to go to for good content in your industry, even if you don’t write the content yourself.

questions45. Answer questions on HARO. Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a great place to find reporters who need to interview people for their stories.

46. Organize a local meetup. This will bring you a small amount of connections, but get you a ton of valuable connections.

47. Do a free live chat Q&A. Doing these live Q&As regularly will help you build your connection with your audience as well as get a lot of people linking to you.

 content funnels48. Spend as much time growing interest in your content as you do on writing. After all, what good is content if you nobody sees them? Split your time in half: Half on marketing, half on content.

49. Promote your content on Social Buzz Club and Triberr. Submit your blog posts or videos to these two sites to have the chance to be promoted by leaders in your industry.

50. Create infographics. Gather relevant data, create a scenario and ask a graphic designer to give life to the data you have collected. Promote the infographic on all available channels: infographic sharing websites, Pinterest, social media sites, bookmarking sites.

50 Ways to Get New Clients

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1. Speak at local events. Look for groups, meetups and gatherings of people who’re in or related to your industry. Speak at these events to position yourself as an expert and gain more exposure.

Nicole Munoz Speaking
2. Speak at seminars and conventions. Offer to speak at seminars and conventions. If you have a recognizable brand name, most organizers would be thrilled to have the opportunity.
 3. Sponsor an event. If you’re a solo service provider, sponsor a small event in your area. If you’re a large service provider, sponsor a bigger event.
4. Get covered by the press. Come up with some unique angle and pitch it to reporters. Use tools like Help a Reporter Out (HARO) to find reporters looking to do stories. 
5. Take out a small newspaper ad. This works great if you provide services to local clients.
6. Network and follow up. Go to minglers, mixers and professional events and meet people in your target market.

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7. Give free advice. Do it both online and offline. Demonstrate your credibility first before trying to sell.
8. Answer questions on LinkedIn. This helps build your credibility online, which often translates into real world contacts.

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9.Build a professional website. Having a great looking website helps create trust with people who’re considering hiring you.
10. Ask for referrals. Talk to people you know, including but not limited to past clients and ask for referrals.

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11. Run a mailing list. Develop a relationship with others in your field over time by mailing useful content regularly.
12. Run a Q&A mailing list, blog or website. Become known as the person to go to for questions in a particular arena.
13. Copy your competitors. How are your competitors getting clients? Do what they do. In fact, see if you can do what they do, only better.
14. Join a Business Networking International (BNI) network. BNI can be a great source of leads for offline service providers.
15. Get on Yelp. Try to be the most positively reviewed provider in your area. Yelp profiles often rank very well in search engines.
16. Put your USP (unique selling proposition) on your business card. People who look at your card should instantly understand your value offering and what sets you apart.
17. Get to know university professors. Professors are fantastic connectors and know people in all kinds of different fields. They often know very powerful people. Reconnect with old professors and see if they can help connect you with anyone who could help your business.

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18. Network with lawyers and accountants. Every business needs a lawyer and an accountant. If your clients are businesses, networking with lawyers and accountants can be a potential gold mine.
19. Mail your legacy clients. Most people only ask for referrals or sales from current clients or recent clients. But your legacy clients, meaning clients that dropped off a long time ago, could still harbour a lot of good will towards you. See if you can tap into that for more business or for more referrals.

cold-calling20. Cold call. Many Fortune 100 companies were built initially by some guy in his bedroom, cold calling. Humana is one prime example, as was Microsoft. Bill Gates just cold called both the programmer of DOS and the buyer of DOS. Cold calling might seem scary, but it does work.

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21. Offer to write guest posts. Write fantastic articles for other people’s sites and send the traffic back to yours with a link in the article.
22. Offer to write for small time publications and trade newsletters. If you have experience, reputation or background in the industry, they’ll often be happy to have you.
23. Start a blog. Help people in your target market by providing great content.

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24. Be active on social media. Regularly post great content to your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ profiles. People who follow you will come to see you as more and more of an expert.
25. Call in to a radio show. Give your name and either ask a well informed question or make a comment that really helps listeners.
 
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26. Ask past clients to give you credit on their website. For instance, if you did some graphics for a client, ask them to put that the graphics were by you on the bottom of their site. If you were their coach, ask them to talk about their experience on their blog.
27. Join your local chamber of commerce. You’ll often meet valuable contacts that can either become clients or people you can work business deals with.
28. Advertise on popular message boards. Look for message boards in your industry where your target market gathers and advertise there.
29. Submit proposals on oDesk and eLance. Look for jobs other people are posting up that fit your specialty.
30. Offer to work for a freelance shop. For example, if you’re a freelance writer, look for a freelance writing agency and offer to be one of their writers.
31. Practice your elevator pitch. Have a strong 30 second answer for the “what do you do” question. Sometimes your best clients come from chance meetings.
32. Wear a T-Shirt to locations where potential customers are. For example, go to a trade show with your brand’s logo on your shirt.

33. Befriend connectors. Develop connections with Twitter users, bloggers, Facebook page owners and other individuals who have a lot of connections. See if you can help them, so sometime later they might help you.

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34. Buy Google AdWords. Bid on keywords related to your industry. Focus on “buying keywords,” words that someone who’s ready to buy might type in.
35. Buy banner ads on related sites. Find websites that your target market frequents and buy banner ads on those sites.

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36. Write a free eBook and give it away. This helps you build credibility. Put as much great content as you can in your free eBook.
37. Produce a big virtual event with other people in your industry. For example, if you’re in the social media business, get 10 social media consultants together to do a big online workshop about social media. Use the leads to market your services.
38. Do a publicity stunt. Google publicity stunt examples and see if you can do something similar for your business.
39. Join competitions and win. If you’re a writer, look for writing contests. If you’re a designer, look for design contests. Consultants could look into speaking contests. Put a lot of time into your entry, as a winning placement could mean a lot of exposure.

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40. Use Craigslist. Post in the services section and respond to posts in the “gigs” section.
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41. Mail or email companies with free advice. If you’re a website conversion specialist, mail possible conversion improving advice to companies.
42. Yellow pages advertising. Buy an ad in the appropriate section in the yellow pages.
43. Co-work with other freelancers. Working with other people is a great way to network and meet both potential clients and people who could refer you to clients.
44. Host your own meetup. Go to http://www.meetup.com and create a meetup on your topic. Having your own meetup is a fantastic way to get more exposure, meet potential clients and build your network.
45. Publish a book. Write a book about your subject and get it published. Even if you never sell over a thousand copies, being a published author will still massively boost your credibility. Nobody will ever ask you how many copies you’ve sold.
46. Get your work featured on a compilation site. For example, if you build websites, enter a website you built into a website that compiles examples of great website designs.

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47. Create a referral reward system. Give clients and other referrers rewards for sending you new clients. Rewards can be financial or non-financial.

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48. Play with your prices. Sometimes when you raise your prices, you actually get more clients. Working with a few high priced clients might be a better model than a few lower priced ones. Alternatively, you might be priced to high and might need to lower your price to attract more clients.
49. Contact your former employer. Your former employer can be a fantastic source of leads. They could even be your first client. 
50. Put flyers up in relevant local boards. For example, post a flyer on your chamber of commerce’s board, or post flyers on boards in co-working spaces. 

How to Distribute a Press Release

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pressreleaseMany industry experts view PR Web as the #1 way to get press releases distributed. Even their most basic package includes distribution to over 250,000 subscribers, many of whom are news professionals. In addition, you can specifically target your releases towards whatever industry you’re in, as well as whatever geographical region you’re in. Finally, PR Web provides in depth analytics so you can figure out what’s working and what’s not.

The first step to getting started with PR Web is to select your distribution package.

Step 1: Create New Release

Log in to your PR Web account and click “Create Release” along the top navigation bar.

Step 2: Select Your Distribution Package

PR Web offers four different distribution packages, starting at $80. Each package has more features and distribution, with the most comprehensive package priced at $360.

Here’s what you need to know about each distribution package:

Basic Package ($99) – Though this is the most bare bones release PR Web offers, it’s is still quite feature-packed. You get distribution to over 250,000 readers, targeted distribution, a one way backlink from a high-PR domain and comprehensive analytics.

Standard Package ($159) – Standard includes everything Basic has, plus a few powerful features. It has included social media functions like Trackbacks, social bookmarking and auto-tweets for Twitter. Your release will also be sent to over 35,000 journalists who specifically requested to receive press releases. You’ll also receive a limited time front page placement for your press release on PRWeb.com.

Advanced Package ($249) – In addition to everything that Standard has, you also get two consultations: An SEO consultation and a free editorial consultation. You can also specify anchor text keywords for your backlink, as well as target 10 industries instead of 5.

Premium Package ($369) – In addition to everything Advanced has, you also get distribution to the Associated Press, which syndicates its releases to reporters from many major newspapers. You can also embed videos into your press release.

Financial Package ($499) – Want to be featured on top financial sites like Yahoo Finance, Wall Street or Bloomberg? You can also use this package if you want to add credibility logos to your website.

Here’s what the package selection screen looks like:

 2-Select-Distribution-Package

Once you’re ready, click Additional Options to continue.

 

Step 3 – Select Distribution Enhancements

In addition to selecting your baseline package, you can also choose from a number of distribution enhancements.

Here’s what each option entails:

Editorial Services – You can have a PR Web professional consult with you by phone, then edit your release for you; or you can have a PR Web professional write your entire release for you; or you can have an SEO specialist go over your release and optimize it for the best search engine results.

Business Visibility – Submit your release to a wide range of business oriented news feeds, including Google Finance, AOL Money, Bloomberg and the International Business Times.

Press Release Ranking Options – Pay extra money to rank higher on PR Web’s website.

Media Digest – You can have your press release included in digests that are sent out to industry professionals and journalists.

Click Payment when you’ve selected your options.

Step 4 – Press Release Payment

Once you’ve selected your distribution options, the next step is to pay for your press release. You can pay via Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover or PayPal. Select your payment method and click Submit Order. Once your payment is processed, you’ll see a receipt.

Once payment is complete, click on “Upload Your Release” to begin the press release creation process!

 

Creating Your Press Release

 

breakingnewsHere’s how to create your press release once you’ve completed payment.

Before you actually write your release, it’s usually a good idea to read over PR Web’s editorial guidelines.

As a rule of thumb, your press release should be between 350 and 800 words. You’ll need a valid email, phone number and website to submit a release.

Your release should be timely, newsworthy and relevant to the audience. Naturally, it should not contain any sexually explicit, libelous or inflammatory content.

Quotes and sources should be properly attributed to the best of your ability.

 

Step 1: Headline and Summary

The first thing to write is your headline and your summary. These are two of the most important parts of your press release.

Remember that journalists and news professionals get dozens, sometimes hundreds of press releases every day. Unless you stand out and catch their attention, chances are they won’t even read your press release.

Many journalists just scan headlines and summaries and only read a handful of press releases each day.

Your headline and summary needs to be able to hook these journalists’ attention and get them to investigate further. If you spend as much as 50% of your press release writing time on just the headline and summary, that would be time well spent.

To edit the headline or the summary, just click on the headline or summary box.

 

Step 2: Editing Body Text

To edit the body of your press release, just click on the large empty box below Summary. Write your press release in this box. Alternatively, you can copy and paste a pre-written press release from Word, WordPad or Notepad into this box. It’s formatting is fairly robust and will be able to convert most documents properly. In other words, copying and pasting from Word won’t make it look weird. That said, occasionally the system will delete paragraph breaks when you paste in text, so you’ll have to go back in to insert paragraph breaks where it’s appropriate.

Step 3: Adding Images to Your Press Release

To add an image to your press release, click on the “Add a File” button on the right hand side. You’ll be taken to the gallery, which will by default be blank. Click on Upload a New File to choose what file to upload.  Select the file you want to upload. Give it a caption if you want. Keep in mind that captions are often a highly read segment of the page, because the image draws attention. Also, if you’re using stock image or royalty free images, many sites will require that you give attribution in the caption. Give an ALT tag and/or description to help with SEO. Click Upload when you’re finished. Once you’ve uploaded your file, you’ll be taken back to the gallery that now has your image. Click on Add to add that image to your press release.

 

Step 4: Changing Your Contact Information

Each press release requires you to submit updated contact information. The system doesn’t just pull it from your personal data, because often different press releases will have different contacts. To change your contact information, click on the blank contact box. Then update your contact information in the box that pops up.

Step 5: Save and Continue

On the left hand side of the editing page is a progress bar that steadily fills up as you complete your press release. Once you’ve written your headline, your summary, your body and added your contact information, this progress bar should show 100%.

Once the progress bar’s at 100%, click “Save and Continue” to select your final release options and send out your press release to thousands of journalists!

 

Submitting Your Press Release

 

Once you’ve written your press release, there are still a whole host of options to choose from before your release actually goes live.

Here’s how to choose from these options and submit your release.

 

Step 1: Select Your Distribution Date

When do you want your release to actually go live? Generally it’s a good idea to set it a little bit in the future just in case you want to edit the press release before it’s actually released.

Release times are basically set at 12:00 AM CST for whichever date you set.

Step 2: Set Country and Zip Code

Tell PR Web what country you’re sending the Press Release from and what your zip code is. PR Web will then use that data to look up your city and state and post that along with your press release.

Step 3: Select Your Target Industries

By default, PR Web will send your press release out to all the generic news syndication sites like Topix and Yahoo! News.

However, PR Web can also send your news release out to specific categories of journalists. At the basic account, you can send your release out to 5 categories of subscribers and feeds. At the premium level, you can select as many as 10.

Choose the 5 most relevant to your market. In general it’s a good idea to use up all 5 of your industry targets to get broader exposure to your press release. Click the drop down box to access more specific sub-categories.

Step 4: Select Regional Distribution

In addition to topic-based distribution, you can also choose to distribute your press release regionally.

That means local newspapers, local blog sites, local magazines and local journalists in the areas you select will also receive your press release. Again, you should use up all your available regional targeting to get maximum exposure, even if your articles are meant for a global audience.

Step 5: Submission Complete

Once you’ve selected all your options, click on Submit Release to have your release reviewed by PR Web and then submitted. After hitting submit, you’ll see a confirmation screen that looks like this:

 8-Release-Submission-Complete

Congratulations! You’ve now created and submitted your first press release on PR Web. The next step is to wait for approval, then watch your analytics as the traffic comes streaming in.

 

4PR Web Analytics

 

PR Web offers a wide range of analytics so you can tell exactly how each press release is performing. Using PR Web’s analytics data, you can tell exactly how many people saw your release, how many people read your release, how many people printed out your release, where these people were from and much more.

Accessing Analytics

To get to the analytics page for a specific release, just click on My Releases, then select Releases. This will take you to a listing of all the press releases you’ve submitted to PR Web. Find the release whose data you want to view, then click on click on Visibility Statistics.

Full Page Reads by Week

Want a breakdown of how many people are reading your press release over time? Look at the full page reads by week section. Sometimes the longer your release has been out, the more traffic you’ll get. At other times, you’ll see an initial spike in traffic followed by a drop.

Headline Impressions by Week

Want to know how many people were exposed to your headline? You can see this number as well, broken down by week.  This number can be especially important for branding-oriented advertisers. Although you didn’t get full page views, thousands upon thousands of people were still exposed to your brand, which may very well pay off in the long run.

Users by Geography

Where are most of your users coming from? PR Web shows you this data using placements on Google Maps.

 

Done For You!  

Feeling overwhelmed? There’s no need to worry!

We can write and submit the press release for you. You can check out our Press Release services here.

21 Reasons to Send a Press Release

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And How to Position Your Story for Media Interest

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If you’ve ever thought that you don’t have anything newsworthy to share about your business, this handy reference guide will provide you with plenty of ideas. Every company has newsworthy information to share and it’s just a matter of positioning that information so it’s of interest to the media.

 

  1. The opening of your business. Local media is particularly interested in new businesses, especially when they offer a helpful product or service for the community. Write your press release showing the benefits to your community and target market. You can even include a special offer or free gift to encourage people to visit your business.

 

  1. The launch of your website. The launch of a helpful website is newsworthy, just like the launch of a business. Make sure your release includes the useful features of your website. Invite readers to visit your website for a free gift. It could be a white paper, report, coupon, software, tool, etc.

 

  1. Change in product offering. If you’re launching a new product that will help or if you’re lowering your prices, this might just be very newsworthy. Just keep in mind how your target market benefits and make that the focus of your release.

 

  1. Joint ventures. If you’re combining forces with another company or individual and it benefits your target market, share that information in a press release.

 

  1. Association membership. Join your local Chamber of Commerce or another business association. Include information on how your contributing to the group. Don’t know what association to join? Create your own.

 

  1. A business move. If you’re moving to a new location that offers benefit to your customers, write a release. For example, if you’re getting a larger location for more inventory, moving to a location with improved technology, etc.

 

  1. Share your expertise. A release that provides consumer tips, time-saving tips, money-saving tips, etc. that are relevant to your own business and show your expertise.

 

  1. Make a prediction. Make a prediction that relates to your niche. Include supporting evidence, facts and statistics for credibility.

 

  1. Solve a problem. If your target customers have a typical problem, create a release that includes solution. For example, if you provide skin treatments that help with dry winter skin, you can explain how the treatment works and provides release from pain and itch.

 

  1. “Celebrities” that use your product. If a respected individual in your community or niche uses your product, share that news – with their permission, of course. Include quotes from the “celebrity” that share why they came to you and the results they’ve received.

 

  1. Capitalize on current events. A popular news story is the perfect tie into your release. If you can relate the story to your business, it is quite likely the media will be interested. For example, if there is an increase in home break-ins in the area and you sell home security systems, you can write a release that includes tips for securing a home that refers to your products.

 

  1. Capitalize on pop culture. Popular TV shows, movies and music are great fodder for a press release. For example, if you teach music lessons a tie-in to the popular TV show Glee might be an interesting angle.

 

  1. Share your awards and accomplishments. If you’ve won an award or received some other type of recognition, this is perfect press release fodder. Show how this accomplishment serves your community/ target market.

 

  1. Give awards. Not only can you share information about awards you receive, you can give out meaningful awards to your community as well.

 

  1. Fundraisers. Spread awareness for your cause and your business, by making a donation or holding a fundraiser. Be sure to follow-up the announcement of your upcoming fundraiser with the end results you achieved.

 

  1. Be a sponsor. Sponsor a local team or organization and write a press release about it. It shows you contribution and support of the local community.

 

  1. Have a contest. Whether it’s a sweepstakes, an essay or video contest, it’s fun and interesting. Make sure to send a follow-up when the winners are announced.

 

  1. Host a special event. Put together an open house or customer appreciation day. Offer refreshments, helpful information, etc. to attendees. Let the media know about the event with a press release.

 

  1. Host a virtual event. Organize a teleseminar or webinar that provides valuable information to your target customer and announce this free event through your press release.

 

  1. Create a useful publication. Are you putting together a helpful newsletter, white paper or report? Share it in a press release.

 

  1. Create an internship or work experience program. If you’re going to hire some students for the summer, share the news. Follow up with stories on the success of the program with some of your star participants.

 

As you can see, there’s always something to share in a press release and if you don’t currently have a newsworthy event, you can create one. Keep this list handy to help establish your business in your community and to develop a relationship with the media.

How to Repurpose a Press Release

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pressreleaseYou’ve put together the perfect press release. Now what do you do with it? This handy checklist will help ensure you make the most of your story.

 

Publish the release on your website. Create a “Media” section of your website and ensure you post all your press releases. Make sure your media section includes:

 

  • Your contact information
  • An RSS feed for media updates
  • Email sign up for updates
  • Twitter and Facebook Pages dedicated to company news.

 

Distribute the release to your local media. Local newspapers, TV and radio programs are interested in stories in their community and are your best bet for good coverage. Visit the publication websites and find the appropriate editor or reporter to directly send your release to.

 

Distribute to trade publications. There may some international or national publications that deal directly with your industry. Find the appropriate editor contact to submit your story. You can begin your search at:

 

Build your media list with these online resources. There are a numbers of websites where you might research potential media contacts.

 

Also try for reference purposes:

 

Distribute your release to online press release sites. There are a number of press release sites where you can submit your release. Some include:

 

Distribute to corporate websites. Large companies who run websites may accept formal press releases. Look for their submission information and follow the steps required.

 

Repurpose Your Release for Further Distribution

 

Write informally to bloggers. While larger company websites may accept and prefer the press release format, bloggers will often appreciate a more informal approach. Take the information from your story and turn it into a personal email to the blogger. Make sure to include information on why you are contacting that blogger in particular and show that you are familiar with and appreciate their work.

 

Approach podcasts. There are plenty of online podcasts that would be interested in hearing from you. They might require an informal approach, much like described in approaching bloggers. Some places to find podcasts:

Why You Should Create a PR Campaign

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How many times have you paid for advertising only to find that it wasn’t helpful in gaining as many customers as you would have hoped it would?

If your answer is, too many, it might be time to start implementing another marketing tactic – a PR campaign.

PR Campaign – What It Is and How It Can Help Gain Customers

A PR campaign advertises who you are rather than just your business. While you will deliver a message of what your business can provide your customers, it’s more about what YOU can provide them because of how good of a person you are for offering them your services or products.

Emotional Connection with PR Campaign Persuades People to Buy

Many customers prefer to buy from businesses they have a connection with rather than from an ad.

Why?

Because their minds aren’t only involved in the decision to buy a service or product. Their emotions are also involved, and often times, these emotions are what really can drive them to act on impulse or persuade the mind to buy.

When People Trust You They Trust What You Sell

Customers who trust in a business are more likely to buy because they believe the services and products it sells will benefit them.

In a PR campaign, you build a following of people who trust you. The more people that join your following, the more trust people will have in you.

Just think – if you have thousands of people following you, new customers will wonder what all the hype is about, and when they look into your business, and see all of the people who trust you already, they are more likely to trust you too.

Some People Don’t Act on Impulse

When paying for advertising, it’s likely you have a short ad that only gives people a snapshot of what you can offer customers. This often only works for people who act on impulse, for other customers, you need to build a relationship with them over time.

When you have a PR campaign, you build relationship with people. People only have relationships with those who they like. The more they like you, the more they like your business. The more they like your business, the more they like your services and products. And the more they like your services and products, the more likely they will try to sway their friends and family to buy from you as well.

Relationships Don’t Breakup Easily

PR campaigns seek to build relationships with your customers. The more people like you, the stronger the relationship they have with you. The stronger the relationship they have with you, the harder it will be for them to steer away from your business to seek your services and products from another business.

Set Up a PR Campaign to Gain the Popularity You Need to Sell

Now that you can see how popular a PR campaign make you, and how beneficial it can be to your business, start setting one up with StartRankingNow.com. We not only help your website meet the most up to date SEO standards, we also develop a PR campaign to help bring customers to you outside from ranking at the top of search engines.

Your popularity matters online. Trust in a company that has developed a strong relationship with its customers to continue to serve them for years in the online marketing industry.

The Way To a Truly Powerful Press Release

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pressUsing press releases to build up your company’s reputation is a smart idea. First of all, press releases are an economical way to advertise. Second, a good press release tells the public about you or your company in third person form, which can – if written well – come across as a recommendation. But jumping right into writing a press release isn’t something for everyone. If you are really in a hurry to get started with putting good information out on the web, then I would highly recommend hiring a professional to write up your press release for you.

Why hire a professional when you are the one who knows all about your company? Simple: because the general public does not want to read a long information sheet detailing the history of ABC, Inc. Writing a release that contains general company information or what your company has done this week (unless it leans to the philanthropic side) will simply not get anyone’s attention.

The key to press releases is that you want to grab the reader’s attention in a short amount of time. Think about it like this: you wouldn’t strike up a conversation with someone in line at Starbucks and tell them the entire history of your company. If anything, you may make a few statements that will entice your target audience to want to know more. This is what you want your press release to do – just grab someone’s attention and get them to link back to your company page.

Step one is a great headline. You’ve got to put yourself in the shoes of the person you want to attract and think of a catchy headline that will make them read the entire press release. Say your company donates to a charity such as the local blood bank; your press release could say “ABC, Inc. Is Saving Lives Again”. This is marketing folks. If you’re boring, you won’t get read.

Next, your press release will need to be short, sweet and to the point. Avoid placing anything mundane into a press release. press-releaseAlso avoid putting in more information than absolutely necessary. Press releases need not be any longer than 200-400 words to grab attention. Remember, you can always link back to a full document with further information on what you are advertising. The point of your press release is to tease the reader to want to read more.

Press releases can also be a part of your SEO campaigns. Just as your web pages contain certain keywords with the right density so should anything you release out onto the web. Optimized releases have worked to increase rankings as well as traffic to a site, so go for it! Not everyone is set up for writing, so if you haven’t begun making the most of this marketing effort because writing your own press release is a daunting task, then find the help of a professional. The rewards are well worth the investment.