Attract Customers and Make Yourself Famous
Writing a basic press release is easy. There are even templates you can use—just fill in the blanks with your information and go. But writing a great press release, one that grabs the attention of media and the public, takes skill and practice. The good news is that the skills needed can be learned, and as for practice…well, why not start right now?
You need a newsworthy angle and a great headline. Let’s look at the newsworthy angle first. [Read more…]
Press releases can still be an effective way to get publicity, but distribution methods have changed. Before the internet, press releases were distributed by newswire, postal mail or fax. They may be sent by these methods today, but the vast majority are distributed online via email or online press release distribution services.
One advantage of online press releases is that they can be optimized for the search engines to help your site rank better for your targeted keywords. And, unlike the past where press releases had a shelf life of approximately seven seconds, online releases can be available for many years. I still get contacted occasionally because of releases I put online years ago.
Here are some of the best places to distribute your press releases.
PRWeb.com – One of the internet’s leading press release services, PR Web submits releases to a huge network of journalists and bloggers. They also submit releases directly to major search engines and news sites. PRWeb charges a fee for each release depending on the features desired, and subscription plans are available.
PRLog.com – PRLog does not offer as many features as PRWeb, but it is free to post your release on the site. All submissions are optimized for search engines, and premium distribution packages are available for a fee.
News outlets in your niche – If you can’t afford a paid submission service, it’s a good idea to submit your press release directly to some publications that are relevant to your niche. A quick Google search should bring up some options if you don’t have any in mind. Visit their websites to find out where you should send news releases. If you can’t find that information, email the editor to request it.
Local news outlets – Even if your target market is not local, your local news outlets may be interested in news about your local business. I once got stories in two local newspapers by sending a release announcing that I had been featured in a national magazine. The newspapers did not write about the fact I was in a magazine, but they became aware of me because of my release, and the fact that a national magazine found my story interesting made me more interesting to my local media. If they publish your release online, it could help bring traffic to your site. Visit the websites of local media to find contact information.
Your website – It’s always a good idea to add your press releases to your own site. Consider adding a media page to your site, with links to resources for the media, such as photos (both high-resolution and web-resolution), information about you, your company and your products, stories where you have been featured, videos of you and, of course, your press releases.That way any members of the media that visit can easily access your press releases and information about you that may entice them to feature you. At the very least, putting press releases on your site could help you get more search engine traffic.
Press releases are just as important today as they were when print publications were the primary sources of news—maybe more so. A good press release can go a long way in promoting your business.
The traditional way to get publicity was to send a press release to the media. Today, though, you can find many other opportunities to make yourself famous by going beyond the press release.
Here are some ideas that can help you get attention through new media, or by going around the media and directly to customers.
Go to the bloggers. If you can attract the interest of one or two prominent bloggers, your story can quickly spread. Get to know who the top bloggers are in your industry, and approach them when you have news.
You can find bloggers by searching for your topic or industry name along with “blog.” Try searching at http://www.Techorati.com/ and http://blogsearch.Google.com/. Get familiar with the top blogs by reading them regularly. Offer appropriate and useful comments to posts, and the bloggers will become aware of you. That is definitely a plus when you approach them with a story.
Find the reporters who want to find you. Wouldn’t it be great if you knew which reporters were working on stories about your topic? You could exponentially increase your chances of getting coverage for your story. Two paid services, http://www.prnewswire.com/profnet/ and http://www.PRLeads.com/, will let you know what stories reporters are working on and how to contact them. You can then target your pitch to the specific angle the reporter is working.
A free option is Help A Reporter Out. Peter Shankman sends three emails each business day, each containing up to 30 queries from journalists looking for stories. You can sign up at http://www.HelpAReporter.com/.
Can you digg it? Sites such as http://www.digg.com/ allow users to submit stories. Other users then vote and popular stories are elevated to the front page of the sites. Making the front page of digg can bring tens of thousands of people to your web site in a single day. To give this a try, you need to have a great story, write a catchy headline, post it and see what happens. You can encourage your friends and fans to vote for your story to get it moving, but if it isn’t good, the regulars will vote it down quickly.
There are other more specialized sites, too. Although you may not get tens of thousands of visitors from hitting the front page of those sites, it is easier to make it there and the traffic you get will be targeted. To find the sites in your niche, start by doing a search for your keyword (or a good, descriptive term for you niche) and “social bookmarking.”
Hook into breaking news. When you have a unique angle on a hot story, get in front of the media. And do it quickly, before someone else does. Do you have a local angle on a national or international story? Call local media and let them know. Ask for the assignment desk and tell them your take on the breaking story.
Are you ready for your close up? You may have noticed that online video is extremely popular. Make clever and entertaining videos and you can capture the viral magic of videos. To show off their powerful blender, the Blendtec folks created a series of Will it Blend? videos where they throw everything from a full Thanksgiving dinner to a video camera to a hockey puck into their blender and press start. You can view the videos at http://www.WillItBlend.com/.
Syndicate your articles. Publishing articles on your web site is a great way to demonstrate your expertise. You can get even more attention for your articles (and yourself) by using an article distribution service. One inexpensive service is http://www.iSnare.com/. Or you can submit your articles for free to directories such as http://www.EzineArticles.com/.
Go beyond the press release and get the attention of thousands–or millions–of new customers.
Get free publicity.
After sending several press releases, you finally got a nice article in your local newspaper, a trade journal or a national magazine. Or perhaps you were interviewed on radio or television. You got some of your 15 minutes of fame. Now what?You may think that once the show is over or the publication is no longer on the newsstands, the value of your appearance ends. However, there are many ways to keep your publicity working for you.
First of all, if there is a call to action in the story you will hear from people months or years after the story ran. Always ask the interviewer to include information on how their audience can get something free from you (e.g., download a free report from your Web site) or how they can order your product. I often receive orders from customers who saw an article that appeared more than a year earlier. Although there is no guarantee that your call to action will get in the story, ask.
Here are some additional ways to continue getting results from publicity successes, long after your moment of fame. [Read more…]