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…]
When you get an interview, don’t ask the reporter to print your website address in their article – you’ll just annoy them. A lot of reporters chafe at the idea of “promoting” the people they are quoting as experts. That may sound silly, but they do not want to be seen as giving you free advertising. If you push, they may push back. That might mean leaving out information about your website or your business, or leaving you out of the story entirely.
There is a better way: Give them a good reason to include your URL in their story. Here are five different ways that are likely to work: [Read more…]
Podcasts are very popular. Getting on other people’s podcasts is a great way to gain exposure, build your expert reputation and drive traffic to your webiste. But how do you get the attention of podcasters and get interviewed? Here are some tips to getting interviewed and even being asked back again:
Free publicity is one of the single best ways for businesses to promote themselves. It is particularly attractive to new businesses and solo-preneurs with a limited marketing budget, but publicity is a powerful marketing method for more established businesses as well. Since the publication of Jay Conrad Levinson’s “Guerrilla Marketing” many marketers and business owners are aware of how effective this form of marketing can be.
It is important to note that the fact that free publicity doesn’t cost anything does not mean that it is necessarily lower quality. In fact free publicity can be much more effective than paid advertising. Studies have shown that people are becoming increasingly able to “tune out” advertisements. When reading a newspaper their eyes will naturally go to the articles and skip over the advertisements. Technology, such as Tivo and online ad blockers, has also made it easier for consumers to block out paid advertising messages. This means that if you want to get in front of your potential audience then free publicity may be the best way for you to do it.
Here are five great ways for you to get your message out to the public using free publicity: [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.
[Read more…]