Once upon a time, when a business wanted publicity, they wrote up press releases and delivered them to a bunch of newspapers and possibly radio stations and television stations as well. Most of the time, those press releases got tossed in the garbage; I know this for a fact - I was one of the reporters doing the tossing. The other options for businesses who wanted to announce their news, or even their existence, to the world, was to pay for ... Continue reading
1. Brand Management. When you send out a press release you control what is said about you, your product, your services or your company. You can describe your benefits and portray your message exactly the way that you want. This way, when someone searches for your name, they will find and read press releases containing the message that you designed. 2. Traffic If you send out a compelling, timely press release you have the potential to drive ... Continue reading
The holiday season is likely to be tough on most business owners this year, but you know what makes it tougher? Being invisible, so no customers can find you. You know what helps make you visible? How did you guess I was going to say press releases? This being the season of giving, you most DEFINITELY want to show everyone that you and your business are good citizens and members of the community. Contributing to charitable causes is a great way to get ... Continue reading
If you are in business today, whether it is primarily offline or online, it's extremely important that you monitor what people are saying about you. People may be praising you to the high heavens and recommending you to others - you should track them down and thank them! It's unexpected and makes a huge impression. People may be furious at you and trashing you online - you should find out what's wrong and fix the problem. Or at the very least ... Continue reading
When I was a newspaper reporter, on slow news days, my editors used to hand me stacks of press releases that had been faxed to us, and ask me to find something worth writing about. Think about it. Dozens of press releases, and I only was going to pick out one or two at most, and the rest were going to end up shoved into the recycling bin by the copy machine. So which press release would I pick? I can tell you ... Continue reading
I mentioned in my last post that there is one simple trick that you can do to hugely increase the chance that your press release will be picked up by the media, and here it is: Pick up the phone. If you want great traffic, backlinks, branding, and exposure all over the internet, then online press release distribution sites are a great solution. But if you have a story that genuinely has a newsworthy angle, you need to take things a step further ... Continue reading
I have updated the list of free press release distribution sites that I use. Some formerly free sites started charging a fee, some were too annoyingly finicky and quirky and buggy so I removed them rather than tear my hair out every time I wanted to submit a press release, and then I found a few new ones to replace old ones that I removed from my list. And if you know of any good free press release sites that are ... Continue reading
Here is the standard information that press release distribution sites require:
Press releases are much more widely read, and have a much better chance of being picked up by the media, if they are timely and relevant. One of the best ways to make them timely and relevant is to take a current news trend or event and tie it in to your press release somehow. 1.) The job market. If you have created any kind of internet marketing product which allows people to make money from home or work from home, for ... Continue reading
Lead Journalist Dana Willhoit, during a recent appearance on TruTV
