1.)  Do some keyword research to see what keywords people are searching for to find products or services like yours. Make sure that the keywords that you choose have a decent search volume; at least a few thousand searches a months is a good target.  Put your best keyword in your headline.  https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal is a great tool for keyword research. Example – if people are looking to lose love handles and you have released a video on how to do just that – find out how many searches are done monthly for phrases like "how do I lose love handles" or "get rid of love handles", etc. Make a list of good keyword phrases and use half a dozen of the best ones in your press release. 

2.) Include what is referred to as a "call to action" in your press release. "Those seeking more information about Annie's All Natural Dog biscuits, or wishing to purchase them, may visit (your website link here)"  I try to get a link to the website near the top of the press release and again at the end. 

3.) Read the press releases on PRWeb and PRNewswire and Businesswire to get an idea of how a press release should be written, how long it should be, what the headline should look like, etc.

4.) Statistics show that press releases that are sent out on weekdays get more clickthrough then those sent out on weekends, generally. 

5.) If you can afford to, pay extra for services like PRWeb and PRNewswire and Businesswire, where they let you embed video and/or pictures, and let you use anchor text in the body of your press release.

Oh, and freebie tip no. 6 – hire me to write your press release. And also hire me to fill up your website with SEO web content, and to write articles for Ezinearticles and Goarticles. You're welcome! 

Bookmark It

Since I specialize in online publicity, every press release that I write links to someone's website. I always check out the websites that I am going to be linking too. Most of the time, they are well designed and professional in appearance. However, a certain percentage of my clients have websites that look as if they were designed by their fifth grade kid for a class project. Ugly design with massive blocks of text, garish colors, blocks of text overlapping each other because the website was not designed to work well in different browsers…or terrible grammar, misspellings, incorrect punctuation all over the place…

Now, when I write a press release and distribute it online, the goal is to send more people to your website, and to help your website rank better in the search engines so that more people find you.  But a few of my clients have websites that are so poorly designed that they should be hiding them, not advertising them. Yes, I always (nicely) let a client know if I see significant problems on their website. Some of them fix it, most don't. 

The biggest problem with sending a stream of traffic to a poorly designed website is that the people who are coming to your site don't know you, and THIS is the first impression you are showing them. You are showing them that you can't spell, can't write, and can't afford a decent web designer.  I personally wouldn't trust anyone with such a shoddy website with my business, and neither should you.

A decent website doesn't have to cost a fortune. For anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand dollars you can have an attractive, professional looking website. If you need website content written for you, I charge $50 per page of website content up to about 250-words, and there are plenty of other good website writers out there. It's a one-time investment that pays off. And there is no point in hiring me as a press release writer, paying me to write that press release, paying me to distribute it online….until you have a website that is worth sending people to. 

Bookmark It

I've had a number of clients come to me for help after they hired someone else to write a press release, and the press release was rejected all over the place for being poorly written, or for violating certain press release conventions such as sounding like an advertisement rather than a short news announcement. When I read those press releases – it was clear that the person who wrote them had no experience in writing press releases. This means the client wasted their time and money, and then had to start all over again from scratch.

Anyone can call themselves a press release writer or a publicist; it's not like being a doctor or lawyer or nurse, where you need years of training and a license.  So it's up to you to screen the press release writer that you are planning to hire – after all, it's your good name on the line. 

That's why you should always screen the person that you are planning to hire to write your press release – a little time invested up front can save you time and money in the long run. It can also help save you embarrassment – I've seen some press releases with typos and terrible grammar that actually made it through the editing process and ended up posted online.  That's not the type of writing that you want associated with your company name.

Here are a few things you should ask before selecting a press release writer: 

1.)  Ask the press release writer about their background. If they don't have a background in either public relations, marketing, or the news business, what IS their experience in writing press releases? I myself was a newspaper reporter for 17 years and read thousands of press releases during that time. The professionals that I know and trust who write press releases have degrees in journalism or public relations or some similar type of training, or have marketing experience, or have worked in publicity in some capacity. 

I've had a few people contact me and ask for advice on how to be a press release writer – and I can tell you, they didn't know a thing about the business, they didn't know where to submit a press release, and their emails to me were riddled with errors.  Yikes. I really hope none of them ended up in the PR business.

2.) Ask for a couple of samples of press releases that they have written – press releases that have been posted online somewhere. This shows you how they write, and also tells you that the press releases that they wrote do end up getting accepted by press release distribution sites and do get posted online. (Don't ask them to write anything for you for free as a sample. As a professional, I never, EVER do that for a potential client – it's the perfect way to get burned.)

3.) Ask them where the press release will be submitted, and when they will submit it. They should provide you with a list of sites where they will submit the press release. Here's my list of free press release sites: http://www.thepressreleasesite.com/list-of-free-press-release-sites.html.  I also tell my clients about the paid press release distribution sites and the advantages of using those sites. 

4.) Ask them to submit the press release to YOU for your approval first before they send it out to the press release distribution sites. Even if they are an excellent writer, you know your business best – they may phrase something in a way that is not accurate, or they may leave out something that you want included, etc.

5.) Be sure to discuss online vs. offline media – I, for instance, specialize in online publicity. I refer people to some excellent publicists if the client is hoping to get picked up by mainstream media such as newspapers, television, and radio. Any press release writer who tells you that being featured on PRWeb, PRNewswire, or Businesswire, or any other online press release distribution site, is a way to get picked up by mainstream media – is greatly exaggerating. 

All of those sites that I just named are well respected online press release distribution sites and having your press release posted on their site MAY get the attention of a newspaper editor or TV news crew – but there is absolutely no guarantee, and it's actually pretty unlikely.  That takes an actual publicist. So beware of false promises. 

Bookmark It

I was reading an article in the Romance Writers Of America magazine, Romantic Times, the other day, and in the article a book publicist was asked by an author how to get people to visit her website.

The publicist responded that the way to get people to your website is to give people something worth reading when they get there. Which is what inspired my post today. 

Think about the blogs and websites that you visit regularly.  I can just about guarantee that those sites update on a regular basis and always have something new and fresh and interesting to you when you visit them. Not to brag – okay, I'm bragging – but I have several dozen very good posts on this site about how to publicize yourself all over the internet, how to write press releases, where to submit them, etc. – and a lot of people link back to my site or recommend my site, and my services, to others because of it.

To start getting visitors to your site for the first time: join social networks, visit relevant blogs in your industry and post on them, visit relevant forums in your industry and post on them, with links back to your site, and, ahem, hire someone to write and submit press releases to online press distribution sites – you can write press releases that update fans on your upcoming book tour, on your recent book sale, on the contest you just won, and you can also hold contests, charity fundraisers, give away promotional materials, all of which are good press release subjects.

Writing those press releases and submitting them online gets you excellent coverage in the search engines. Thus ends the self-serving portion of this blog post. 

Oh – word of caution – make sure you are writing interesting, thoughtful responses on the forums and on the blogs you are commenting on – if you just go on there and say "nice post! Very interesting!" you will be seen as a spammer. 

So, once you've gotten visitors to your site – make sure that your site is filled up with interesting content that is worth coming back for. If you just have a standalone website that talks about you and lists your books, your products or your services – you're not giving people a reason to come back for more.

Also – you want people to recommend your website to their friends, their followers, their fans, etc. People recommend sites full of good content; they don't recommend a site which just has an "about me" page and a list of products. 

Here are some of the sites that I regularly visit:

www.pubrants.blogspot.com, because I want to get a book published some day and this agent/blogger has at least a few fresh, interesting blog posts every week.

www.tessgerritsen.com, because I love her writing and she updates regularly with news about what she's doing, and writes about creepy forensic stuff

www.thrillerwriters.org, because I like to read author interviews and there are hundreds on the website. 

www.cuteoverload.com because I am a sucker for cute animal pictures with goofy captions and they have thousands of them.

Yes, that's a weird variety of websites. But the thing that all of these sites have in common is that they update regularly and have a big archive of stuff that interests me.

The only reason for people to come to your site, and come back again and again, is if you give them something interesting to read when they get there. So if you're an author – you may give away free short stories, or the first few pages of your books, and you can update people on your writing progress, tell them anecdotes about how you researched your murder mystery, etc. Let's say you have a book about dog training – write anecdotes about dogs that you have trained, write dog training tips, give away dog food recipes, link to interesting posts about dogs on other blogs, etc. 

What if you write, say, Christian romance novels? Do posts on your favorite proverbs.  Blog about particularly inspiring moments in your life. Blog about faith and your marriage. Talk about how you met YOUR loved one. Write reviews of other authors that you admire.  Talk about how you market your books. Talk about what drew you to this field.

Mystery and thriller writers – as I mentioned, Tess Gerritsen is a supreme world class thriller writer and she has written numerous blog posts about forensic subjects.  Write about your research, review other thriller writers, write about the mystery convention you just went to, write about mystery movies that you just saw.

In short – and you all know this, it's like saying "To lose weight, eat less calories then you expend every day", but it needs to be said – the only way to have a popular blog/website is to regularly update it with topics that will be interesting to your readers.  

If you don't have the time or energy to update your blog daily you can:

Hire someone to do it for you,

or

interview interesting people in your field and post those interviews 

or

Post lists of resources and links that  would be interesting for your readers – that gives them a reason to come back! 0r

Join up with other writers in your field and take turns blogging. Get five people together – you'll each only have to blog once a week to have five days a week of fresh content! 

Yes, it is a fair amount of work to update your website or blog regularly, but it is the best and most effective form of free advertising that I know of! 

Bookmark It

A number of clients hire me to rewrite press releases, or write new ones from scratch, after a press release that THEY wrote was rejected by the online press release distribution sites.

And the number one reason those press releases were rejected? They sounded too much like advertisements.

A press release needs to read like a short news announcement, not a big screaming ad. I know there can be a fine line, because after you are writing a press release – or having one written for you – to PROMOTE your company, right? So how do you avoid sounding like a late night TV shopping network ad?

Most importantly, do not address the reader as "you." That is advertising language, and press release sites will reject you for it.

Don't say "If you want to learn how to avoid foreclosure…" or "If you want to finally housebreak your dog…" Instead, say something like "Dr. Smith's ebook tells readers how to avoid foreclosure." "Veteran animal trainer Jane Dough has created a series of videos to help frustrated pet owners housebreak their dogs."

At the end of your press release, you need what is referred to as a "call to action." Don't say "To get YOUR copy of Dr. Smith's ebook…" 

Instead, say something like "Those interested in purchasing Dr. Smith's ebook may visit www.(your website link here.)" or "Those seeking more information about Jane Dough's methods, or interested in purchasing her ebooks, may visit…" 

These may sound like minor details, but trust me, they make a big difference. 

Bookmark It

If you've got a small business, product, book, ebook, online course, etc., that you want to publicize,  you don't need to spend thousands of dollars a month on a publicist to start getting the word out. The internet has made it easier than ever. And it's basically free; all that you have to invest is your time.  

Here are some simple first steps that you can take, which can return big results.

1.) Write press releases about your business and submit them to free press release distribution sites. I submit press releases to 25 sites for my clients – $40 if I am also writing the press release, $50 if I am just submitting a press release that someone already wrote  - but you can do this yourself just as easily. And if spending a few hours submitting your press release to 25 sites is too much for you, just pick half a dozen sites. Commit to doing this at least once a month. To learn how to write press releases, go to sites like PRWeb.com and PRnewswire.com and Webwire.com and read the press releases on their sites. I also have a bunch of blog posts about how to write press releases, at www.thepressreleasesite.com/blog

Here is the list of sites that I use: 

http://www.thepressreleasesite.com/list-of-free-press-release-sites.html

2.) Make sure that you are linking back to a well designed website, and that the page that you link too has some course of action that the press release readers can take. Maybe you want them to sign up for a newsletter, download a free ebook, or buy something. The page should be professionally designed and steer them towards one specific action, in order for you to get the best results from your press release.

3.) Join at least a few social networking sites – I recommend Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin – and update regularly. By which I mean AT LEAST daily. If you are good at doing videos, by all means make videos and post them on sites like Vimeo and Youtube.

4.) Help others while you are publicizing your business. Pick a favorite charity – battered women's shelter, animal shelter, homeless shelter, diabetes research, etc. – and commit to doing a business fundraiser of some type at least once in 2010, preferably more than that. Send out press releases announcing your business fundraiser, tweet about it, post updates about it. Donate all the money that you raise from your fundraiser to the charity of your choice.

5.) Blog regularly to keep your site filled with fresh, interesting content, which is what the search engines love. Also, contact popular blogs in your field and offer to write a blog post for them. The blog post should be informative and not promotional; the benefit to you is that you get to link back to your website at the end of your blog post or in the author bio. 

6.) Don't forget to regularly write articles for sites like Ezinearticles.com, Goarticles, and Associated Content; those sites have some serious red-hot Google love. Articles on those sites seem to stick around forever on the Internets.  When you write an article these sites let you link back to your website and send a steady stream of traffic. 

Bookmark It

When I see the same kind of problem cropping up in my client’s press releases again and again, I figure that it’s time to write a blog post about it. 

Frequently, when my clients ask me to edit their press releases, I see headlines which ramble on and on and take too long to get to the actual news.

Here’s a made up example. Let’s say a personal trainer who lost a bunch of weight is releasing an exercise video for busy moms. 

Bad headline:

"After Years Of Battling Obesity, Debbie DooALott Loses 50 Pounds, Gets Personal Trainer’s License And Releases Exercise Video For Busy Moms"

No. 

You don’t cram the whole story into the press release’s headline. And you don’t bury the news so people have to hunt for it, because they won’t. They will get bored and move on.

Better:

"Personal Trainer Releases Exercise Video For Busy Moms" is just fine as a headline.

General rule of thumb: Start the headline with the subject, then follow it with an action verb of some type.  Then say what the news is.

"Lex Luthor Announces Defeat Of Superman" – Lex Luthor is the SUBJECT. "Announces" is the ACTION VERB. "Defeat of Superman" is the NEWS.

"Batman Reveals Truth About His Relationship With Robin In New Tell All Autobiography" – you get the idea.

A person or a company "Reveals, Announces, Hosts, Is Awarded, Merges,", etc.  Just like a news headline.

Good headlines can be read and understood at a glance. To get an idea of how to write press release headlines, go to prweb or webwire and read a dozen or so. You’ll start to get a feel for it. 

Bookmark It

1.) Word of mouth – clients refer me to their friends. So remember to be nice to your existing clients, people! They are gold! 

2.) Twitter. Twitter is the awesomeness for networking and finding a new base of clientele!

3.) The Warrior Forum – a wonderful site for internet marketers. Tons of great free information there. www.warriorforum.com. I seriously could not tell you why they are called The Warrior Forum, it makes them sound like some geek video game site, but really, they are great for IM.

4.) Linkedin.

5.) Random people finding me on the internet because I’ve written a ton of blog posts about how to write press releases, so I seem to come up fairly often in organic searches about press releases.

Bookmark It

 When clients ask me to edit their press releases, there are some common problems that I see. Sometimes these will get the press release rejected by press release distribution sites,  sometimes they will just make the press release read really poorly and will be a turnoff to visitors. I was a newspaper reporter for eons and I’ve read stacks and stacks of press releases, so I have a pretty good feel for what works and what doesn’t. 

Here are some common press release no-no’s:

1.) Reads like an advertisement. A press release must have some benefit to the reader. It is meant to read like a short news announcement. HELPFUL HINT: If you are writing about a new product or service offered by your company, tie it in to current trends to make it news-ier. For instance, if you are releasing a new weight loss product, throw in some current statistics about how many Americans are overweight these days. "With 18 trillion Americans now considered morbidly obese, the need for an effective weight loss product is more urgent then ever." (Yes, I made that statistic up.)

2.) Too long. Press releases generally shouldn’t be longer than 500 words. Some press release sites charge extra for every word over 400 words. Readers have short attention spans these days; they are very unlikely to read a 2000 word press release anyway.

3.) Too many stories crammed into one press release. One news announcement per press release, please. 

4.) Riddled with spellleing an grammatttical errorrers. This will cost you credibility. 

5.) Addresses the reader directly: "If you’ve been on diet after diet…" This makes the press release read like an advertisement and is not standard news format. PRWeb, for instance, tends to reject press releases that address the reader.

Bonus tip: When writing your press release, don’t forget your "call to action" which can read something like this: "To find out more about dog trainer Katie K9’s series of videos, visit www.(yourwebsitelinkhere.) "

Bookmark It

 I have a list of free press release distribution sites that I like. One of the services that I offer clients is to submit their press release to all of the sites on my list, for $40. When I do this, what I have found is that for the first week or two, the first few pages of Google listings are filled with the press releases that I have submitted. This is great for SEO and a quick burst of traffic.

However, over time, some of the  press releases disappear from the rankings.

Which ones remain on the first page or two of Google, with millions of competing sites, months later?

Drumroll, please….

And the number one free site that remains on the first page of Google for-freaking-EVER, and I have no idea why, is….

www.prlog.org

After that, I find the press releases that I submitted to these sites most frequently hang in there on Google’s front page or two, for months and months, again, with tons of competition:

www.free-press-release.com

www.newsalbum.com

www.i-newswire

www.bignews.biz

Bookmark It