Press releases are so often seen as a magic pill for getting media exposure. While a well-written press release can get your business media coverage, there are hundreds and thousands of “well-written” press releases being dumped into recycling bins (or virtual trash bins) on an hourly basis by journalists everywhere.

The reasons for disposal are numerous but there are a few reasons that are worth noting so that you can increase your chances of getting a good press release into the hands of your target reporters and editors and out of the recycling bin.

1. The Right Recipients: Make sure you do your research and target the right reporters for your story. All reporters are not the same and more importantly do not cover the same beat. If you’ve got a great release about a new app your company created for local high schools make sure you send it to the technology or education reporter not the reporter assigned to the crime beat!  This kind of thing happens more frequently than you’d think and in a recent Cision surveys, reporters indicated that lack of knowledge about the topics they report on is a leading pet peeve when it comes to press releases.
2. Headline News: Make sure the hot news angle is reflected in your headline – some reporters will not read past the headline if it doesn’t capture their attention and pique their interest. You can do that with a short headline (no more than 8 words) that makes it clear what the story will be about without boring the reader.
3. Just the Facts: Good reporters are going to interview and research the story themselves to get the complete details they need for the story. Please remember that before you write a 2-page article about your “news”  and then call it a press release. A press release is a “tool” to inform reporters that here’s something relevant to the beat they cover and of interest to media outlet’s audience. One page is usually sufficient to get that message across.
4. Timing: Reporters are usually involved in editorial meetings early in the week, usually on a Monday morning. It is therefore good practice to get your release out BEFORE they meet with their editors to get a lay of the land of key stories for the week ahead. Monday morning, after 7:00 a.m. is an ideal time to get your press release into news rooms. Send via email or fax depending on the preference of your target reporter (do your research to confirm ahead of time).
5. Sealing the Deal: One of the most crucial aspects of media relations is the follow-up call. I don’t mean multiple, irritating calls, but a well-timed call soon after you issue your early morning press release. If you get voice-mail, leave a brief message reiterating the key focus of the story (think in terms of how you can “help” the reporter to produce an interesting news piece). Once you get the reporter live on the phone, offer to provide any additional information he/she may need and make sure you’ve got someone available to do an interview.

Remember that issuing a press release is part of the media relations process and it should be an ongoing effort. To increase the chances of your press release being read, do what you can to make your release stand out from the crowd. Following the five tips listed above will help to keep your release from being tossed.  It may take time but with consistency and attention to the relationship you are trying to build with the reporters in your niche, free media exposure is possible with a well executed release.

I’d say good luck, but getting free media exposure is more about being strategic, considerate and consistent than it is about having luck!

Let’s take a brief moment to be thankful for a tool we have at our disposal called the “website.”  Less than 20 years ago it would have been a stretch to think that small businesses could run profitable enterprises completely from a website.

Going into business would have inevitably meant some investment in renting space (to look credible) and implementing a costly marketing strategy to get attention from your target market.

Now, a website alone (without the brick and mortar store front) can serve the needs of many small businesses selling services and products. Just think about the thousands of dollars saved on rent.  Also think about how much easier and affordable it is to market your product or service using your handy website.

With all that said, what are you doing to fully maximize the use of your website? I know you’ve been presented with what seems like a million ways to improve your website so that’s why today I’m going to focus on one great strategy: fresh content.

Your website has to do a lot of things.  It has to:

• Attract your prospective customer
• Introduce your company and demonstrate why you can meet your prospective customer’s needs
• Promote your products and services
• Ask for the sale
• Process the sale
• Keep your customers coming back for more

So how does your website do all this?

Answer: with fresh, well-written content and technical tools that enhance your customer’s experience.  The technical tools of a good website include a good design and platform (I suggest WordPress) that allow your customers to navigate the site without difficulty and purchase products or services seamlessly and with clear, friendly direction.

While design and programing will enhance the experience for your customer, the fuel of any website is fresh, well-written content.  By fresh, I mean that your website publishes new content regularly. Before customers purchase from a vendor they like to know that the vendor is knowledgeable about the product or service they need and nothing says that more than current and useful information displayed on your website.

The process for creating a website with fresh, relevant content that can drive traffic and sales is not a hap hazard endeavor. It takes planning and it takes a strategy. You have to know on a week to week basis what you want to share with your customer.

Think about your local department store. They are constantly promoting new products, seasonal discounts, special celebrity promotions and countless other activities to get you into the store.

Your website should be doing the same thing.  With a smart editorial calendar that ties in your content with seasonal interests and the priorities of your particular target market, fresh content will:

1. Promote
2. Build Credibility
3. Drive Sales

Fresh Content Promotes

Basically your customer needs to find your site. You can facilitate that by publishing good content that gets shared via social media. If you publish timely and relevant content that informs and helps readers, they will recommend your website or blog posts in social media forums – especially if you make it easy for them by include social media sharing tools (like StumpleUpon, Twitter and Facebook icons) with every post/page on your website.

Just think: If most people on average have 200 followers on Twitter and there are almost 100 million users on Twitter, there are hundreds, if not thousands of people that your posts will be exposed to should even a few of your followers share your links.

Fresh Content Builds Credibility

The more you publish new content on your website, the more you increase the chances that you will get top ranking for the key words used by your target market to find websites with the kind of services or products you offer. Internet users are now trained to know or believe that those companies that wind up at the top or on the first page of Google or Yahoo search returns are likely the “best” or the “leaders” in their field.

That’s not always the case but at many of the companies featured near the top of search returns likely are are the successful ones who have earned the respect and patronage of their market.

Fresh Content Drives Sales

So here’s where we are now: people are talking about your content on Twitter and Facebook; your solid search engine optimization strategy is getting you top billing in search engine results and people are coming to your website in increasing numbers.  What do you think you should do next?

You make sure you’ve got your quality product or service to sell to them that’s what you do!

Create an area on your website where you explain your products and services and introduce your audience to these options by including information in visible areas of your website like the right side bar. Of course it goes without saying that you should also introduce your audience to your products or services directly in your content.

You definitely don’t want to be a 24-hour advertisement but you also don’t want your audience scratching their head trying to figure out what exactly their suppose to do on your website other than read your helpful content.

I hope this post helps to shed some light on the whole issue of fresh content and if your business could use a hand with the production of engaging web content, please don’t hesitate to contact us or visit our services page.

To your success!

Sharon

Is your business top-of-mind for a good percentage of your target market? For example, if you provide career counseling for mid-life executives, is your firm the one that comes to mind when reporters, head-hunters, HR professionals and mid-life job seekers think about career counselling?

If that’s not the case now you know what to shoot for with your marketing strategy.  There’s a cost effective way to reach those reporters, head-hunters, HR professionals and job seekers and it’s called online marketing.  One of the main business tools for your online marketing initiative is of course your website.

You can’t be everywhere you need to be to connect with your target market but your website can do an excellent job of pulling your target market to you with fresh, search-engine optimized content.

In other words, if you publish fresh, quality content daily or at least 3 times a week and ensure that your content contains the kind of words and phrases your target market is using in search engines to find your particular kind of service or product, you will be found by the people who want to buy the kind of service or product you’re selling.

In fact, not only will you be found by your target audience but with a consistent approach to publishing quality content on a regular basis your website could become one of the “go-to” websites for your niche. Once you’re considered an authority in your niche you’re well on your way to building a profitable business.

But that really doesn’t happen until the content you create starts to generate conversions–where website visitors become purchasers.

Content that converts contains:

• Measurable results – clear proof that illustrates your product or service will address your prospect’s needs
• Testimonials from your customers – think of how confident you feel about a service/product when you read about the opinions of happy customers
• Information that demonstrates the value to be gained as a result of the purchase – content that can show a longer term sense of personal gain and benefit really motivates prospects and will in many instances help to convert a fence-sitter into a loyal customer.

What questions do you have about converting your website into the “go-to” website for your target market? I’d love to read your questions and ideas in the comments below.

Over the last few years I’ve learned a lot about economic clusters and the more I learn the more important I think this concept is to small business owners.

First a helpful definition: clusters in an economic context refers to a concentration of businesses from a particular sector, like food or technology, that are located close together in a city, town or region.  What makes clusters important to your small business is that when they occur they create a kind of critical mass that can:

• increases business earnings
• offer opportunities for local workers to be better trained and skilled for the jobs you have
• attract a larger market to your business
• enhance and improve local residential, commercial and cultural communities

For those of you who are passionate about improving your own local economy I can’t stress enough how important it is for you to explore this concept that is in fact not just a concept, but reality.

Think about the technology sector in California’s Silicon Valley or ethnic bakeries in any number of the “Little Italy” neighborhoods in cities across the county–these are all examples of places that are known for the products and services they deliver. Not only do these regions or clusters attract capable entrepreneurs interested in sustainable businesses but they attract buyers who are drawn to the perception of quality and value that these localized clusters represent.

I actually wrote an article about food clusters in north eastern Ohio that will also give you a more detailed look at the positive economic impact of business clusters. The article was published on the website Initiative for a Competitive Inner City.

So what business are you in and have you identified local opportunities to join or develop a cluster for your sector?

PRESS RELEASE – from PR Web

Duct Tape Marketing, the book, came out in 2007 and since that time tens of thousands of small business owners have used the simple, effective, affordable approach to small business marketing that it presents to grow their business.

“In 4 years much has changed in relation to the most effective approaches in marketing a small business. It is very important to me that the book reflected that in order to continue to help small businesses grow and succeed,” said John Jantsch, CEO and author of Duct Tape Marketing.

The updated book will be released on Tuesday, September 27, 2011. It can be purchased from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1595554653/), Barnes and Noble, 800CEORead, and IndieBound.

John Jantsch added 15,000 words in new sections that cover:

•     Using content to be found
•     Fusing online and offline tactics
•     How to create a total web presence
•     Practical ways to get more from social media
•     Using the marketing hourglass to run your marketing

“Duct Tape Marketing is, hands down, the ultimate marketing guide for businesses. Nowhere else can you get straight answers on how to market your business. John Jantsch is right on target telling you how to create your marketing,” said Barb Main, owner of J&J Automotive Services.

About Duct Tape Marketing
Duct Tape Marketing is a unique turnkey small business marketing system created by best-selling author and award-winning small business marketing expert John Jantsch. Visit the Duct Tape Marketing Blog, a Forbes favorite for small business, at http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/blog

Since it’s no secret that the way to attract traffic (and business) to your website is to publish fresh, quality content on a regular basis why isn’t every business owner doing this and generating a healthy income?

Here’s why: getting fresh content, that’s written to appeal to people looking for a product, service or cause requires research and work…period. That’s a serious stumbling block for many. Finding time to write good useable content is fairly difficult when you’re doing many other things to run your business and manage your life.

Sure you could try some new time management tricks. Perhaps you could split the task up into several time slots throughout the week. But the problem with special task projects is they still take time away from possibly more critical tasks that require your involvement.

So do you risk some other important aspect of your business to write content for your website, or do you treat this profit related task  much like you treat other priorities in your business and outsource?

For some business owners the whole idea of paying someone else to do something for them is considered a luxury, and one they can’t afford. Well, let’s really look at what’s affordable.

Let’s say for example you pay your accountant $600 to complete your taxes and you end up receiving a $1,000 tax refund because your business actually qualifies for certain exemptions. That fee ended up being an investment in your business.

When it comes to your website content, the challenge and the solution is simply to get it done. The longer you put off fueling your website with quality content, the longer you may wait to experience the profit potential of your website and your business may not survive the wait.

So here’s a cost effective solution to turning your website into an income earner sooner. Outsource the creation of quality web content to a service like Write to Type. It’s a great start and we’d be happy to answer any of your questions before.

For more information see our Services page.

If you’re looking for a service that can provide you with web content written according to your preferences and needs, you’re in the right place.

We provide

• Articles
• Blog posts
• Sales pages
• Search Engine Optimized content for websites
• Website Optimization
• Website marketing plans

Having a website is just the beginning. A well written and planned website design will actually work for you by turning website visitors into paying customers.

Want to learn more, contact us today!