|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
Promoting Your Website Through a Press Release
Have you ever gotten one of those letters from your localproperty tax appraiser, informing you that your tax bill isgoing up about 20 percent? I got one of those recently, so I took it to my friendJoe Gross in San Antonio. He appeals property tax assessments for a living. "Man," he said. "I've never seen assessments shoot up likethey have this year." My "news antennae" shot up. Then when he showed me his newweb site, which gave property owners a chance to look upappraisals of other homes in their neighborhood, I toldhim, "Joe, you've got write a press release about this new website." I helped Joe put together a press release and distribute itto local radio and TV stations. A few nights later, therewas Joe, on the evening news, describing his web site totens of thousands of viewers. Could it happen to your website? You bet, if you remember a couple of basics--and write an attention-grabbing press release ***Learn to spot opportunities. When you see, hear orread something that relates to your field, call the reporterwho did the story and offer "another angle" or a "follow-up." Reporters are often judged on their ability to"enterprise" their own stories and ideas, and if you helpmake THEIR job easier...guess what they're likely to do forYOU? Recently the San Antonio Express News ran a story aboutsome new software. Darrin Schroeder, VP of a San Antoniocompany that had just rolled out a similar product, calledthe reporter and offered a "follow-up." Result: front pagestory, with color picture, several days later. ***Don't be afraid to ask. Listening to a pitch is part ofevery reporter's job. And keep this in mind: because theywork on deadline, they don't always have much time to talk.So sometimes "No" just means "Not now." It's okay to tryagain another time. ***Talk high touch more than high tech. A high tech featureis great...but only if it results in a high touch benefitthat makes life simpler, easier, more enjoyable, or moreinteresting. Pitch how it saves time or money and cuts downaggravation. Humanize it as much as possible, and if youknow of someone who legitimately loves and uses your site,offer them as a possible interviewee. Writing a press release to promote your website isn't nearly as hard as you probably think. It will cost you some time and energy, but it doesn't have to cost you cash. You WILL get results if you keep trying, and the rewards will far outweigh the effort. Just ask Joe Gross. To see the entire press release I wrote for Joe, along witha line-by-line explanation of why I wrote it the way I did, go to http://www.publicity-pro.com/joegross.htm About the Author: Award winning TV anchor George McKenzie offers a free 7-part email "Publicity Crash Course" at http://www.write-a-press-release.net During his 33-year broadcasting career, George's work appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, ESPN, and CNN.
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Passion with Purpose - The Winning Combination The power of Passion Dont Pay for Radio Interviews It used to be that all you had to do was pitch a great idea with a clever hook, and you'd be booked as a guest on a half-hour radio show. Publicity: Polls and Surveys Are a Great Path Free Publicity When I search Google News for "surveys," I get nearly 50,000 results. When I search for "stocks," I get about 54,000. The media love polls and surveys. Doubt PRs Clout? Dont! Done right, it helps modify the behaviors of your most important target audiences, and that can spell S-U-R-V-I-V-A-L. Marketing-Minded Financial Planners: Get Free Publicity by Choosing the Right Outlets Sure, any publicity is good. But don't invest time and effort to be in "Lucky: The Magazine for Shopping" if your major topic is planning for college. Go where your market is! Online Business Press Release Writing Tips And Ideas Press releases are one of the most cost-effective ways to get promotion for your online business. Many entrepreneurs ignore this type of promotion because they don't know how to write a press release. It's important to promote your online business with press releases because of the media all over the internet. The following is a list of some common press release writing tips: Publicity From Thin Air In an ideal world, your business would be overflowing withnewsworthy stories, and the media would be waiting with batedbreath for your next press release, ready to give you front pagecoverage. Media Relations - Ten Essential Tips to Use The Media to Market Your Business In the 'Age of Scepticism' gaining media coverage is one way of cutting through the ever increasing noise to get your message across. PR: Focus on What Matters! Sure, as a manager, you have a talented member of the PR team assigned to your department, division or subsidiary, or housed at your agency, and s/he is darn good at placing product and service plugs on radio and in the newspaper. Which may be all you want. And that's fine. PR: Room at the Bottom? When special events and communications tactics rule the PR roost instead of a workable plan designed to manage external audience behaviors that impact your organization the most, that's where public relations results can wind up. How To Write A Press Release: The Seven Deadly Sins And How To Avoid Them How to write a press release that generates free publicity is a great skill to have. Does the PR Blueprint Work? Managers, please take a minute and read two sentences: People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished. Slow Day? Create News Sometimes there seems to be no client news worthy of coverage. That's when the savvy PR pro digs deep into the old bag of tricks and pulls out one of these ideas to perk things up: Publicity Performance Not Enough? Even after a nice piece in a national publication, or a stint on a popular talk show, do you still have a feeling that your public relations dollar could be better spent? PR tips for business Question: Why should your business issue a press release? Answer: because you have something to say, you want to say it in public and a press release encourages the press to say it for you. And because you want to show your business in a favourable light from the outset and begin the longer-term process of building awareness and understanding of your product or service. How to Write a Press Release Why You Should Write Press Releases:A press release is another way of saying news release or an announcement. It's an easy and affordable way to get your message out to the public. It allows you to announce new products, services or improvements your company has made. When Tactics Are Not Enough Your public relations people are busy. The buzz is all about hits on a radio show or mentions in a newspaper column. Or, which to do first, the trade show exhibit or the video clip. All useful tactics, but hardly the detailed planning needed to REALLY do something about the behaviors of those outside audiences that impact you the most. PR: Behavior Modification Specialist While awaiting economic recovery, business needs to attract the attention of its most important external audiences in a more targeted and focused way. Primarily to impact the perceptions of those key outsiders so that resulting behaviors help those managers achieve their objectives. Public Relations: Power Tool for the 21st Century I address this article to businesses, associations, non-profits and public entity managers seeking a direct connection between the money they're planning to spend on public relations, and the achievement of their organizational objectives. Financial Planners Publicity and Marketing - Live By The Calendar The media live by the calendar. Your story pitch might miss the mark with them the first time out, solely because it's out of whack with the seasonal cycle (obvious examples: just try pitching another tax story on April 16, or offering the media your 10 tips on backyard barbecue safety the morning after Labor Day).
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
