Did you recently publish a book? Land a great client? Expand in some way? If so, it’s time to send out a press release!
Press
releases were originally designed as a communication tool between PR
staff /public relations firms and the media. But now that online news
sites such as Yahoo News and Google News contain such an abundance of
press release content and RSS makes it easy to syndicate news, press
releases can be effectively used as a low cost/no cost marketing tool.
To that end, here are 10 tips for maximizing the visibility of press release content:
1. Start with something worth announcing.
Boring
news gets little results no matter how well it’s written. It’s
important to focus on a specific topic, make it interesting and, if
possible, related it to current events.
2. Distribute the release via a wire service like Business Wire and PRWeb or PRNewswire.
You
should distribute your press release to online services such as PRWeb,
PRNewswire and Business Wire. To avoid having the news readers filter
out duplicate releases, schedule your release to go out on different
days if using more than one online service.
In addition to online
services, you should send your release to your local media outlets.
They are more likely to run a release on someone local and your release
could turn into an article generating additional press.
3. Incorporate a call to action.
Society
as a whole is experiencing information overload. When submitting your
release to online services, you want to give the reader a reason to go
to your website. This is a great place to offer your free special
report, audio tips, ezine, podcast, etc.
4. Create a landing page.
Depending
on the nature of your press release, you may wish to either create a
separate landing page (page on your website) or include tracking links
(you can do this through a shopping cart such as KickStartCart.com) so
you can track whether your release brings you any prospects or results
in any sales.
5. Post it to your site.
You should
post the release to your website or blog. Your blog is a great place to
post press releases as it can easily archive them chronologically and
by category, offers a search function as well as an RSS feed to make it
easy for interested parties, including journalists, to subscribe to
your business news.
For the past 5 years, Sandra Martini has been showing
self-employed business owners how to get more clients consistently by
implementing processes and systems to put their marketing on autopilot.
Visit Sandra at www.SandraMartini.com
for details, compelling client testimonials and her free audio series “5 Simple
and Easy Steps to Put Your Marketing on Autopilot”.