The Press Release--Make It Part Of Your Marketing Plan

In our fast-paced digital age, anyone doing some kind of business is well-aware that the use of internet-based platforms such as social media, websites and email marketing are vital components to driving search engine traffic in order to build brand awareness. However, it is also important not to lose sight of the fact that traditional marketing tools, namely print advertising, is not going away any time soon. As long as there continues to be a demand for newspapers, magazines, journals, etc., there will continue to be a need for the Press Release to generate articles of consumer interest to a vast population.

Whether it's an open house, fund-raiser, merger, product launch, rebranding or any other vital news that a company desires to share to get the word out to the community, the Press Release remains a valuable means by which to attain exposure through the help of traditional media. Help is the key word, though, in the sense that a publisher can get a message into print, but only as long as the publisher deems it has some kind of worth or interest to the general public. Seems easy enough, right? Make it compelling enough to catch the reader's interest. Er...yes and no. As a businessperson writing a press release you must make the message compelling to the journalist in order that the journalist can make it compelling to the reader. But how, you ask? Tell an informative story. Think of the famous line spoken by Joe Friday of the ever-popular police series, Dragnet, "Just the facts, maam." Just like a news story, a press release needs to contain the important facts along with some embellishing details that can be translated into an article of interest. If it reads like a sales pitch, it will end up lining the bottom of an editor's wastebasket.

In order to capture the media's attention to your Press Release the first step is to understand that it must have a particular format. There is no guarantee that your release will be picked up because it is competing with other stories, however you will increase its chances of consideration by adhering to the following guidelines:

1. Include an attention-grabbing headline. Similar to the title of a news article, the attraction starts with a captivating headline. Keep it succinct but with enough information that will assure an editor you are thinking like a writer rather than a marketer. This is the very beginning of building an inverted pyramid of knowledge starting with the most basic who, what, where, when why and how.

2. Date of Release: Depending on time constraints that is up to whomever is managing the marketing campaign. Although, it is strongly recommended that you choose a day or two ahead to give the media source time to craft a good article. For big events and launches, schedule multiple releases.

3. Contact Information and City of Release: Make sure to use company letter head with contact info indicated to the left. Identify the city in which the news will take place, at the start of the body of the announcement.

4. Compelling Lead Sentence: Your introductory sentence should be as captivating as the headline and contain a summary of all the essential information.

5. The Body of the Press Release: Include one or two paragraphs with supporting details. Be careful not to go overboard with specifics since the purpose is to provide the media with just enough data with which to fashion into an interesting and succinct news announcement.

6. Background or bio of company or noteworthy individual: The only other aspect of the PR that is as important as the news event is the subject of the news event. Devote the last paragraph of the release to spotlighting the company, organization or individual that is responsible for making the news. Whether it is indicating the accomplishments of a significant individual or the history and contributions of a corporation, it lends a great deal of credibility and importance that will serve to further pique the media's interest in what you have to offer to their readership. Create a template for future releases in which the background information remains constant until it needs to be updated.

7. Make it personal: In addition to a bio or background, get permission to add a relevant quote by an influential person involved with this news event. It provides a human quality and connection that enhances the story. Remember that it is important that you tell a story, not advertise, even though your goal is to influence consumerism through community exposure.

8. Signal the end: It's simple. Add three hashtags (###) to indicate the end of your release. But don't stop there. Be sure to reread and correct any grammatical errors, misspellings or other inaccuracies. The presentation of your PR is an immediate reflection of your image as a professional. Plan ahead to make certain you are leaving a lasting and positive impression.

9. Length and Language: Keep it to 1-2 pages and use simple language that can be easily understood by a general audience.

10. Relevancy and locality: Choose media sources that are in the surrounding community and share your interests. Keep it local and find publications that are vested in similar topics they believe will draw their readership. It's also important to get acquainted with some of the local journalists in order to get feedback on whether your release will or has been picked up for publication. This will also increase the chances of your news getting published because your business becomes familiar and trusted among the news community.

By following these guidelines your Press Release stands a very good chance of getting picked up by your local media, especially by those publications that make it their business to post news from other businesses that they find relevant to their subscribers. Of course, it is up to you to determine whether a Press Release will be useful to your Marketing Plan. Many choose to go strictly digital because that yields them the most exposure. Nevertheless, it certainly can't hurt to include a Press Release when you consider that in the present day there are still plenty of people who choose to get their news from print media. If you choose not to include a press release you may be missing out on reaching a significant sector of the population that prefers to get their news from paper and ink. Like other forms of traditional marketing still used today such as newsletters, brochures, flyers and business cards, the press release remains a tried-and-true component for driving new business. Make it part of your marketing plan.

Why Create A Blog For Business?

When you think of a blog, what comes to mind? Well, it really depends on the decade. In the 1990's blogging began as a past time to express opinions or thoughts to a general audience. In essence, it was an online journal.

Today, blogging has taken on a whole new purpose. It has become a mode by which businesses communicate to an online audience about their products and services in order to gain customer interest. However, it's most important to stress that an effective blog is not so much about selling products and services as it is about conveying valuable information that will be helpful to the public.

A business blog is more about value than about getting the sale but can eventually lead to a paying customer who remembers your words of wisdom. People like to be educated with useful information and kept up to date about new topics and trends that may influence their buying decisions. Close to 80% of internet users today read blogs and nearly 70% say a blog adds credibility to a website.

In addition, statistics show that blogging has become favored by search engines such as Google. Websites that contain blogs have 434% more indexed pages, hence receive 97% more links to their website than those who don't blog. As a result, those who blog experience a 126% higher lead generation growth than non-bloggers and are 13 times more likely to achieve a positive ROI with regular blogging.

Many business owners and managers who have never blogged before are now seeing the value that it brings, especially those that do business with other businesses. 76% of B2B marketers now blog because they see how profitable it has become to their competitors.

For those of you new to blogging, here are some vital tips to remember before beginning to write:

1. Make your topic about value and relevancy: Provide useful advice, tips and instructions instead of a sales pitch.

2. Readability and Visual Enhancement: Provide content that easily scrolls and is visually inviting. To maximize this, use sub-headings, bullet points, hyperlinks, images and video. These will contribute to a greater engagement and a higher potential for users to become your followers.

3. Diversify: Experiment with different formats such as infographics, videos, interviews and podcasts to see which generates the most interest among your audience. These enhance a blog by adding credibility and authenticity that people can relate to.

4. Be unique and tell a story: Provide a niche, a personal experience, customer testimony or a different spin on a topic that will help you stand out from your competitors.

5. Edit and proofread: Always reread, even have others check your work. You'd be surprised at the grammatical errors you miss that spell check often doesn't catch. Typos and poor sentence structure will most definitely give a bad impression...and as a professional you want to build and maintain credibility, not lose it!

6. Share your blogs: Once you've created your blog masterpiece it's time to show it to your audience. Post it on social media, make it part of an email marketing campaign, share it on a blog page. For further engagement, add a comments platform to encourage feedback from your audience.

7. Frequency and SEO: The best way to increase readership is by blogging often, adding key words to drive search engine traffic and keeping your topics fresh and relevant.

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Contact Andrea Harrison for more information at theprolilficword@gmail.com or 848-213-5520

Why Small Business Needs The Help of A Freelance Writer

As a small business owner, I’m sure you are aware that small business is the cornerstone of today’s economy, and that you see the importance of online presence as a way to promote your products and services. However, you may agree that often you do not have the time, talent, or resources to devote to content marketing. Luckily there are an increasing number of freelance writers available for hire that are knowledgeable and talented with creating the kind of promotional material that will increase your brand awareness in order to build your client base. Whether established or just starting out, many owners like you are good at what they do but lack the knowledge to drive traffic to their site or social media platform. This is when it is crucial to seek the expertise of a freelance writer who understands the importance of SEO driven terminology to draw potential customers. They know how to design keyword rich information relevant to your business that can drive traffic to your services. Some of the most successful practices are through blogging on topics relevant to the product or service being offered, generating newsletters and email blasts on new products, upcoming events and sales announcements, or providing a bio of staff accomplishments or lengthier mission statements and business plans to assist an aspiring entrepreneur in launching their startup.

According to a post by Angie Mohr for Employee of Intuit QuickBooks, existing and potential clients have become aware enough, in terms of social media, of how important that a current blog, email blast, and up to date website is in determining who is relevant enough to provide the products and services that best meet their current needs. Therefore it behooves you, the business owner to find a talented content writer who can draw an audience to your specialty by cleverly crafting a piece that will showcase your expertise. They will save you time and assure you of receiving professional, error-free content with a fresher perspective. In the meantime you can run your business without worry.

Equally, Sara Angeles of Business News Daily sees Freelance Talent as ever increasing in demand because business owners are seeing the value of it in turns of cost savings, flexibility, and passion driven talent whom are work ready as needed. In further research they cited a study from the Plato Group which has revealed that a steady increase of freelancers have entered the market. According to the study, “one-third of Americans or roughly 42 million are freelancers, with experts forecasting freelancers to make up 50 percent of the full-time workforce by 2020.”

Serena Brown, Freelance Writer and Editor with Westman Editorial supports this trend of the entrepreneur more readily outsourcing for content writing by observing through their competitors that this is a cheaper and more socially effective method that can guarantee quality work to yield more impressions and conversions. Without the stressful responsibility of fact checking, assuring SEO, and fixing grammar mistakes themselves, they leave the writing to the experts to yield for them the results.

The ever increasing demand for SEO-driven content marketing has created a growing pool of freelance talent whom are capable of crafting a blog, press release, newsletter, ad, flyer, profile, and web content that will facilitate faster and stronger connections between you and your present and potential customers. As a small business owner in today’s vast and ever-changing global network, it behooves you to understand the value of this growing pool and take advantage of the services that can save you time, keep your brand competitive, and increase your long-term profits.