Enhance Visibility and Generate Business Using Effective Pay Per Click Solution

Posted on 23. Feb, 2011 by Kris Nickerson in how to generate publicity

PPC advertising is not an entirely new concept to the internet world, and shot to fame in the mid-nineties and gained immensely during the mad dotcom boom.

Present state of Internet affairs attaches a lot of importance to PPC advertising, so much so that not less than 80% of the total online expenditure towards Internet based publicity goes to PPC advertising. If the facts are to be believed, PPC solutions truly dominate the web marketing arena.

For being a web-marketing tool, Pay per click service comprises the use of keywords and phrases in small two- to three-liner text advertisements and entails the usages of three parties. Thus, the three people actively taking part in this advertising pay per click method are the host carrying the advertisement, the visitor visiting the site, and the advertiser for advertising. The advertisers bid on keywords and phrases, and as soon as the visitors search for a word or a string of words, the search result page will show the advertisements with the keywords.

The bid amount varies from a modest 1 cent to as high as $ 5 per click, and informs about the sum that the advertisers can pay to the host website as soon as the visitors click on his advertisement. In case the advertisement is just being showed and not clicked upon, then there is no way the advertiser will have to pay anything.

A search page will accommodate only 1-2 banners, but can have 8-10 PPC ads, that prompted the major search engine to initiate PPC advertising that will have sponsored or paid advertisements along side the natural or organic search results.

Like Yahoo, MSN, Overture and other major search engines, Google is also offering its PPC services, which is better known as Google Adwords. Google has initiated it as a text-based advertising system, and all ads under Google PPC are advertised on Google.com and its associate websites. The Google Adwords offers users a chance to create their own ads and select keywords as well. For offering all these amazing features and facilities for users, Google Adwords is dominating the online marketing and advertising domain.

PPC bid optimisation is a tricky task handled dexterously by Search Engine Optimisation companies that offer you consolidated web marketing services. Effective and strategic use of Pay per click management service can considerably enhance your business and ensure smooth and steady returns, while organic search engine optimisation takes its time to show results.

Smit Mathur
http://www.articlesbase.com/sem-articles/enhance-visibility-and-generate-business-using-effective-pay-per-click-solution-696513.html

Influencing Powerful Social Media Users to Generate Massive Traffic to Your Website

Posted on 28. Jan, 2011 by Kris Nickerson in how to generate publicity

Generating a buzz to get massive amounts of traffic to your website is best done using social media websites?

The easiest way to accomplish this is to leverage the clout of influencers within the social media community.

Influencers are people within a social network that are respected and liked by others in that community and are able to popularize discussions on topics of interst in that community. 

Influencers stimulate the conversations, connect people to ideas and can capture the mindshare or opinion of an audience within a social sphere. All social media websites have a few select individuals who stand out for their activity within the community and their expertise has gained the trust and support of the social media users.

These are the people you are are looking for and the ones you want to influence.

There are so many social media sites and the points we make in this article can be applied to any of them. We’ll be studying how to develope your own strategy for targeting the influencers of these sites to engage  their social network with your content.

Let’s look at a social news site like Digg for example. Digg and other sites like it allow the audience to vote on the value of content with a simple thumbs up and thumbs down vote. By actively participating in the community you can develope a following and become and authority and with that comes influence.

Over time supporters will share your content with friends or add it to their websites and blogs. Social media users can be pitched just like a blogger or writer can be pitched with a simple introduction at first gradually building a relationship that’s mutually benefitial. The goal is to leverage their brand of influence by influencing them to promote your website content within their community.

The main steps are Targeting, Networking and then Pitching the influencer in question.

1.Targeting
Finding a social media influencer that shares your point of view about your content and is relevent to their website or sphere of influence is most important. Making your content in-line or coherent with the influencers interests makes it much easier to get them to promote or agree with your content.

Go to the public user ranking list of the social media site in question, in this case Digg, and visit each profile on the listed looking for who has influence and also who resonates with what you’re promoting. Get a feel for what interests them. You can also do a keyword search on the social media site looking for content based on your keywords and find the users that rank high within the site on those keywords. If they have consistently submitted content around those keywords they are likely to be open to suggestions of simular content. You can also do a URL search of your keywords to find people that may be open to more content of that type.

Using the site yourself will help you discover little details about the user you’re targeting that can help you reach them and develope rapport. For example, while top Digg user MrBabyMan submits a great amount of stories, most active Diggers are familiar with his avid interest in Cracked.com, a popular pop culture/men’s portal/magazine.

2. Networking
After you’re done targeting a specific social media website you need to contact them and develpoe a relationship. You can get in touch with them from their contact info in their user profile and join the site as a registered user. If contact info is not available Google them by their name and user name to see if you can find it elsewhere. Look for their blog or other profiles they may have listed on other sites.

Once you have their contact details initiate a conversation by just send them a note and thank them for their contributions. Trying to pitch to promote your content right away is very bad etiquette and annoying. You can stand out from the crowd of self-interested crowd by genuinely showing your appreciation for their contributions.

Take a genuine interest in them and engage them in a dialog of common interests and do so continuously until you have a good idea what material they would support and do favors for the user by giving them publicity or links to free resources and interesting content (not your own).

Real social media users are always interested in buzz-worthy news or opinions that can boost their own authority within the social media community. Your content or anything else you offer should not only meet the integrity of their personal brand, but it should improve it and the reputation of the user within the community.

Offer them free invites to unrelated websites, give away exclusive information on certain topics. Share some links to excellent websites. Do little favors without asking for anything in return at all. Give them a reason to be interested in you.

Networking is really just about making friends. It’s that simple. This will gradually lead you into the third and final stage: Pitching the influencer.

3.Pitching
So now that you’ve built a rapport with this person what next?

A. Ask Casually. Do your pitching in a light hearted and casual manner and do not
aggressively push the user to promote your content. This is a huge turnoff and
you should understand that the user has a perfect right to refuse you.

B. Disclose Your affiliation. I would recommend letting the user know that you
are affiliated with the specific website, particularly if you plan to have a long
working relationship with the user. He or she will appreciate your honesty and it
will also make it easier for you to ask the second time round.

C. Space out your pitches. The biggest mistake you can make is to ask the influencer
to promote every single piece of content that comes out on your site. This is a major
irritant so only offer the user your best work, while pitching your material only once
per week or every two weeks.

Continue to keep aclose contact after they are promoting your site. Building a long-term relationship will have longterm results and targeted in-bound links to your website for years to come.

Good Luck!

Talk soon, 

Frank Tocco–Marketing Mentor

Frank Tocco
http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/influencing-powerful-social-media-users-to-generate-massive-traffic-to-your-website-673827.html

3 Easy Ways to Generate Money from Free MySpace Traffic

Posted on 25. Dec, 2010 by Kris Nickerson in how to generate publicity

In recent months, MySpace has generated a huge amount of publicity. This social networking site has become so popular that is reputed to be the most visited English-speaking language website in the world.

While most people use MySpace to connect with friends and loved ones, there is hidden opportunity for smart Internet marketers.

For instance, they know that MySpace contains a virtual goldmine of people who have an interest in a wide variety of products and services. It is just a matter of knowing what to sell them and how to get them to your online website.

So if you are interested in squeezing profit from the 112 million MySpace users, all you need to do is set up simple website. But you might be wondering what type of business works best with MySpace users.

Well the answer is there are three major businesses that can be effectively marketed to MySpace users:

Google Adsense

The Google Adsense program is one of the best ways generate a profit from MySpace. Since this program is not well known outside the Internet marketing world, most folks are not aware that it is a type of advertisement.

With Google Adsense, you can generate a profit simply by having people click on an ad. There is nothing to sell or promote, all you have to do is present people with good content and make sure that the Adsense blocks are visible enough to be clicked on.

Because of the wide variety of people on MySpace, there is a huge opportunity for any Google Adsense niche. All you need to do is create content that people want to read, insert your Google Adsense and then direct your targeted friends to this webpage.

Then sit back and watch your earnings accumulate while people click on your ads!

Affiliate Marketing

Widely considered the best way to earn a living on the Internet, affiliate marketing involves sharing revenue between a business (the affiliate merchant) and an individual affiliate. The affiliate is responsible for driving web traffic to the merchant in exchange for receiving a sizeable commission on any sales that are made.

The principle behind this online business is that the affiliate must target a specific niche, then get people who are interested in that niche to go to the website of the merchant.. The hard part is many affiliates have difficulty locating people who have an interest in a particular niche.

Fortunately MySpace makes it easy to locate people based on their interest in a particular product. All you have to do is create a profile and use the special tools to add friends who have an interest in that niche.

Once you have attracted their attention to your profile, you can use the communication tools on MySpace to present the affiliate product to the user. If they buy from your link, you will get a hefty commission.

Sell Information Products

Just like affiliate marketing, you can easily use MySpace to find people that will have an interest in your information product. The best part is you do not have to split any of the profits like you would with an affiliate program.

With an information product, you can design an entire profile that pre-sells your offer. So when people arrive at your website, they will be targeted and interested in anything that you are selling. All you have to do is create a convincing presentation and the sale will be yours!

All three of these money making models are being effectively used by niche marketers right now!

So dont sit on the sidelines and watch other people take advantage of this social networking system. Start marketing your business on MySpace today!

Scott Patterson
http://www.articlesbase.com/online-promotion-articles/3-easy-ways-to-generate-money-from-free-myspace-traffic-59482.html

Business/Product Publicity: P.R. Does Not Stand For Press Release

Posted on 27. Aug, 2010 by Kris Nickerson in how to generate publicity

There’s no denying that the Internet is allowing more and more entrepreneurs to start their own businesses and effectively market their new products. However, there seems to be an increasingly common misconception when these businesses try to generate media attention and publicity for their products or businesses. Over the past several years, I have had more than a few clients come to me seeking "a PR" to get people interested in their products/businesses. That’s right a "PR". Contrary to what some people think, PR is NOT an acronym for "Press Release" – it stands for Public Relations. PR is much more than just a press release and that distinction is very important to understand.

I often cringe when I see articles from well-intentioned "marketing" experts that say, in effect: "simply write a press releases, pitch it to the media and just sit back and reap the benefits." Unfortunately, it is far from being that simple. That statement pre-supposes that the media release/pitch is written well – containing all the right elements and newspegs to catch the media eye – and that it is pitched and maintained in the correct media market, which is often the downfall of many amateur PR campaigns. By all means, a press release is an integral part of a PR campaign. But a press release alone does not a PR campaign make. A successful PR/publicity campaign for your business or product should include many, if not all of the following:

· An interesting, quality, newsworthy product/service that the media (and its audience) will find merit in;

· A concise, articulate media release or story pitch – not a glorified ad – detailing the benefits of your product/business/website and what effect it will have for it’s users;

· A supply of media "supportives" – product photos (digital & hard copy), possible review samples, etc.;

· An extensively researched media list detailing all applicable media outlets whose editorial profiles match your product/business profile. Here’s an important detail—the targets of your pitch should be "name-specific" not just "title-specific" media contacts. By that I mean the media market research you compile should give you particulars like "Sally Jones-Cooking Editor" not just Tribune Newsroom or Managing Editor;

· A solid, trustworthy media contact vehicle that gets your release/media kit directly into the hands of the appropriate reporter/editor/producer and allows them to respond easily to your pitch. (As always, beware of press release distribution services that often times indiscriminately spew your release to hundreds of untargeted media outlets with little or no results.) Research to find out the preferred method of receipt of your media targets – don’t just assume an email will suffice. Whether it’s by snail mail, email, fax or phone calls, the media can’t run your story if they don’t hear about it. For one reason or another, some media may decide not to include your product/business in a placement—but don’t let them say the reason is because they weren’t made aware of it;

· Meticulous media relations to immediately fulfill media requests (photos/interviews/product samples) and extensive media contact follow-ups over several months to generate as many placements as possible. Many times, media members can’t immediately respond to an initial pitch due to tight editorial deadlines and the time it takes to wade through a multitude of similar media pitches. I have found, without question, that the media interest continues to increase as you re-introduce the pitch and gently "rattle the media cage" over the course of the next several weeks/months;

· Some sort of media tracking capabilities—whether it’s your own media follow-ups, Internet research, or a professional broadcast/print clipping service. Having "hard copies" of the placements generated by your PR campaign can be invaluable in the further marketing of your business/product. Media placements are a unique validation of the market acceptance for your business/product and can help you convince new customers of that fact.

Think of launching a PR/publicity campaign like flying a kite. The press release (which aptly details your product/business) is the kite. But if your kite doesn’t have the proper amount of string, a good tail, a strong wind and the expert manipulation of the kite flier – it has very little chance of getting off the ground. But if all theses elements are in place – a PR/publicity campaign can send your business soaring like a kite on a breezy Spring afternoon.

Todd Brabender
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/businessproduct-publicity-pr-does-not-stand-for-press-release-54927.html

How I Generate Over 200 Leads Every Single Month!

Posted on 05. Jun, 2010 by Kris Nickerson in how to generate publicity

Leads are the life blood of any business. It doesn’t matter if you conduct business online or offline, high-tech or low-tech. If you want to stay in business, you have to make sales. And if you want to make sales, you need to be generating a steady flow of leads.

This article is going to show you EXACTLY how I generate an average of more than 200 leads each and every month.

The first step, of course, is to set up your AutoResponder. Your AutoResponder is the backbone to any lead generation and email marketing campaign.

Your AutoResponder can be as simple as setting up a single message that introduces your prospects to your company, lets them know what you have to offer, and invites them to your web site for more details (and to place an order).

Or you can set up a series of follow up messages that are scheduled to go out daily, weekly, monthly, etc… depending on your preferences and what your market is expecting.

Your letters don’t have to be perfect. They just need to be clear and ready to be sent out. You can (and should) make adjustments along the way.

Once your AutoResponder is set up with at least one message, then it’s time to start the work of promoting to attract visitors to your offer.

So here are the exact steps I take to generate a constant steady flow of leads for my offers:

1. I set up my AutoResponder with my follow up letters.

2. I set up my blog (Free).

3. Since my AutoResponder service offers free hosted capture pages, I also set up my hosted capture pages.

4. I set up my AutoResponder subscription forms and added them to:

My capture pages
My own web site
My blog

5. I set up Banner Ads and point them to a site with a subscription form such as my blog, my web site, or my capture page.

6. I set up my FFA Page Ad to send out an ad about my free report. When they click the link in that ad, they are taken to one of my capture pages.

7. I set up social networking accounts on sites like twitter.com, myspace.com, and facebook.com (Free).

8. I set up an author account at my two favorite article directories: (Free).

9. I make sure my Email Signature file has a link to either my web site, my hosted capture page, or my blog. (Free).

10. I join relevant discussion forums. A quick search on Google for forums related to your market or niche should give you a considerable list to start with. (Free).

11. I set up an AdWords account at Google.

So Why Do I Set Up All These Things and How Do I Generate Leads With Them?

My AutoResponder
This is the control center for all of your lead generation and contact management. This is where you will manage your leads. This is also where you will create, manage, and edit your follow up messages, broadcasts, etc…

My Blog
Blogging isn’t as scary as some people would like you to think it is. Think of your blog as your public journal where you can share your thoughts, experiences, updates, background, etc… Like social network sites, think of your blog as a place online where you are throwing a little ‘get together’ for your friends and associates. The attitude of your posts should be light, informative, entertaining, and relevant to what your business is about.

Personally, I use my blog to update associates and followers on what I’m doing to generate leads, how business is going, any new techniques or developments we’ve come up with, etc…

Notice that I’ve added a subscription form to my blog. As people read my posts, my hope is that they will want to know more and will fill out the form to request information.

Subscription Forms
Your AutoResponder isn’t going to do you any good if people don’t know how to request information. This is what your subscription forms are for and you want to make sure they are on every point of contact you have online.

Be sure you have added forms to your own web site, your blog, etc… Be sure you have created Hosted Capture Forms.

Banner Ads
I set up a few banners and point them back to my web site with the capture forms. The Banner Ads offer a free report or benefit and invite prospects to visit and request more information. I don’t really have to do anything with the banner ads once they are set up and this little auto-pilot tool typically brings me anywhere from 5 to 12 new leads each month.

FFA Page
I’ve been pretty clear that FFA Page leads aren’t for everyone. In my case, they work out well because most of these leads are people that want to sell something and I offer tools to help them market more effectively. The best part is that I just set the silly thing up and let it run. I get anywhere from 10 to 20 new leads a month from this option. I might check on it every couple of months to see if the responses are still consistent and make any changes that I think may be helpful.

Social Networking
This is, quite honestly, a new venture for me. I’m on twitter, MySpace, and Facebook. Like blogging, I think of these sites as little social gatherings (online parties). They can be fun and entertaining. I keep up with friends and associates and, in general, just make sure I make regular appearances to keep everyone updated.

NOTE: There is a little bit of an “art” to working blogs and social networking sites. Don’t be one of those people that shows up at the party and says, “Hey! Wanna buy my stuff?”. Take some time to build rapport. Get to know other participants in your networks. Participate in some of the conversations. Let people get to know you. As your network begins to learn about you, the time will come when someone is thinking, “Hey … I need to find someone that can …… ” and that is when they think of you.

For example: Let’s say you sell pink widget gizmos. As you’re getting to know people in your networks, your profile states that you are the premier supplier for pink widget gizmos. You conduct yourself in a responsible and professional manner on the various networks you are a part of. People start to like and trust you. Someone asks, “Hey… do you know where I can get some really good pink widget gizmos?” and they or their other friends in their network will remember that YOU are the go-to person for pink widget gizmos.

Article Marketing
Going back to our pink widget gizmos story, because you know something about them, I bet it’s a safe bet to say that you could probably write a few articles about them. Article marketing is a great way to:

* Establish your credibility as an expert in your field.

* Get free publicity.

* Get free back links to your web site.

If you are not comfortable writing just yet, do a quick search for “ghost writers” on any major search directory.

Make a point of creating and submitting articles regularly.

Not sure if article marketing works? You’re reading some of my article marketing, right now.

Email Signature File
Just about every email program I’m aware of has an Email Signature option. This is where you can create a bit of text that will automatically appear at the bottom of any email you send. This should include your name, a one line pitch about your offer, and a link to your blog, web site, or capture page. Every time you send out email, reply to an email, etc… your little signature file is there helping to identify you as an expert in your field.

Discussion Forums
Every industry has its own discussion forums. They can be a great way to get information, tips, and updates on changes within your industry. I highly recommend joining a few of the more active forums for a few reasons:

* You can learn new things.
* You can share some of your own knowledge and experience.
* The Signature. Every discussion forum I participate in allows you to create a signature. Like your Email Signature, this is a few lines of text that will always appear at the bottom of any message you post in the forum.

A few tips on making the most of your discussion forum experience:

Back to the “online party” concept. Imagine being in a room of your peers and/or people interested in your industry. Don’t be the doofus that walks in to the room and yells out, “Hey! Wanna buy my stuff?”. Take time to build your credibility and let people get to know you. Participate in some relevant discussions. Offer insights and your own input.

Don’t just reply with things like, “Good post” or “I agree”. These are just blatant attempts to get your Signature seen and will cause people to quickly begin ignoring your posts or may even cause the Administrator to block you from accessing the forums.

Take your time. Get to know the forums. Let the other members get to know you. Be patient and establish yourself as a credible and professional expert. That’s when the leads start coming to you!

Google AdWords
Google AdWords could easily become an entire lesson in and of itself. But let me just say this: A Google AdWords account is well worth taking the time to learn and use. I don’t bid high dollars for very popular words. Instead, I look for words that are not as popular and can be head for much less than my competitors might spend on popular words. This is called “long tail keywords” and can be very profitable.

Google has some excellent tutorials on their systems and I encourage you to become a student of the Google AdWords system. Then start with a small budget to test your results. As you begin to see solid results, you can use the money from your new sales to increase your budget over time.

Summary

These resources combined with consistent management and running various ads here and there have consistently generate 200+ leads every single month for me. And these are highly targeted and responsive leads.

Don’t be overwhelmed if you are new to any or all of these techniques. Take one at a time and learn it. When you are comfortable with that one, add the next technique. The key is to be consistent and to make sure you take some action each and every day.

Brian Rooney
http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-marketing-articles/how-i-generate-over-200-leads-every-single-month-698428.html

Effective Way to Generate Business With the Use of Joint Ventures

Posted on 29. Apr, 2010 by Kris Nickerson in how to generate publicity

Starting an Internet business is much like a start-up in any other business. It is not easy. You’ve got to make arrangements for products you intend to sell, design a professional looking website, develop effective sales pages, advertise, attract traffic to your site, and entice visitors to click on your links and buy your products. For more help visit to: www.joint-ventures-secret.com.All this takes time to develop. If you are looking to get rich overnight, buy a lottery ticket instead.
One effective way to generate business for your new online company is with the use of joint ventures. A joint venture (JV) is a business partnership between two or more parties to expand business for both parties. In an ideal joint venture, the talents of one partner make up for shortcomings in the other, and are beneficial to both companies. For example, if you have a great product but no list to sell to, team up with a partner that has a great list but no product. Of course, you should both be involved in the same niche, but not have products that compete directly with each other.
By using joint ventures, you can quickly build the size of your list as well as your income. Less than 5% of Internet businesses have used joint ventures.
There are several types of joint ventures. Two large businesses may use joint ventures to try and dominate a particular area of the market. They may also combine resources to generate a huge payday for both. For instance, if company A has a new product launch in 2 weeks and company B has a new product launch in 2 months; they might decide to market each others products for their mutual benefit.
Small companies might team up to build their reputations, increase the size of their subscriber list, or generate income. There are many types of joint ventures that you can enter into. In fact, you are only limited by your imagination. There are several types of joint ventures. Two large businesses may use joint ventures to try and dominate a particular area of the market. They may also combine resources to generate a huge payday for both. For instance, if company A has a new product launch in 2 weeks and company B has a new product launch in 2 months; they might decide to market each others products for their mutual benefit.
Choose your partners carefully. Make sure your partner has a business mindset, attitude, and moral code similar to yours. For more help visit to: www.jointwebventures.com.Develop written goals for your partnership. Clearly define the responsibilities of each partner in writing. Many joint venture partnerships fail for this reason. Always be open and honest with your business proposals. Do not hype your business with facts that are not true.
With your initial joint ventures, team up with companies that are similar in size to your own. Send out press releases announcing your joint ventures. This publicity may entice larger companies to approach you with joint venture proposals.
Finally, joint ventures can only work if you pursue them. Send out joint venture proposals on a regular basis. Through persistence and hard work, your joint ventures can grow your Internet business nicely.
Need a product for your Joint Venture? Create Your Own Ebook!

anita
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/effective-way-to-generate-business-with-the-use-of-joint-ventures-710633.html

How to Get Free Publicity!

Posted on 30. Mar, 2010 by Kris Nickerson in how to generate publicity

If you happen to have a business, an event, services to offer or a product to sell, there’s nothing better than getting a free publicity. A free publicity can get you the chance to be noticed and have your services or products be availed by the public or your event or business be known to the public. In order to get free publicity, you need first to understand what makes it. A free publicity starts with a published press release. You’ll be surprised to get the good things in your advantage that follows a successful press release. You might end up being interviewed in a noon time talk show over the radio or by one of the most famous TV show hosts in your local TV. This is how free publicity goes. You get invited to events and programs to talk about what you know and what you can offer. The next thing you need to know is how to get free publicity?

As I have mentioned, a successful press release is the first step on getting a free publicity. And a successful press release is basically a published press release. You need to create a really good and catchy press release to get things started. There are a lot of sites in the World Wide Web that can provide you tips on how to write press releases that gets published. When you have made your press release published, the next thing that you need to do is to get interviewed. It may be on TV, radio or print. Whichever you may be interviewed you have to make sure that you are able to spill your information in a credible and marketable manner.

Another effective tool that can be used in order to get free publicity is the internet. You can take advantage of the social networks out there by being active in forums and online discussions. Making your own blog and promoting your blog through e-mails and social network forums will be really of great help. You can also make your own audio-visual presentation and have it uploaded to video streaming sites like youtube.com. You can also try making an eBook that tackles the things that you wish people to know and or use and eventually advertise your products or services in that material. You should maximize the utilization these features in order to make things like free publicity happen. It just takes an effort and time but when good results get to accumulate, all your efforts will be all worth it.

It will also be helpful to speak to groups and make them see and value your credibility when it regards to the subject matter you wish to ponder. There are groups out there which provide seminars and workshops that will surely need speakers and someone like you might be the right person that they actually need. Another thing that you can work on is to offer discounted or free samples of your services or your products. Getting clients satisfied with your services and products will generate another form of free publicity which happens to be the word of mouth.

Paul Hartunian
http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/how-to-get-free-publicity-706896.html

How To Generate FREE Publicity For Your Product, Service, or Cause…

Posted on 30. Mar, 2010 by Kris Nickerson in how to generate publicity

One of the most misunderstood and most underutilized promotional
tools available to small businesses is FREE PUBLICITY.

Every business, no matter how large or small, can effectively
use free publicity to enhance its image, increase sales and
profits, generate sales leads, expand distribution, and promote
customer goodwill. All of these benefits can be gained for
nothing more than a small investment ot time, paper, envelopes,
and postage.

And…with the addition of new e-mail based media release
services…even the paper, envelopes and postage can be
eliminated.

Most new businesses start out on the proverbial shoestring
budget. There never seems to be enough money available to do
needed advertising.

Professional marketing assistance seems like an unaffordable
dream, and there is always “one more piece of equipment” that
needs to be purchased.

Add in other concerns, and it’s no surprise that marketing and
promotion end up last on the long list of perceived needs. They
should be among the first!

A well-executed and on-going publicity program can dramatically
improve your chances of success in the marketplace. Whatever you
want to achieve promotionally… you’ll accomplish it faster and
less expensively with a knowledge of the publicity game.

You can generate high volumes of traffic to your web site,
increase direct sales, generate qualified sales leads, shorten
your selling cycle, enhance your image, and boost your cash
flow, with free publicity!

Free publicty is the perfect promotional tool for start-up
companies. Why? Because it’s cheap…and it’s available.

While I can’t make an expert publicist out of you in one short
article, I will give you the basic tools you need to get started
with your own publicity program and a resource list to enable
you to expand your success and build your knowledge base. Let’s
get started…

WHAT IS PUBLICITY?

Publicity is NEWS. News about your company, its products or
services, its personnel, etc. Anything that has a legitimate
news angle will probably find a number of editors eager to
publish it for you…free.

Why are editors willing to do this? It’s their job! Editors are
charged with the responsibility of filling up page after page of
space (or, in the case of radio or television, minutes of time)
with information that is timely and useful to their readers or
listening/viewing audience. Theirs is a formidable task,
performed under the constant pressure of deadlines. Your news
release helps editors do their job.

It’s important, however, to differentiate a legitimate news
story from what should be paid advertising.

To acomplish this, editors typically ask themselves two
questions when reading your press release:

Who cares?

Who already knows?

If the answer to the first question is “a large number of my
readers or listeners”, and the answer to the second question is
“very few”, then your release stands an excellent chance of
publication.

Remembering the old axiom of “Nothing is older than yesterdays
news”, it also becomes obvious that your news release must be
timely. In other words, the news must be new.

THE TOOLS OF PUBLICITY…

The principle tools of publicity are: News Release

Press Kit

Press Conference

Feature Story

Letters to the Editor

Media Lists/Selection

The news release is the most useful (and most used) form of
communicating news to the media. When coupled with a
well-selected media list, the simple news release is a very
powerful tool that you can start using today.

THE NEWS RELEASE…

Your release (news story) should typed, double-spaced, with wide
margins on one side of 81/2″ x 11″ plain white paper (or
letterhead). Never hand-write a news release.

Keep it simple. Follow the standard news story format of Who,
What, Where, When, Why, and How, and you can’t go wrong. Use
simple sentences (seven words or less). Use short paragraphs
(seven sentences or less).

Use as many simple single-syllable words as possible. Remember,
you’re trying to convey news…not impress William F. Buckley.
Omit the superlatives. Words such as best, greatest, finest,
unique, one-of-a-kind, and highest quality don’t belong in news
releases.

Don’t say anything you can’t back up with facts.

your news release will generally fit on one sheet of
paper…rarely more than two. If you have more than 400 to 500
words (roughly two pages of double-spaced copy), you should
probably rewrite the release.

If necessary, editors will cut your release to fit available
space. Your story will be cut from the bottom up, so make sure
you tell the most important details in the first paragraph or
two.

The editor has no obligation to run your news release. Your
release will be judged on it’s own merits. If it meets the
standards of publication…(Who Cares?–Who Knows?), and space
is available, your release will probably be published.

You should keep in mind that one of your long-term goals is good
media relations. Accordingly, you should never complain to an
editor if he or she does not use a particular release. Keep
submitting good releases, and you’ll get your share of free
space.

FORMAT IS IMPORTANT…

Savvy publicity seekers make sure that their news releases look
professional. The following layout formula will serve you well:

Make a special form with the heading “NEWS RELEASE” prominently
printed at the top, along with your company name and address.

In the upper left corner print “FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:”.
Fill in the appropriate contact information and telephone, fax,
e-mail, url, etc.

Drop down three lines and print “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” next to
the right hand margin.

Drop down two inches and type your story headline in all capital
letters.

Drop down three spaces and begin the body copy of your release
at the left-hand margin as follows: “(Your Town,
State–Date)”xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx…”

End your release by centering “(—–30—–)” or
“(—-end—-)” three or four lines after the last line of the
story.

MEDIA SELECTION…

The slant of your news story will dictate the media selection.
If you are a local retailer serving a limited goegraphical area,
your media list will include all of the appropriate newspapers,
radio stations, television stations, magazines, community web
sites, etc. serving your market area. Your release would be
written to a general consumer audience.

On the other hand, if you are a small manufacturer selling
specialized equipment nationally, your media list would be
targeted to industry trade publications, newsletters, trade
associations, and other relevant trade outlets and business
media. Your release would be written for a more focused audience
of end users and trade press editors (in the hope of a possible
feature article).

In all cases, releases should be customized to the target
audience so that the editor will quickly see the news value to
his or her readers or listeners.

DISTRIBUTION OF YOUR RELEASE…

There are now three means of distribution of your news release:
(1) Regular Mail, and (2) Electronic Mail (e-mail), (3)Fax
transmission.

Always mail your news releases by first class mail. Address
them, whenever possible, to the editor…by name. If you don’t
know the editor’s name, check the publications masthead or call
the publication and ask.

You may also want to check current media guides online or at
your local library…usually found in the reference section.

A word of caution. Media people change jobs often, and media
guides may not be up-to-date.

If you are unable to identify the proper person, you can simply
mail to “Editor”, but this is the least desirable alternative.

DO IT NOW…AND DO IT OFTEN…

What is the key to being effective with a publicity program?
Start using the skills you have just learned… right NOW! Don’t
worry if you feel a certain lack of confidence. You’ll only gain
confidence by writing a few news releases an distributing them.
You’ll be amazed at how easy it becomes once you’ve written a
few.

If you consistently turn out at least one good news story each
and every week, you’ll probably have to double your trips to the
bank to deposit the increases in sales and profits that come
your way through FREE PUBLICITY!

© Copyright 2005 Thom Reece All Rights Reserve

Thom Reece
http://www.articlesbase.com/copywriting-articles/how-to-generate-free-publicity-for-your-product-service-or-cause-791.html