Online Advertising Marketing

Archive for the ‘Public Relations’ Category

There’s a clear way around press release failure and it’s called the pitch. A lot like it sounds a pitch is a fast throw at busy editors about a possible story. If they want to find out more, then you send the press release.

That leads me to a huge pet peeve: Sending out press releases via e-mail to a list of editors. From my experience it’s never – ever – worked. I no longer try it and suggest you don’t either. It’s a waste of your time and all of the editors. Instead:

1. Focus on a handful of your “dream publications.” For me, I’d like to get into Fortune Small Business, Entrepreneur magazine and the Wall Street Journal. When picking your publications, think of your target audience. What do they read and why do they read it?

2. Pick the section you’d like to appear in. You never know, but chances are you won’t appear on the cover of the publication in your first attempt at placement, instead, focus on sidebars, resource listings and short news sections. Almost all print pubs have them. Look at it as the waiting room for bigger and better stories on the unique products and/or services you offer.

3. Find out who the editor is. Once you have your section, find out who’s in charge of it. You’ll need the person’s name, e-mail address and the most important element of successfully getting placed in the publication . . .
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Online marketers are always on the lookout for promotional channels that are novel and are yet to be saturated with the unfortunate stigma of marketing abuse. Different people are constantly trying to find new ways by which they could promote their online enterprises.

One of the newer, and most effective, marketing strategies are press releases. Press releases are informative and objective pieces which are supposed to be newsworthy, and are circulated in PR wires for pickup by various news groups and editors. Once a press release is picked up, it can be published in various channels all over the Internet, or even through print publications.

Immediately, the sharp marketing mind would be able to see the grand potentials of press releases as amazing tools that would help them spread the word about their business. Imagine the promising things that await if ever a press release is picked up or print or online publication. Such would be tantamount to instantaneous exposure for your business to entirely new audiences!

However, you cannot simply write a press release the same way you would an article, or a content piece, or a sales letter. To employ the same style with press releases would be to court disaster. Your press release won’t be accepted by newswires, hence, it won’t have the chance to get picked up.

So how exactly should you write a press release? Let’s take a look at the guidelines below.

* Pay attention to the 5 Ws. These are Who, What, When, Where and Why. These are the questions which your press release should focus on. If you’re going to write a press release for your dog grooming business, for example, you should be able to state who you are, what your business is about, when it will, or was, launched, where it can be found and why it was established. If you are going to launch, or just launched, a new product, you would have to state who the creator is, what the product is all about, when it was or will be launched, where it can be bought, and why it was introduced to the market.

* Be objective. Remember, a press release should be a newsworthy item. News is never subjective. Stay away from flowery words that merely tend to hype up what you want to discuss. Stick with the facts, and ONLY the facts. You are writing news, not a promotional piece.
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I approached her sliding glass window and stood in back of a gentleman whom I assumed she was helping. After about three minutes, I realized he was waiting for the office manager and she could have acknowledged my presence. I stepped up to the window; she did not say good morning; she did not smile; she just glared at me. I started to speak; she pointed a finger at a clip board with a paper to fill out. I placed the completed sheet in front of her, perhaps expecting a thank you or a smile or at least ‘have a seat; the doctor will see you soon’.

I was so intrigued by her manner that I watched her interaction with the other patients. The man sitting next to me started to tell me that even though he had an appointment he had been waiting a long time. He told me he was extremely dissatisfied with the way the place was run and was starting to regret his association with this office. With a bit of humor, I told him I was watching the receptionist and asked if she had uttered a word to him. He started to laugh, and said, “Come to think of it, not a word!”

The next patient to come in was an older woman with a walker. The receptionist was not at her desk so the woman took a seat and waited for her return. She again pointed at the clip board, took the form, threw her sliding glass door closed and said nothing. The next one was the mailman, who I’m sure she sees daily. Again, not a smile or a hello; she stuck out her hand for the mail and handed him the outgoing mail.
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Impressions, as we all know, are blurry ideas in which confidences are given. Marketing materials such as business cards, posters, postcards, flyers, brochures and catalogs must satisfy the customer’s confidences even at the very first sight of the material.

Catalogs, for instance, must leave a lasting and positive first impression. Before they can encourage potential readers to read on, they must entice them first to come closer and take a look at them. They must have fascinating design and facade to lure the would-be receivers.

To complete the marketing formula, the company or its marketer must entrust the potential masterpieces to a master in catalogs printing. If you have hesitations and worries regarding the printing process, the colors and materials like paper and ink to be used, ask the pool of experts that surround the printing company. They will help you seek solutions to your catalogs printing dilemmas.

Catalogs are made to have easy access on your products and service. You do not have to bring them with you. With catalogs around, there is no need to present the literal product or demonstrate the services that your company is offering. All it takes is an effective modern catalog.
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