VA QUICK TIPS: (full story)
Advertise Your Business —For Free ...
Did you know that there’s a free way to market your
business? It’s true; with press releases you can
advertise your business at no cost. So if you’ve not
taken advantage of the power of free press releases,
you’re making a costly mistake.
Because there are so many sites available - for free
- in which to advertise your business, your
accomplishments, your new listings, etc. that not taking
advantage of this free publicity is like letting your
money slip down the drain. For instance, how many of you
make use of the many free press release sites? I’m
hoping there would be a lot of hands in the air. You
should know that with the proliferation of newsfeeds,
press releases are getting read by a huge global
audience on a daily basis and that audience is full of
your potential clients.
What Can a Press Release Do For Me?
According to David Frey, author of A Secret Technique
to Getting Massive Press Using Optimized Press Releases,
“Online press releases are a relatively little-known
development in the world of search engine exposure.
Within 24 hours, a well-optimized online press release
can climb to the first page of Google News and Yahoo
News - if it is well written and strategically embedded
with relevant keywords.” Frey suggests two important
considerations to help your press release optimize your
website.
- Put your two primary keywords into the headline
and subheading - “All you need to do is type up a
short press release with your keywords placed in the
headline and subhead line and a link to your site in
the press release. Then you simply submit it to all
of the online PR news wires.”
- Write an article that you can turn into a press
release - “Simply write an article that is
newsworthy. Lace it with your primary and secondary
keywords, and submit it to online PR sites.”
How Do I
Ensure My Press Release Gets Picked Up?
Such press release sites as PRWeb.com provide a lot
of information to ensure that submissions are used. They
have articles on everything from how to format your
press release to how to ensure your press release
attracts the media’s attention.
PRWeb.com recommends following a
standard press release format that includes:
-
A headline in mixed case letters
(not all capitals and, ideally not more than 80
characters long)
-
Providing a summary at the
beginning of your release
-
Putting your most important
information in the first paragraph including who,
what, where, when, why and how (the lead should be
able to stand on its own)
-
Keep sentences short and concise
(three or four sentences per paragraph)
-
Write between 300 to 800 words
-
After the lead, the rest of the
release just expounds on that information
-
Some topics that are worthy of a
news release include a strategic partnership,
receipt of an industry award, publishing of a book,
release of a new website, etc.
-
Keep the tone neutral and
objective. By avoiding the use of pronouns such as
I, we, you, they, etc. – outside of quotations – you
will be more likely to achieve objectivity and make
it newsworthy to readers.
-
The end of the release should
contain the least newsworthy material and should
include a short description of the company or
person.
-
End the press release with your
contact information (name, company, phone number and
website address) then three # symbols or the word
“End”.
Hints for Writing Effective Press
Releases
PRWeb.com suggests the
following tips to help get your press releases
published:
-
Avoid hyperbole (exaggeration,
fluff, embellishments – just stick to the facts,
ma’am.)
-
Always follow the rules of
grammar and style (errors affect your credibility)
-
Write, proof, rewrite then edit
(have a second set of eyes look it over too)
-
Don’t embed HTML in your press
releases (some sites allow you to add this during
submission)
-
Make it interesting (it must be
newsworthy to someone other than yourself)
-
Include a summary paragraph
(some distribution points receive only your
headline, the summary and a link to your press
release)
-
Don’t include your email address
in the body of your press release (this can be
mistaken for Spam) – put your email address only in
the space provided for it
-
Avoid industry slang or acronyms
-
Set the date for today or a few
days in the future. Most sites will kick back a
release with a past date
Is it Really Worth it?
For the minimal amount of time it takes to write and
submit a press release, it is definitely worth the extra
exposure to your business. If you simply don’t have
enough time to do it, find a VA that specializes in
professional writing services.
To illustrate the effectiveness of a press release,
one submission I did for a client recently that
announced the launching of her new website was read
45,373 times, printed four times and downloaded as a PDF
45 times. This most certainly created unique visitors to
her new site, which helped in her search engine
rankings. Some sites will provide statistics like this
for free while others charge a fee for this service.
Kandra Hamric of
Assistant for Real Estate, provided these five tips
for writing press releases:
- Determine what it is that you wish the press
release to accomplish; this will help you plan out
the content.
- Develop a powerful, attention-grabbing headline
for your press release; consider using a catchy
phrase or keywords for the search engines.
- Include sufficient information in the press
release to make a journalist’s job easier when they
write an article about you and/or your business.
- Use terms the general public can understand,
avoid using real estate industry jargon unless your
targeted audience is your peer agents.
- Be timely and fresh with your news, submit the
press release when the news happens, and don’t wait
on this great marketing opportunity!
Where to Submit Your Press
Release
For your convenience, here is a list
of several free press release sites:
Writing a decent press release is
much like writing a decent blog. Just be sure it’s
newsworthy to someone and written in the accepted format
(many of these sites will give you detailed information
on acceptable press release formatting) and you’ll get
free marketing for your business. You’ll also be well on
your way to improving your SEO through free advertising.
In other words, you really cannot afford not to submit a
press release, can you?
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