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How to Create
Online Press Releases That Get You Business
Thanks to
the Internet, small business owners can now get the kind of visibility
that was previously only available to large companies.
One important Internet tool business owners can use to gain visibility is
online press releases. Here are the differences between traditional and
online press releases:
Traditional press releases
All press releases should include news: new information about your
company, a new product launch, a new service, etc. Press releases should
never be blatant sales pitches.
A traditional press release follows a standard format. To see an example
of a traditional press release, download the free sample chapter of my
Do-It-Yourself Public Relations Kit
here.
The goal of a traditional press release is to get the media interested in
your story.
The primary goal of an online press release is to increase your natural
search rankings on sites such as Google and Yahoo, and also to drive
traffic to your Web site. Gaining media interest is often a secondary goal
of an online press release.
Online press releases
The difference between writing a traditional press release and an online
press release is that the online press release is keyword-optimized.
That means that the content of your press release should include relevant
keywords that your clients would be searching for.
Keywords are search terms that someone in your target market might use to
look up your type of business, product or service on a search engine.
You can either write an online press release from scratch or modify a
traditional one. I wrote a traditional press release for a new tele-seminar
I was offering and then got help in modifying it as an SEO-optimized press
release, from Jay Berkowitz, of Ten Golden Rules
http://tengoldenrules.com.
To see this SEO-optimized release,
click here.
Keywords
When I wrote my press release, the keywords I chose were phrases. They
were:
So, if
someone typed in “get on the Oprah show” or “do it yourself public
relations” into a search engine, I wanted my information to show up in the
natural search results (not paid ads), preferably on the first page).
While this press release was sent in October, 2006, I did a recent
(August, 2007) Google search for those terms. When I checked “get on the
Oprah show,” my online press release showed up in a search on the first
page. When I did a Google search for “do it yourself public relations,” my
online press release didn’t show up in the first couple of pages. However,
because I have used “do it yourself public relations” in other online
efforts, I showed up on the first page as the second search result (due to
a Guy Kawasaki blog entry), and later on the first page for my
Do-It-Yourself Public Relations Kit.
Distributing your press release
I distributed my press release through PRWeb for a fee, and I also sent
the press release to free press release distribution services such as
www.arrivenet.com.
I could have submitted the release to many other places, as I have since
learned.
There are almost an unlimited number of places where you can distribute
press releases, according to Allison Nazarian, President of Get It In
Writing, Inc. (www.getitinwriting.biz),
a firm that specializes in search engine optimization (SEO) copywriting
for online press releases, Web sites and blogs, and copywriting for other
marketing materials.
Here are some of the distribution options that Allison uses for her
clients:
Keep in
mind that you often need to submit your press releases to each site
separately, sometimes through a cut and paste process or an uploading
process. It can be very time-consuming.
What to expect after you submit your online press release
It’s hard to know how quickly you’ll start getting Web traffic, e-mails or
calls. However, you need to be ready in case there is a quick response.
The worst thing to do is to send out your online press release and then go
on vacation without coverage (having someone answer e-mails and telephone
calls). If people find you online, they generally want a quick response
(usually within one business day).
If you’re not getting a quick response, don’t worry. Sometimes things take
time. Often, a snowball effect will happen, so that other sites will pick
up your press release from the original posting sites and you’ll get more
traffic over several months’ time.
Was your effort successful?
At this point, you’ve put a lot of time and maybe money into this effort
(if you decide to work with an SEO copywriter or company for all or part
of this process). You want to make sure you got a return on your
investment.
Unlike some traditional forms of public relations, it’s relatively easy to
analyze the success of an online press release campaign. Here’s how:
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You
can use your Web analytics program to determine increases in traffic to
your Web site.
-
You
can see if you got new newsletter subscribers, through increased traffic
to your Web site.
-
You
can check the natural search engine rankings on several search engines
to see if your press release information shows up.
-
You
can ask prospects how they heard about you, and you can tally the number
who mentioned finding you via your online press release.
Just like
any other marketing effort, you’ll need to send out online press releases
continually to get the best results. Remember, people often need to see
your information several times before they are willing to contact you.
Online press releases can be a powerful addition to your public relations
efforts. They will help you stand out from the crowd and grow your
business.
Copyright
2007 Margie Zable Fisher. All rights reserved.
Margie
Zable Fisher is president of Zable Fisher Public Relations, the leader in
small business public relations. She publishes the ‘PRactical P.R.' weekly
ezine with thousands of subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your
business through low-cost and free public relations and publicity
techniques, get your FREE tips now at
http://www.zfpr.com
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