Archive for January, 2009

I know there are hundreds of places to post press releases online. PR colleague Justin McGill has a great list of them posted on his own blog.

But often, I see many DIY entrepreneurs, coaches and consulting make a couple of mistakes that actually hurt them online when using those sites.

But let me let you in on a couple of insider secrets:

1. I would guess about 99.8% of the time, most of these sites will not bring a journalist to your door. What thse sites are good for is to increase your search engine rankings and perhaps land a customer or two.
2. Knowing the keywords your audience uses – and peppering them in your release is essential for the best outcome.
3. Blanketing your release on all the sites actually can hurt your chances for increased rankings. But there are easy ways to increase your reach without hitting every site!
4. Adding separate tracking links, instead of using just one URL for all press releases site, can help you figure out where your potential prospects are finding you.

Want to learn how you can attract more clients and customers using the power of free publicity the RIGHT way?

I’m hosting a webinar series starting February 11. Check out all the details at http://www.beheardsolutions.com/attractclientsearlybird.htm

Yesterday, I talked a little about the difference of Push & Pull PR.

Today, I want to share one of the most under utilized opportunities for effective push PR: blogger relations. It’s something I talked a little bit about at the Social Media Telesummit and explore a lot more in my Attract MORE Clients and Customers With Free Publicity class. (One is coming up in February, so stay tuned for details.)

Pitching bloggers can be a slippery slope, so keep in mind the following considerations:

• Be relevant - Mass emailed press releases do not work with bloggers. Review the blog’s categories and previous posts and only offer related news.
• Personalize - Blogging is much more a personal expression than writing articles in a mainstream publications and bloggers respond to personal messages. Generic and poorly written pitches will either be ignored or posted to the blog for everyone to see.
• Make it easy – Write a summary of your news with links to full versions and related resources. Many bloggers will copy paste your summary, add a few of their own comments and link to the news release.
• Swag is good – If you have products or services that can be tried out, be sure to offer them.
• Be persistent – Many bloggers have day jobs and do not have a lot of time. Do not be discouraged if your news does not get picked up or if you do not get a response on your pitch. Try again and be persistent, but not annoying.

According to a report released by comScore, half of all Internet users visited news sites in June 2007. Of the most popular news web sites, Yahoo News is #1 surpassing CNN, MSNBC and AOL News.

There’s also an increase in the use of social media both by end consumers and the media for tracking information that interests them. This includes: blog and news search engines, social news, social bookmarks, podcasts and video. The thing that ties all of this together is RSS. RSS enables people to subscribe to the kinds of content from the channels or formats that they are interested in.

What is important to understand is online PR is effective for direct to consumer communications as well as media relations. The bonus is that adding  social media to online PR initiatives can have a multiplying effect.

Enter the notion of push and pull PR.

Push basically means the tactics used to distribute a company’s news including using press releases sent out via wire services, email or fax. It also includes pitching the media on story ideas and contributed articles.

Pull activities are based on the demand consumers have for online news as well as the search activities of people in the media looking for subject matter experts, researching past news coverage and looking for story ideas. Pull PR makes it easy for the media and your intended audience to find and pull themselves to your news.

On a continum, push and pull would be on either end with media coverage in the middle. Achieving media coverage by one or both push and pull allows you to further extend the reach of your news. First, by pulling more readers to your message via the publications that have picked up your story. Second, by using that media coverage as a direct marketing promotion via email or direct mail.

Examples of pull PR:

• News search engine visibility
• Organic search engine visibility
• Social news and bookmark sites
• Blog & RSS search engines

Examples of push PR:

• News release distribution
• Pitching journalists and bloggers with story ideas
• Social Networks/Rolodex
• Paid reviews on blogs (advertorial)

I’m excited to be presenting at this week’s Social Media Telesummit. So far, it’s been a great event. (Although I’ve only been able to listen LIVE twice, the downloads of the presentations will be invaluable… so there is still time to grab them.)

One thing I am noticing that many of the attendees are buzzing about it how to sell on Twitter.

It’s not about selling.

It’s about influencing. And that’s where public relations strategy comes in.

After all, people need to know, like and trust you BEFORE they will every buy from you.And 140 characters saying ‘BUY ME! I’m Great!’ won’t cut it.

My pal, Scott Stratten (@unmarketing on Twitter), has got it right. He’s been working hard – real hard to help people, start conversations and have fun at the same time. (Be Warned: He has a Spaceballs quote for every occasion!)

The result: he’s considered the top influencer on Twitter right now, which means people are listening to his suggestions of where to put their hard earned cash.

Want to learn more about this? Come back tomorrow for additional tips and information on how to influence.

Yup! I’m the big 4-0 today. But it certainly doesn’t feel like it.

I’ll be spending the day celebrating with family and friends locally at one of my favorite places called Bombers.  Not only do they have awesome food, but on your birthday they give you a HUGE margarita. So if you’re in the area around lunchtime, stop by.  (And don’t forget to bring a spare coat to donate to their annual coat drive… with every coat you bring in,  Bombers will give you a $5 gift card.)

Speaking of gifts,  I couldn’t celebrate my big day without giving you a gift!

So this year, you can download or listen in to an audio program I did awhile back (when I was in my thirties) with Kelly McCausey. It’s all about how to get publicity for the holidays (and not just Christmas, but Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and graduations).

Grab it at http://www.cherrycomcast.com/getholidaypublicityfreeaudio.mp3 Please note: this is a rather large file, chock full of great ideas, so be patient!

Enjoy!

PS – Don’t forget, I am also offering an additional bonus gift on tonight’s call with Sharon Wilson: Learn the Amazing Secret to Recession-Proofing Your Business and Experience Unshakable Success and Peace of Mind in ANY Economy

Get details at http://www.coachingfromspirit.com/Shannon