Internet Marketing Blog » press release writing

Press Releases: The Small Business Weapon

Susie — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 08:00:59 +0000

If you’re running a small business, you probably struggle for the resources to compete with the big guys. Operating a small business in the real world is hard enough, but when you’re running your business online, it can be easy to get lost amongst the crowd. There is one area in which small businesses have a small advantage, however, and that is in the personal angle they can take in online press releases.

Larger businesses often struggle to find the right tone for their online press releases. Being used to dealing with other big players, they often fail to grasp the angle needed for a good online press release. This means that they miss out on a major part of the benefits of posting press releases online, namely the attention of the average internet user.

The tone needed to catch the average internet user’s attention is quite different from the regular tone of traditional press releases. Smaller businesses usually find this easier to achieve because they’re not held back by years of corporate web marketing planning. A small business owner also doesn’t have to worry about getting their message through several teams before it is ready for release. Although it can be a good idea to consult a press release professional, and you can talk to us at Click Consult, this relative freedom usually ends with a much better press release.

If you’re operating a small business online, take advantage of your intimate knowledge of your customer base and your freedom when composing online press releases.

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The ‘Newsworthy’ Test For Online Press Releases

John — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:00:27 +0000

An online press release is traditionally intended for the press. That means news. Although the possibilities for an online press release go well beyond the traditional news makers, news is still central to online press releases. For your press release to be considered news, it needs to contain something newsworthy.

Newsworthy events happen to a business more often than you might think, but it often takes a fair bit of thinking before the average business event can be turned into something newsworthy. The help of a professional can be extremely useful when you’re looking for a newsworthy angle for your online press release, and you can talk to us at Click Consult.

The writing of a press release also needs to take on the news style. This means answering the five W’s – the what, where, who, when and why, in the early stages of the press release, and avoiding any sort of language that seems like advertising.

There are a few tests you can put your online press release under to ensure that you’re taking the right approach. The first is to read a series of news articles from the publications to which you will be submitting the press release. If the writing style of your internet marketing press release is similar, you’re probably on the right track. The second is to hand the press release over to a colleague who is unconnected with your business and can give an honest opinion whether they think it works. Their honest opinion is valuable, as it’s likely to resemble the opinion of the average internet user.

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The Right PR Mindset

Susie — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 08:00:58 +0000

Press releases are a lot like ordinary news articles in many ways. In many other ways, they are a completely separate art form, requiring attention to detail, an eye for marketing and a subtle use of words that news articles simply never approach.

A certain attitude is necessary right from the beginning when designing online press releases. The text in particular has to pay some attention to design elements. This is why it is a good idea to consult a professional when composing your online press releases.

Some of the design elements to keep in mind even within the text parts of your online press release include font and formatting, bullet points, lists and subheadings. Each of these elements breaks up the text, making it easier to scan. This is an important point for online press releases, as they need to be able to grab attention and transmit your message without the reader fully consuming the text.

Having the objectives of your press release in mind right from the design stages also allows it to be used to give your brand maximum coverage. An online press release can contain not only images, but video, graphics presentations and sounds. These should be plotted out from the beginning so that the more unusual elements of your press release are highlighted by the text.

Considering the specific nature of an online press release means that the release can be used to maximum effect. You can discuss this with our expert writers at Click Consult.

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Play To The Audience With Online Press Releases

Susie — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 08:06:45 +0000

In amongst all of the SEO possibilities and general business opportunities of an online press release, it can be easy to forget your real target: your audience. Regardless of whether you aim to attract the attention of the press or the general public, at the end of it all there will be a human being reading your words.

Individual internet users need to be considered in a different way from internet users as a whole, although it can be hard to see the distinction. While people as a mass react to concepts, individuals require simplicity. It all comes down to the image in the writer's mind when the press release is being composed.

Picturing a single person reading the press release can be the biggest step to a well-crafted piece. If the writer imagines a sole reader, the words flow like a conversation. It gets easier to avoid jargon, because the individual might misunderstand it. Professional writers are adept at mastering these kinds of subtleties in tone and you can talk to our experts at Click Consult when it comes to writing your online press releases.

Thinking about the general mass of internet users is helpful when designing your online press release, but consideration for individuals has to come in at some point. You should research your target markets in choosing topics and picking a style for your press release. When it comes to the word-for-word content, however, think about a single person reading your document.

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Topics For Online Press Releases

Susie — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:05:54 +0000

Most people might think that the average business doesn't have a lot of exciting, newsworthy events happening every day. After all, news is about action, misadventure, or politics. The average business doesn't go through any exciting changes unless it's unlucky.

This perception of a lack of exciting news can lead a lot of businesses to hesitate when it comes to writing online press releases. Something what is commonly overlooked is that a newsworthy press release is 90% about perception.

News does not have to be world-changing to interest people. A glance at the daily papers will show you that most items are news simply because someone wanted to share it. News is not just exciting. It can be heart-warming, interesting, thought-provoking, funny, intellectual or challenging. It only has to be one of these things to catch attention.

It can be of great help to have the advice of a professional when drawing up ideas for press release topics, and you can consult with us at Click Consult for your online press releases. When you want topics for your online press release, don't just look inside your business. Some successful online press releases have involved nothing more than a little research and a bit of quirky reporting. This might be as simple as looking at your website traffic and turning it into an interesting story. Plenty of online press releases owe their success to nothing more than an observation of the current market.

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You And Your Press Release

Susie — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 08:09:59 +0000

Voice is an elementary part of a traditional press release. When it comes to online press releases, the tone of voice you use to convey your message is a little less clear. One of the best things about online press releases is how flexible the medium is, but this can lead people into a lot of mistakes.

Online press releases can reach audiences in so many different ways. No longer are press releases confined to the standard A4 page print format. As long as it can be sent and downloaded, an online press release can contain anything and can connect you with your target audience in ways that have never been dreamt of before.

This connection is where many people get into trouble. It can be easy with online press releases to be overly familiar, creating the wrong type of dynamic between your business and the reader.

Once the topic is straight and the content is nailed down, the mistake a lot of companies make is to simply write it up. The end result will contain keywords at appropriate places, and be an interesting read, but nevertheless give the wrong kind of message. A good example of this is the inclusion of the word 'you.' In many cases, 'you' comes in when the message is instructional, for instance 'You can find these recipes at our website'. This is perfectly fine for non-press release content, but it goes against the objective, article-like tone that a press release should have.

When composing your press releases, try to keep the tone as close to a journalistic tone as possible. If you would like advice on the tone of your press release, talk to us at Click Consult.

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Writing Online PR For Search Engine Attention

Susie — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:07:59 +0000

One of the major criticisms of online press releases has been that they aren't as effective on the web as their traditional counterparts have always been in real life. The truth is, it's incredibly hard to attract media attention in any form, and an online press release needs to be something very different to win out in this highly competitive world.

The problem with the approach that many have to online press releases is where they send them to. Designing and creating an informative press release and then posting it on a couple of over-crowded websites is tantamount to condemning the poor thing to an ignominious death. The media are far too pushed to pay much attention to the thousands of press releases that are sent to these sites, and sending them direct to the media outlets isn't much help either. The key to the success of an online press release is whose attention it is designed to attract.

Anyone who owns a website is aware that search engines are the popular kids in the playground. Everyone wants to attract their attention. Not many realise that the key to a good press release is also to attract the direct attention of the search engines.

Having a press release that ranks in the news section of Google or Yahoo! is one way to guarantee thousands of people will have access to it. When trying to optimise your online press releases in this way, it can be incredibly helpful to have the services of experts on board. Talk to us at Click Consult about optimising your press releases.

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The Internet Is Our Newspaper

Susie — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:02:42 +0000

For a large percentage of people the internet has become their main source for gaining information. People use the internet not only for research purposes – they read their daily news, they do their shopping and look for anything of interest they need. Posting a press release is one of the best and fastest ways to focus attention on your business. With a press release, you bypass all the slower methods of getting better web visibility.

Your press release brings your news to readers virtually and instantly, giving you an immediate worldwide audience. Smartly weave the appropriate keywords into your press release wherever it can be done naturally. Using SEO tactics for your press release is a smart move.

This brings your press release to the attention to the internet crawlers and boosts your rating in the search results.

Help them find you

It does not help you to have the most brilliant press release that captures the attention of your audience if you forget to tell them how to find you. It is of the utmost importance that you put every possible bit of contact information in your press release.

This means you give them your website URL, your email address and fax number and all applicable phone numbers. Lastly, do not forget to include your physical address for mail. This is important for those readers who wish to mail you for more information or want to make comments.

Wrap your press release up in a short and concise information package. This is to encourage them to come to your website to learn more.

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Online Press Releases And How To Structure Them

Susie — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:03:22 +0000

An online press release is a great way to boost the recognition of your business over the internet. What's more, it can obtain inbound links for your website, boosting your site's ranking in the search engines. Existing in the multimedia environment of the net, an online press release can contain many elements that a traditional, paper-based press release could not. However, the basic structure of a good press release remains the same.

There are five basic parts to a well-structured press release. These are the title, a brief summary, the body, a blurb about your business and press contact details. The press release form is structured this way to draw the reader in and give them the most important information before they can get away.

For the purposes of SEO, your title should include keywords. It should also be very short. Good titles are around five words long and this is where we at Click Consult can help.

Your summary should be only a couple of sentences long. The summary is a good place to put your secondary keywords. Keep the summary to the point and as catchy as possible. This will, hopefully, induce your viewers to read the full piece.

The body of the press release can be the hardest part to write. In a short news-like article, you need to get your point across.

Follow this with a small space and two or three sentences about your company, keeping the writing in the third person. Then provide the details of the best person to contact. You can also slip keywords related to your company into your press contact details, such as brand names and even slogans.

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Go Old School When Writing

Susie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:05:47 +0000

There are many ways in which online press releases differ from their traditional contemporaries. Old style press releases are simply too dry to work in their traditional form online. One thing that hasn't changed, however, is the writing.

The principles of old-fashioned press release writing are fairly simple. Start with a catchy lead, and follow it up with a concise, punchy first paragraph. The first paragraph should also answer the who, what, how and why of the story. Include the 'when' only if your press release is for limited release, as you don't want it to seem outdated.

Like news stories, online press releases should be written in the third person in most circumstances. This helps to present the information as news which is established fact. A press release which sounds like it comes from a third party invokes a sense of authority, rather than a company advertising their services. In some instances, a press release written in the friendly tone of the first person will serve you better, but these are rarer.

Support this sense of authority by providing sources for anything that can be seen as opinion. The source can be from within your company, even yourself. This method also helps to break up the text.

Although the style of press releases has changed for the net, the formulation of content follows these basic rules. Of course, there are plenty of old-fashioned press releases out there that aren't good for the internet. The marketing industry has presented many examples of bad press releases both online and offline over the years, pushing marketing principles and forgetting about basic good writing. This is why it's always a good idea to get a professional internet marketing writer on board when formulating your press releases.

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