Internet Marketing Blog » press releases

Put Time On Your Side For Press Releases

Susie — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:11:07 +0000

If you’ve been looking into an online press release as part of your company’s marketing strategy, you may already be aware that time is an important factor. The time of your press release’s launch on the net can have a big impact on how successful it is. It’s important to make sure that time is on your side.

Time affects the success of an online press release in a few different ways:

*Internet users: It is known that different groups of internet users access news, press release and social media sites at specific times of the day. They also access these sites for different reasons depending on the time of day. Talk to the web marketing specialists at Click Consult when planning your press release’s launch.

*Social bookmarking: If you want your press release to have the enviable coverage provided by a social bookmarking site, you need to time its release to fit in with user patterns of behaviour. Behaviour will vary from site to site.

*Press release sites: People read news in a pattern. Internet users dip into press release sites in a pattern also. Judge the peak times of day to get maximum coverage, as this area of internet marketing involves identifying trends to benefit SEO and PPC campaigns.

*Google News: Experts say that information is more effective when it is released to Google News in the morning, rather than the evening. People tend to like their news in the morning. It’s something to think about on a broader scale as well.

Research into the behaviour of sites and people should be a part of your planning for press releases.

Online Press Releases And Social Media The social media networks operating today present immense web marketing…...
Press Releases: An Open Invitation Onto Your Competitors’ Websites Press releases are used online in a variety of circumstances...
Distributing Your Own Online Press Releases Distributing online press releases can improve brand awareness while driving...

Break PRs Down For Readers

Susie — Thu, 20 May 2010 07:30:28 +0000

The internet is responsible for some massive changes in written communication. Most of the changes to the English language for the past several centuries have occurred in the last 50 years or so, and many of the written changes are happening now. While language lovers may bemoan this fact, the average business needs to embrace it for internet marketing purposes.

One of the factors that every online business needs to accept is the need for brief internet communication. The average internet user simply doesn’t have the patience to read big chunks of text. This has had a big effect on how you should format your online press release.

Online press releases must be in a format that the internet user can scan easily. This means that in the first three seconds of clicking onto your content, the user has to be able to run their eye across your text and get an idea of whether it will be interesting to them. If your content fails this test, the internet user will simply click back and find something more interesting to do.

The tricks of the trade for internet-based content include:

- Bullet points, which break up the text quite nicely and set out information in easy-to-consume, bite-sized pieces

- Numbered lists, which, like bullet points, break up information

- Subheadings throughout the text, which act as a kind of table of contents.

Any, and all, of these can be used in your online press release to great effect. Talk to our consultants at Click Consult when you want to make your press release as readable as possible.

Optimise Your PR Summary For SEO Benefits An online press release is designed to spread the word...
Press Release TMI – Too Much Information When you compose a press release, you’re dealing with a...
Press Release Glossary Terms: Press Release Distribution Press release distribution is the act of distributing press releases...

Quotable Quotes For PRs

Susie — Wed, 12 May 2010 07:30:53 +0000

Unlike the well-known phrase, your press release facts are not best when straight from the horse’s mouth. Featuring ideas that are unsupported by objective fact is a swift way to kill interest in your online press release. The general public has long since learnt that marketers will say anything to sell a product. The trick, therefore, is to get someone else to say it for you.

1. Stick to the facts

In the main body of your online press release, it’s important to stick to the facts as much as you can. This means the plain facts of your story, ungarnished by pretty adjectives. Listing the basic things you want to say is a good starting point, as you can always work up your content from there. You can talk to our experts at Click Consult about press release composition.

2. Ring in some praiseworthy quotes

Not many readers realise that a quote can come from anywhere. Even print journalists sometimes cite friends when in dire need of a quote. If you’ve got a customer comments section on your website, you may not need to stoop to this level.

Anyone is fair game for a quote for your internet marketing press release, as long as they agree to having their words used. You may find that some of the most valuable resources for your release are people within your own company.

Self-praise has never been an effective method of selling a message. Find a way to give your online press release an objective tone through quoting others.

If It’s A Fact, Back It Up Online press releases are factual pieces of newsworthy media. They...
Never Give Readers Stale News If a press release gives stale news and information is...
Building Your E-Reputation With Online Press Releases An e-reputation is the reputation of a company on the...

Your Press Release Is A Sales Document

John — Tue, 04 May 2010 07:30:19 +0000

People often emphasise the need for a press release to be newsworthy. There is no doubt that this aspect of a press release is vital, but all this emphasis draws attention away from the main objective of any business press release: to create marketing attention for the business. No matter how news-y your online press release is, ultimately it needs to act as a sales document

The dichotomy between what an online press release needs to achieve and how it should achieve it causes a lot of confusion. There is always a danger that treating a press release as a sales document will produce… a sales document. There’s also a danger that aiming for a newsworthy tone will push the sales aspect of the release too far into the background.

The Zen approach to sales writing

The key to an effective online press release is to have your sales goal in mind, without pushing it on the reader. A good press release needs to paint an attractive picture for the reader which ultimately serves the sales message. The way to do this is to concentrate on the reader, and position the sales message in a way that will impact on them. This takes considerable creativity, and it can help to have a professional on board. You can talk to us at Click Consult for help.

Sales language should never overtake a search marketing press release. At the same time, it is important for the sales message to be at the heart of the press release. Don’t forget it.

Press Release Glossary Terms: The Hook The hook of a press release is the section that...
Top Tips For A Good PR There are all sorts of outside elements that play on...
Press Releases Should Entice A lot of companies treat their press releases as yet...

How To Instantly Grab Attention

Susie — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:30:29 +0000

Competition is high for attention with online press releases. It usually takes something special for one to be noticed above the others. If you want your online press release to succeed, you need to do everything you can to grab attention.

Internet marketing professionals will advise you to try all sorts of tricks to gain attention when competing against other companies and their advice should certainly be taken into account. There are ways to grab attention without such flashy moves. A professional writer will tell you that all you need to do is stick with the form, and do it well. In the case of press releases, you need to write up a decent summary paragraph.

A good summary paragraph can win readers.

The summary paragraph is one of the most important parts of an online press release. After the title, the summary of your press release is what convinces readers whether to continue to read or abandon the release. Unlike the title, however, your summary paragraph can actually convey a lot of information. If written well, your summary can get your entire message across, making it less of a disaster if people decide not to read.

Summary paragraphs can also be used as descriptions in the press release listings. This makes their composition even more important, and you can talk to us at Click Consult about press release composition.

It’s important to note that summaries can outlive their welcome, so keep them short. Remember, on the internet, brief is better.

Don’t Overlook The Small Things In Press Releases Getting together an online press release… can be a stressful...
Optimise Your PR Summary For SEO Benefits An online press release is designed to spread the word...
Online Press Releases And How To Structure Them An online press release is a great way to boost...

Beginners’ Mistakes In Online Press Releases

John — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:30:42 +0000

An online press release may seem like a simple thing to write up, but it’s actually a document that requires a fair amount of technical knowledge. Not the sort of ‘technical’ that involves screwdrivers and solder, but the sort that involves word craft. An online press release can be messed up very easily if you’re not aware of some basic beginners’ mistakes.

Steer clear of jargon

One of the major mistakes made by companies when they write press releases is the inclusion of jargon. Press releases are intended for general reading. Technical terms are confusing. If you’re unsure about writing your press release, talk to us at Click Consult.

No fluffy terms

An online press release needs to appear objective. Using lots of adjectives is likely to put readers off, and ruin any chance of your press release being picked up by the media.

Exclamation points are press release death!

The exclamation point is an interesting piece of punctuation because it is solely about emotion, at least in modern usage. The mark is used to indicate extreme feeling. In modern writing, they’re simply too emotional to be used effectively. In recent years, exclamation points have even been thinned out of works of fiction.

Despite this, some search marketing press releases feature not just one exclamation point at a time, but sometimes even two or three. Ending your sentence in ‘!!’ is an absolute no-no. Only include an exclamation point if it’s within a quote, as a way of indicating that the person said something with emphasis.

Submitting Press Releases To Get Results When you write an online press release… you know that...
Traditional Versus Online Press Releases: The Difference There are so many dud press releases out there on...
Why are the best where they are? Press releases are a great way to get some good...

Finding A Standard Format For PRs

Susie — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:00:57 +0000

The tradition of press releases is usually a major drawback when it comes to an online press release. Entire industries are bogged down by what they think a press release ‘should’ be, completely ignoring the possibilities that the digital medium affords them because they’re too scared of putting a foot wrong. The traditional press release holds a lot of things back. It can also help you to find the way forward when you’re stuck for a way to go.

One of the trickier things about an online press release is how to format it. Despite the possibilities that an online press release opens up in terms of using links and inserting multimedia, there is a need to conform. The news industry has certain standards and conventions, and these need to be addressed if you want the news to pay attention. If you send just any old thing to a major publication’s press room, you risk them ignoring it as unprofessional.

It can help to get advice from a professional when you’re composing your online press releases, and you can talk to us at Click Consult on how to implement them into an internet marketing campaign. If you’re going it on your own, here are some of the essential formatting elements you should take into account:

- Correct spelling and grammar is essential

- Don’t get over excited with fonts. Times New Roman is fine

- If you plan on getting fancy, provide a plain Word document first, then your HTML version

- Include only materials and images to which you own the copyright

- Take your time. This helps you avoid mistakes

Press Release Glossary Terms: The Hook The hook of a press release is the section that...
Press Release Timing There are many challenges in creating and distributing press releases...
Handy Help for Writing a Press Release that Works A press release is a great way to gain some...

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.

Never Give Readers Stale News If a press release gives stale news and information is...
No News Is Not Good News It's impossible to stress the importance of good, newsworthy content...
Never Give Online Press Release Readers Stale News If an online press release… gives stale news and information...

Top Tips For A Good PR

Susie — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:56 +0000

There are all sorts of outside elements that play on your internet marketing press release, and you can talk about these with our experts at Click Consult. When it comes down to it, your online press release needs six things:

1. A great headline. Your headline will usually serve as your title tag for most online press release sites, so it needs to be catchy and contain your keywords. This is a big ask for just a few words. Marketing and advertising copywriters recommend spending around 50% of your writing time on getting the headline and opening sentence of your press release just right.

2. Specific information offered up at the start. You may have heard of the five W’s. What, where, when, who and why all need to be answered in the beginning of your press release. The order is up to you.

3. Strong emotional triggers. You want your press release to prompt the reader to do something, even if it’s just nod in agreement.

4. Something that gets the reader on your side. Many writers for the web talk about sensationalism being a great way to attract attention, and this is absolutely correct. A press release, however, wants to get the reader on side.

5. An offer to the reader. This doesn’t need to be a ‘buy one get one free’ offer. It just needs to be something of value, whether it is information or entertainment.

6. A unique mystery. This is a dramatic way of saying that your online press release needs to be different enough to stand out!

Press Release Headline Tips Press releases can provide a website with access to previously...
Press Release Glossary Terms: The Hook The hook of a press release is the section that...
Sell Your News In Your Headline It really can’t be stated enough. The most important part...

Time Is Vital For Your Press Releases

John — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:00:33 +0000

Timing is often of the utmost importance in business. Make your offer too soon, and you give your plans away. Make it too late and it’s, well, too late! Things are no different on the web. Timing is everything when it comes to your online press release.

People sometimes forget that the web has a temporal factor. The internet seems so removed from the real world that it often seems to take on time factors of its own. However, real people use the net and real people are guided by real-world factors.

Factor 1: Time of year

Is your news seasonal? If you’re announcing a big change in your executive staff at the cut-off of the financial year, that could be big news. If you’re having your pre-Christmas sale beginning in November, you could sell it as a convenience for your customers. Seasonality can give you some great angles in search marketing and you can talk to us about this at Click Consult.

Factor 2: Time within the week

Millions of people around the world work office hours and behave very differently when surfing the net at home. Bored office workers are more likely to read random news pieces, so time your press release to suit.

Factor 3: Time of day

The time of day you send out an online press release can determine how many people read it. If, for example, you post your press release in the afternoon, it’s unlikely to make a splash. It’s worth getting up early to ensure your news hits before lunchtime.

Put Time On Your Side For Press Releases If you’ve been looking into an online press release… as...
Getting Into Google News An online press release is aimed to hit the best...
Press Release Timing There are many challenges in creating and distributing press releases...