Online Marketing Tips for your Press Release

M. Shifley Leave a comment

When most people think of public relations, they understand it to be the act of relaying news to a media source via a press release. They believe once they submit a press release, that’s all they can do. They wait to see what the press release can do for them. Too many people submit a press release to a variety of news outlets-thinking they have a great story the media will pick up-but they hear nothing back.

Instead, they wait, and wait, and wait. Nothing happens. Ever since the first press release was published on October 30, 1906, public relations has been shaped and defined by more than a written release. Networking, relationship building, trustworthy practices, and brand presence are just a few additional elements that help define public relations.

Today, with a wide variety of news mediums to choose from, the public has spread itself across several channels. If you choose to convey your company message only through one medium, such print media, you may find the public is elsewhere and your efforts wasted.

If you’re not using online platforms to enhance your public relation efforts, then you’re missing an opportunity to expose your brand to the public, generate leads, increase sales, and boost credibility. Some of the most innovative and effective ways to reach your target market online include PR 2.0 and optimized press releases.

• PR 2.0: By definition, PR 2.0 is a social media press release. This newly developed public relations tool was born from the rise in social media popularity. As more and more people use flickr, del.icio.us, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Digg, they are more desensitized to newspapers and traditional media outlets. Because of this shift, using modern media forms, in addition to traditional forms, is the most effective way to get across time-sensitive news items related to your business. PR 2.0 incorporates a variety of interactive social media elements including video, Twitter pitches, share options, bookmarking capabilities, photos, slideshows, bulleted information, links to your website, blog, and social media sites, and contact options. Because social media press releases are viral, the audience base you can reach with it is infinite.

• Optimized Press Release: Also known as search engine optimization (SEO) PR, an optimized press release is search engine optimized to ensure it pulls up on search engine result pages. In other words, the optimized press release is written to incorporate important keywords that prospects may be using as search terms. One of the most popular places the public and even the media go for their daily news dish is the Internet. Google News, Yahoo! News, and Bing, to name a few.

If you post an optimized pr in popular search engines, you can be sure to get some hits off of it. Similar to a social media release, an optimized pr is viral and has the ability to reach a countless number of prospects.

It’s obvious the public relations model has shifted over the years, but public relations still, without a doubt, embodies the same principles it did over 100 years ago: provide the people and the press with truthful, accurate information that is both newsworthy and valuable.

If you have additional questions about how I can help your press release generate more leads and how important it is to helping your company receive more exposure online please contact me and I will be more than happy to help. I can be reached at 208.598.0084 or matt.shifley@yahoo.com.

Content is King

M. Shifley Leave a comment

By design, online search engines like Google create result listings based on hot and relevant SEO (search engine optimization) keywords. The most ideal website rankings mostly rely on the strategic use of common SEO practices (i.e. long-tail keywords, blog entry tags, meta tags, link exchanging, etc). However, no matter how visual or audible any Web page may be, the actual content matters the most.

Not only do search engines rank your site by keyword relevance, they also determine whether your site is relevant and unique to a user’s defined search. So when it comes right down to search results, it is more valuable to have something worth saying rather than a page designed with repetitive key phrases.

Following are a few useful writing tips that can enrich the value of your site, increase your readership, and raise your overall web ranking:

1. Stick to a solid writing format: introduction, body, and conclusion. The copywriting should smoothly lead readers to the climax of the story. With a Web audience, you have only a few seconds to make a connection, so your writing should reveal the main point within the first 150 to 200 words.

2. Say more with fewer words. Are there any unnecessary pieces of your copywriting that are clouding the core message? Consider how you can avoid wasting words, or using up your space with ranting, musing, or stream-of-conscious writing that lacks direction. Readers who keep coming back to your site desire originality, and sometimes, meaningful information that may be read, recommended, and linked to over the next 10 years.

3. Think creatively with titles. There are many ways to entice readers with new headers or titles. For instance, you can pump it with SEO keywords to show up higher on the results listing. You can pose a stimulating question or startling statement (i.e. “10 worst predictions in 2009 politics,” “sex, lies and health care reform,” or “will your investments be worthless in 2020?”).

4. Encourage interaction with readers. One of the best ways you can expand your audience is by making your site more interactive. In addition to posing intriguing headers or titles, you can assert your take on a controversial topic instead of presenting an informative and neutral position. You can add a kicker in the middle or end of the copywriting, which will encourage commentators to post their opinions.

5. Offer something unique or original. Above all, make sure that your website benefits readers with unique information that they wouldn’t necessarily find on a related blog or site. Think about the entire online experience that you would want to create with your readers. Is there something extraordinary about the opinions you offer (i.e., are you an expert in your topic?), do you allow your audience to get more involved, and does your site provide the full multimedia experience? What is the true value of visiting your site, and what keeps users coming back for more?

If you have additional questions about how I can help your website generate more leads with great copywriting and how important copywriting is to helping your company increase their presence online, please contact me and I will be more than happy to help. I can be reached at 208.598.0084 or matt.shifley@yahoo.com.

Captivating Copywriting for your Company

M. Shifley 1 Comment

How can I do this for you? Web copywriting can be difficult, and if it’s not done correctly, the results will unfortunately be poor. Great copywriting requires the following:

1. Know your audience: If you can’t say who you’re marketing to, how are you supposed to sell them anything?

2. Know your product or service: Like your market, you have to know your product through and through. Placing a few open-ended ideas in your copy can sometimes leave people wanting to find out more, and that can keep them coming back.

3. Showcase the value of what you can offer to customers: There aren’t too many truly new products or services out there. So, copywriting made easy requires that you show people why what you’re offering is better and more valuable than what someone else (i.e., your competitor) is offering.

4. Write for your customers, not for yourself: Cast your Web copywriting with the correct tone and focus, and customers will respond in a positive way to what you have to say.

By allowing me to follow these steps and following them carefully, over time your website will improve and you’ll see your business grow. Great copywriting isn’t easy, but I can help you achieve captivating copy for your company.

If you need more advice or assistance in getting the right copy for your product or your website then contact me. I will be more than happy to help. I can be reached at 208.598.0084 or matt.shifley@yahoo.com.

A Great Product Needs Great Copywriting

M. Shifley Leave a comment

A great product needs a great sales copy. The objective of the sales copy is always to sell the product. And even if your product is the best that is out there in the market, it needs the RIGHT words to strike the RIGHT chords in the heart of your potential customer.

The two big questions you need to ask if you are attempting sales copywriting are: Who is my target audience? And: How do I strike the right chords to their heart so that they sing the same tune as me and believe that my product is the best one to buy?

These two questions should be the backbone of your sales copy. The rest, you may forget about for the time being. You have to lead your target audience on to the benefits of your product and give them some good and valid reasons regarding why they should buy it from you.

The first step in writing a successful sales copy is to identify your audience. Who would be the potential users of your product. Once you have done that, you have to find a way to lure them into your website. Look for the right keywords and litter them judiciously in your sales copy so that whatever search engine your potential customer is using, he or she gets to see your site at the top. You can use simple applications like ‘wordtracker’ or ‘overture suggestion’ to look for the right keywords related to your product. Weave these keywords throughout your website sales copy including title tags and meta tags. It would be easier for your potential customers to find you on the web that way.

Now that your audiences have found you, you have to get them hooked to your site … and that is where the lesson ends today. If you need more advice or assistance in getting the right copy for your product or your website then contact me. I will be more than happy to help. I can be reached at 208.598.0084 or matt.shifley@yahoo.com.