Public Relations

What goes together with marketing like peanut butter and jelly?

Public relations.

While PR has changed over the past 10 years, it’s still a valuable component of your overall marketing strategy.

Pitching the media could result in you getting written about in a magazine, online, or on a television or radio program.

Publishing press releases online can get you valuable links back to your website, which helps you rank higher in search results.

Start here for all things public relations!

How to Pitch the Media

You’ve written a  press release about your latest company news. It’s been published online, but you’re looking for a bit more media coverage. Now it’s time to go to the next level of PR: learning how to pitch the media.

Essentially, you want to connect with journalists who might be interested in writing about your news. It takes some legwork (and ideally, you begin this process long before you have news to share), but it can pay off in huge ways.

Step 1: Connect with the Right Journalists

Start by researching who’s writing about your industry. You’re interested in journalists and bloggers who write for local newspapers and magazines, as well as medium and larger publications. You’ll have better luck with the former, but it’s always good to shoot for the stars, as long as your expectations are realistic. Your chances of getting coverage in the Wall Street Journal are very slim, but if you build up coverage in local and smaller publications, you just might get their attention.

Public Relations Roundup

If you're DIYing your own press releases and PR, make sure to download my Kindle book (I can send it in PDF if you prefer), DIY Press Releases: Your Guide to Becoming Your Own PR Consultant. Then, read the posts from this roundup.

3 Reasons You Can’t Ignore Press Releases as Part of Your Marketing Strategy

It seems like Google is slapping down every marketing technique professionals like me have been using for years, all in the space of a few months.  Press releases as part of your marketing strategy, says Google, aren’t appropriate tools for getting backlinks and using keywords.

Mexico Way  

But does that make them not worth using?

Not at all, and here’s why.

1. Constant Mention of Your Brand Helps You

When you’ve consistently got things happening at your company and put out press releases as part of your marketing strategy about your news and accomplishments, people take notice. Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn; that’s what marketing and PR are all about.

If someone searches for your company name and sees several press release links in the results, they’ll get the impression that things are moving and shaking over at your company. And that’s an image you want to portray: success and activity.

Why a Press Release is a Small Biz Owner’s Secret Weapon

You’ve tried social media. You’ve written blog posts. You’re generating a modest amount of traffic back to your company’s website, but you want more.

Why a Press Release is a Small Biz Owner's Secret Weapon

Have You Considered Press Releases?

They’re great for creating backlinks to your site, boosting SEO (though there is debate on that), and generally creating interest in your company.

You Don’t Need Big Guns if You’re Armed Properly

You might think only giant corporations use press releases. While they’re a part of most big companies’ marketing and PR strategies, press releases aren’t restricted to brands with bigger budgets and branding than yours. Many small businesses aren’t using press releases to drive traffic, and therein lies the benefit to you.  If your competitors aren’t reading this post, you’re one step ahead of them.

DIY Press Releases: Your Guide to Becoming Your Own PR Consultant Kindle Version Released

I’m happy to announce that I’ve updated my DIY Press Releases  book with new information and resources for the Kindle. And the best part? It’s just $2.99.

diy

(If you don’t have a Kindle, did you know you can download a Kindle Reader app for Chrome, iPad and your Android phone? I love the app! I can read my books from any of my devices and pick up where I left off.)

Here’s more about the Kindle version of DIY Press Releases:

You know the value of a press release, but you don’t have the budget to hire a PR firm. This book teaches you step-by-step how to write great press releases. BONUS: You’ll receive valuable resources, links to blogs and examples of actual press releases to make you into your own PR consultant!

Top Online PR Stunts That Have Backfired

There are numerous ways in which you can get your business’s brand noticed and boost sales; search engine optimization techniques, viral videos, content writing and social media marketing. Online PR is a great method to attract journalists to write about your company, your products and its services. But as beneficial as press releases are for marketing, they can also backfire if you do not deliver them appropriately.

A successful piece of content will be engaging, relevant and interactive. Commercial content is deemed negative in the eyes of journalism but newsworthy releases will achieve results and by publishing them to vast audiences via press release distribution sites, you extend the coverage considerably.

When PR Stunts Go Wrong

However, there are some memorable online PR stunts that have backfired and rather than causing a buzz around the brand, it has caused controversy and uproar. One of the biggest stunts was when Microsoft published Amy Winehouse’s album for sale right after she died and they advertised it all over social media sites like Twitter. The backlash was immense and industry experts accused the company of trying to cash in on the singer’s unfortunate death.

The Tuesday to Thursday Rule

If you’ve ever wondered if there was a  best time to send a press release, you’d be right. Although experts argue about when exactly that is, here’s what I’ve discovered in my own experience.

The Tuesday to Thursday Rule

I’ve been using what I call the Tuesday to Thursday rule for years when it comes to distributing and pitching press releases and sending emails. Essentially, people are bombarded with emails on Monday (why do we get so many work-related emails on the weekend??) and on Friday their minds are elsewhere, if not their bodies. So studies have proven that the best time to interact is Tuesdays through Thursdays.

A Letter to Fellow PR Consultants

Dear PR Consultant: I don’t by any means consider myself an expert in public relations. But the fact that you send me horrible pitches makes me realize I’ve learned a thing or two that I’d like to share with you.…

5 Tips to Optimize Your News Release for New Media

This is a guest post from Frank Strong, former director of Public Relations at Vocus and PRWeb.   

Despite the fuss that press releases are dead press releases, perhaps more appropriately titled news releases, remain a steadfast and effective tool in the marketer’s tool kit. There is one simple reason: in a Web-based world, online news releases afford the opportunity to create your own audience and reach your target market directly.

Certainly news releases have changed, in many ways, the modern news release is like a standalone landing page, with quotes, multimedia and additional resources and links to relevant information. If the news distribution service you use archives your release indefinitely, then your release can continue to gain traffic even years after being initially published. To take advantage of this opportunity here are five tips to optimize your news release for new media:

How Online Press Releases Boost Web Traffic

I’m a big fan of online press releases. I use a service called PRWeb.com, which sends my clients’ press releases to dozens of news and industry sites. (They don’t pay me to gush about them, unfortunately, so know that this…

Managing a PR Crisis

While most small business owners will never have to deal with a public relations crisis, it's important to have a strategy in place in the event that one does occur. And in today's social media sharing landscape, burying your company's head in the sand is simply not an option.
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