Public Relations Tips: Online Publicity

In this day and age, the internet is an essential tool for businesses. The internet is an excellent tool for publicity as it is so widely used today. These days, consumers will often first check out a business's website for information before even picking up the phone to call them directly. A website is also useful because it allows people to contact the business. For this reason, it is important for the success of a business to have a website.

History
The history of online publicity began with global PR firm Edelman Public Relations, which was the first public relations firm to go online with a website in 1995. Now, virtually every business has a website.

Continue reading "Online Publicity" »

Posted by DK at 06:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You have a great website but you do not know how to promote it so that you will get more viewers. You are not sure how to get it out there so that people want to come to it and see it. How are going to get good website promotion so that more people will want to come and see you website and what you have to offer?

One great way to get a lot of traffic to your site is by getting into internet directories and search engines. These can bring a lot of people to your site. If you can get into the major directories and major search engines then that alone could bring in sufficient traffic.

You take Google for example. Google is a major search engine that is used by millions upon millions of people. Probably every second, every minute, there is someone who is on Google's search engine, looking for sites on different topics and with different products. There is always someone looking for something.

If your site was in one of these major search engines then there would be thousands of people a day who would see the link to your site and there would probably be a lot of them that would go to it to see what is on it. Especially if you have a catchy title or name for your website. If it is something that catches their attention and makes them curious, they will want to go there.

Continue reading "Website Promotion" »

Posted by DK at 07:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Since one of your jobs in public relations is to create ads that help create a public image for your clients' one thing that you are going to need to think about is where to place these ads. You can place ads on websites that your target customers frequently visit. This would involve buying ad space from other people who have designed websites that your target customers would visit. But before you can even get this far you will have to figure out who your target customers are. If you are looking to target young adults for your target customers a great place to purchase ad space is from websites such as MySpace or dating websites. By placing ads on websites that your target customers visit frequently you are increasing the exposure of your company and you are increasing your chances that your target customers will click on your ad and visit your website.

Posted by DK at 07:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: website, media, press, media_room, online_media, online_media_room, website_mistakes
Here are some of the most egregious sins a web site can make that confuse, offend and generally turn off visitors, including the media:

Home pages with big, clunky photos that cause sites to load too slowly.

"Wallpaper" backgrounds usually made up of the company's logo repeated in row after row. Then type is slapped on top of it. It's like reading print on top of wallpaper, and often it's illegible.

Hard-to-find addresses, phone and fax numbers and e-mail addresses. I once found a web site for a public relations company that had the phone number buried three layers into the site. Don't hide this information under a "Contact Us" key either. Post it right out there on the home page, or on every page of the site.

Information that makes the site look outdated. For example, the phrase "We can deliver in time for Christmas!" shouldn't appear at the site in February.
For more examples of things you shouldn't do online see Special Report #22 "How to Create an Online Media Room and Keep the Media Coming Back"

Posted by Rachael at 07:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: news, media, reporter, publicity, build_image, celebrity_image, name, name_fame, website, website_publicity

It's expected that every celebrity should have an interesting web site. You don't have to spend a fortune for it. But the site should convey your celebrity appeal, or at least give the impression that you're a celebrity. Here are ways to do that:

 If you're on the speaking circuit, offer a place where visitors can review your "speaking tour," complete with names of groups you are speaking to, the topic, dates, and contact information.
 Post articles written by and about you.
 Include an attractive photo of yourself on your home page. Don't make visitors hunt for it.
 Use testimonials from clients, customers, audiences that have loved your speeches, readers who adore your books, or anyone else who can speak to your expertise.
For more tips on building a classy website, and other ways of creating a celebrity image see Special Report #11 "Secrets for Building Your Celebrity Image"

Posted by Rachael at 07:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tips for More Hits:

1. Ask friends and associates what keywords they would use if doing a search for your web site. Then use the top 10 or 15 words at the top of the Web page, in META tag format.

2. Include your address and phone number on your home page. Some search engines kick out Web sites that don't include this.

3. Submit your pages to Yahoo at http://www.yahoo.com/docs/info/include.html. This is actually a directory, not a search engine. Make sure your listing doesn't exceed the number of characters allowed, or it will be edited.

4. Use multiple domain names. If you sell marketing services, you might consider the following: YourBusiness.com, Marketing4You.com and Marketing-Services.net.

5. Add many links to your site. This will give you a higher ranking in the search engines.
For more great tips to get your website more traffic and hits see Special Report #17, "63 Powerful Ways to Promote Your Web Site to Draw Traffic and Boost Sales"

Posted by Rachael at 07:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Recycling publicity is like rolling a snowball downhill and watching it get bigger and bigger.
Here is a great way you can recycle publicity:
Recycle at Your Web Site
 Post timely news releases.
 Post articles that have been written by and about you in other publications.
 Include a list of all media appearances. Reporters sometimes visit a person's web site to learn more about them before committing to write a story. If they see that you have been featured in many media, that will give you instant credibility.
If you have an outstanding web site, send an e-mail to publications like USA Today that "review" websites and ask them to take a look.

For more great recycling ideas see Special Report # 13 "How to Recycle Your Publicity (for Serious Publicity Hounds Only)"

Posted by Rachael at 07:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Getting people to your site initially is important, but getting them back to it again and again is how you make money and boost sales. The following are some great tips for getting people to your site:
 Publish an e-mail newsletter weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. It's a great way to position yourself as an expert, sell products and spread the word about you.

 Offer a tip of the day on your home page.

 Invite visitors to take a quiz and test their knowledge of something related to what you are selling.

 Offer something free if visitors will fill out a short survey, answer a question (a great way to take a poll or survey), cast a vote, take a quiz or give you a testimonial that you can use in your marketing.
For more great ideas to get people to your site again and again and boost your sales see Special Report #17, "63 Powerful Ways to Promote Your Web Site to Draw Traffic and Boost Sales"

Posted by Rachael at 05:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

People will spend both money and time on your website if it is easy to use and navigate.
 Don't ask the customer to provide too much information about themselves or they will bail out before buying.

 Offer a money-back "no questions asked" guarantee and promote it.

 Provide free information and samples to entice your customers to buy.

 Let people know you accept many forms of payment-checks, credit cards, faxed orders, phone calls or e-mail.

 Offer sales support after someone buys your product. Invite them to call or e-mail you if they have questions.

 Use a shopping cart program so customers can add and remove items from their shopping cart before they "check out."

There are many other ways to make your site easy and convenient to use, for a complete list see Special Report #17, "63 Powerful Ways to Promote Your Web Site to Draw Traffic and Boost Sales"

Posted by Rachael at 05:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Headline writing is an art. Spend some time really thinking about it, maybe even running your final headline by a few people, to get their impression. It’s worth it.
A couple of tips—keep it short. Make sure you use your target audience’s name in the headline. Remember, there’s a lot of article competition out there.

For example, if you target small business owners, try to use the term “small business” or “small biz owners,” or “small biz entrepreneurs,” or something like that. Put it right out there. You want a reader to be reading and saying, “Hey, this article’s about me, because they just said my name.” Tell your readers in the headline what they’re going to learn. Don’t make them guess. Don’t use puns. Don’t hide what your article is about. Don’t try to be cute.

If your article explains, in a quick shot, what it’s going to do, what a reader’s going to get from it—compared to someone else, who has the same content, but wrote some silly, secretive, hidden headline, or cute—then you are going to get clicked on more than your competitor.

More tips on headline writing for online portals exist in the transcript How to Submit Online Articles That Pull Traffic to Your Website.

Posted by DK at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Let’s say you’re a crisis communications consultant. You wrote a chapter in a book on the “Ten C’s of Good Crisis Communication” and now your writing an online article. You only have time in 600-800 words in your article, so you cover one of those ten C’s in an article. You can then publish monthly articles with each of the remaining C’s.

That is a great strategy, and here’s why it’s great. Each article has quality content, and you’re luring the reader back to your site. What happens is now you have someone who’s hot for the second piece of information and third piece and the fourth. Now you have people waiting in the wings who want more information.

Additionally, if a prospective customer missed your first two articles, but sees a third one, they are likely to click over and look for your first two articles, because they loved your third one so much.

So, you increase your method of luring people in, because you’re actually giving them indirect reasons, or more reasons to come in because you didn't just write one article about that expertise. You’re writing ten.

For more on submitting articles to online portals, check out How to Submit Online Articles That Pull Traffic to Your Website.

Posted by DK at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is a little different from what most people are taught in terms of effective public relations. When submitting an article to a portal, you should never follow up. You should always follow up with the print media, after you submit an article. However, online portals are dramatically different.

Imagine you send in your article to an online portal. Several hundred other people every day are submitting an article to the same portal. Think about the editor on the other end of that. Imagine if everybody said, “Did you get my article? Are you going to use it? Do you like it?”

The fact is, that’s too much, and you overwhelm the editor. Most of the time, the editors actually write in the form, where you’re actually depositing your article, “Please do not follow up.” Eight times out of 10, the moment you deposit your article and submit it, it uploads and you can go back within the minute and actually see your article displayed online, because it’s all automated.

For a more in depth look at online portal editors’, and how they differ from print editors, check out How to Submit Online Articles That Pull Traffic to Your Website.

Posted by DK at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You want to make sure you’re not burning or yelling at your reader when your’re writing online articles. You have to be careful. There is nothing wrong if you wanted to capitalize your subhead, but as most of you know, if you’re writing in a lot of caps online, it means that you’re screaming.

So instead of using all caps in your subheadings, use initial caps—the first word is capped, the rest of the word is lower case. In between your subheads, on one end, put “—,” and other end of it, at the end of your subhead, put “—”

Now you never have to worry about losing your formatting, and you’re being nice to your reader who is quickly going through and easily following your change in thought.

For a more in depth look at how online headlines and subheads differ from standard print, check out How to Submit Online Articles That Pull Traffic to Your Website.

Posted by DK at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You want to write somewhere between 600-800 words, certainly no more than 900, and no less than 500 when writing for online portals. Keep in mind this is an online strategy. People like short, quick information. If it’s too short, less than 500, people question the quality of the article that you’re writing. Can you really express your expertise and provide helpful tips in an article that’s short?

If it’s too long, the article portals don’t want it because it eats up too much of their space. Secondly, people don’t have the time to read long articles.

When you’re writing articles for portals, you’re most likely cutting and pasting your articles from a Word document up to a website. Before you do that, make sure you cut it and paste it into a program such as Notepad. It removes the hard returns that Word puts into the document. Remember, when you’re posting up to the website, the formats that you’re using are very automated, but they sometimes will hold onto a hard return, and then once your article is posted, it looks terrible. If something looks terrible, it’s likely that people are not going to read it. You want your article to look attractive online.

For more tips on writing quality articles for online portals, check out How to Submit Online Articles That Pull Traffic to Your Website.

Posted by DK at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A portal is the key tool that you’re going to use to start submitting your articles online. Essentially, it’s a centralized website that specializes in receiving expert articles, and then distributing the articles around the Internet.

Portals do this in a couple of ways. People either go to the portal and just read online, or editors come, collect articles, take them away, and post them to their site and/or distribute them in their weekly or monthly magazines.

Portals are another great way to publicize your company on the Internet. For more information on portals and how to make them work for your company, check out How to Submit Online Articles That Pull Traffic to Your Website.

Posted by DK at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1. Don’t bury your press releases where no one can find them. If you’re going to have press releases at your website, make sure that there’s some way to find them from the home page.

2. Post your press releases in plain old HTML. Don’t put them in PDF format. Believe it or not, some people put their press releases on the web site in such a way that you have to download them.

3. Make sure your website is set up in such a way that search engines can get into the inner pages of your site.

4. Put a button on their home page called “media room” or “press room.” If the media is coming to your website just to nose around, to see if you’re worth interviewing or calling, they can click on that button and immediately go to the new releases and backgrounders, Q&As and profiles.

More helpful tips can be found at Secrets for Getting Through to the Media Online.

Posted by DK at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many people are online and using search engines to find the information they urgently want to find. If you can put information on the Internet that is designed to catch the attention of potential customers, then you can do that directly without going through the media.

How do you reach these potential customers on the web? Try these two tips:

1- Post press releases on your own site or at certain industry portals. These are special sites set up for dissemination of topical information, many of which offer the opportunity to post your press release for free.

2- There are many discussion groups, discussion forums, and mailing lists where people interested in a very specialized topic congregate and exchange ideas. This is something that was very hard to duplicate in the offline world unless you spent money and went to a conference where there were several hundred or thousand people, in the same place at the same time.

For more tips, look at Secrets for Getting Through to the Media Online.

Posted by DK at 09:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just as you create a paper media kit, create an electronic media kit right at your
web site under a button called “Media Room” or “Press Center.” This is the place reporters can stop if they need background or story ideas without having to navigate the entire site. They are less expensive than producing and mailing hundreds of media kits.

It’s easier to update electronically, as printed kits can become outdated very quickly and updating them can be very time-consuming and expensive. Journalists, also, don’t want to have to store big, bulky media kits in their newsrooms. They can simply bookmark your site, then return to it when needed.

For more tips on creating an online Media Kit that keep journalists coming back for more, check out How to Create an Online Media Room and Keep the Media Coming Back

Posted by DK at 07:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Absolutely. Media people hate getting attachments. Do not send attached files until you have permission to do so. You want to send an ordinary, plain old email. No fancy HTML stuff in it. No attached files.

If you’re a reporter in a hotel room and you happen to be paying for Internet access by the minute, it’s incredibly expensive. When somebody you have never heard of sends you a huge attachment that can take 15 minutes to come through you find out it’s this press release that could have been sent in text, and besides which it has nothing to do with your magazine, you’re so mad.

There are other reasons why not to send attachments. Many people don’t open attachments due to concerns with viruses. Don’t do it until you’re invited to do so.

For more information on writing and sending news releases, look at Secrets for Getting Through to the Media Online.

Posted by DK at 07:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1. Using a delivery service or a newswire. Four services that are very reputable are the following: PR Newswire, Business Wire, E-Releases, and PressReleaseNetwork.com. They have up-to-date lists of media and they get your stuff out when they say they’re going to get it out. Delivery services and newswires, however, are going to cost several hundred dollars per press release.
2. Buying a database of media email addresses. Now this is very tempting to many people because it seems like you make one purchase and can then use it any number of times. The trouble is, whatever form you buy a database, it’s almost always at least somewhat out of date.
3. Creating your own media list. It can be email addresses which you can compile by visiting the websites of various media outlets. This method of finding media email addresses is very tedious, but it’s very successful and it’s totally free.
4. Going to the library and looking at Bacon’s Magazine and Newspaper Directory. It’s extremely expensive if you wanted to buy it. It comes in two volumes, but many libraries have it.

Find out more at Secrets for Getting Through to the Media Online.

Posted by DK at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How do you choose a snappy title for your how-to article that will command the attention of editors and readers?

A great way to is to steal great headlines by going to the supermarket, or any place where they sell magazines, and peruse the covers of the major magazines like Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Oprah’s magazine, and even some of the news magazines.

Take a look at some of these headlines and you’ll see different formulas emerging. It can be “6 tips on how to…” or “5 ways to…” or “7 secrets of…”. People love secrets and editors love articles where the headline starts with a numeral.

You can often take these headlines and just substitute a word or two that applies to the story you are going to be writing for you or your client, and you’ve just come up with a headline.

Once you’ve selected your title, what about the rest of the article? How do you get your article published? For more information on writing and publishing how-to articles, check out How to Write How-to Articles for Newspapers, Magazines, and Trade Journals

Posted by DK at 01:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here are 12 different things you can do with a blog to build business:

1. Community building – create a blog that presents a wide variety of information of interest to your customers, both about your company, your industry, your community and more.

2. A newsletter – write articles on a variety of isssues pertaining to your customers and industry and distribute it through your blog.

3. Company news – post new announcements, news stories, management changes, new capabilities announcements, etc.

4. Industry news – report on the latest happenings in your industry. This is a great way to generate daily visitors to your site. Plus, frankly, it’s a great way to be able to feature your company’s solutions to the industry’s issues through links into appropriate pages on your site as part of a report.

5. Media center – create different categories within your Media Center blog for
• Media Releases
• Bios of key company officers
• Downloadable file photos
• Key media contact indivduals
• Recent stories run about your company in the media
• Frequently asked media questions
• Fact sheets about your products, plants, services, etc.
• Sample suggested interview questions
• Recommended sources for additional industry information
• Etc.

Continue reading "Blogs - Business building tools!" »

Posted by DK at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you’re clever, you can use letters to the editor to promote your product or service - for FREE.

One way to do this is to weave information about whatever you are selling into a letter that states a strong opinion on a related issue, or comments on an article that was recently printed, without making the letter sound like a blatant attempt at a free ad.

Here's an example:

Entrepreneur magazine ran this letter from Eric Lofgren, CEO of Panzer Studios, commenting on an article on low-cost PCs.

"Thanks to you and your delightfully unaware reporter, I now have a largely successful business. And what is it, you might ask? I make a living upgrading old computers.
Recently, thanks to articles like yours, I’ve been spending a great deal of time trying to help users who bought an inexpensive "power" PC. These computers were aimed at the consumer market and, unfortunately, are woefully unsuitable for any business...Before you print another article of this quality, could you please test these things for yourselves?"

See how he worked his company's services into the comment? How can you do the same?

For more information on how to use letters to the editor (by the way, these also work as comments on blogs and forums too) check out How to Write Crisp, Compelling Letters to the Editor to Promote Your Product, Service or Favorite Issue

Posted by DK at 05:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How many words should articles contain when you are writing them to be submitted to online article directories?

You want to write somewhere between 600-800 words, certainly no more than 900, and no less than 500.

Keep in mind this is an online strategy. People like short, quick information.

If it’s too short, less than 500, I have to question the quality of the article that you’re writing. Can you really express your expertise and provide helpful tips in an article that’s short?

If it’s too long, 1) The article portals don’t want it because it eats up too much of their space, and 2) It’s just simply too long. People don’t have the time to read long articles.

For more information on how to build your website traffic, your celebrity/expert status, and your bottom line, check out How to Submit Online Articles That Pull Traffic to Your Website

Posted by DK at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

All companies deal with a crisis or two. The definition of a crisis is something that happens out of your control, but that doesn't mean you can't prepare for it.

One of the most ingenious ways to prepare for a media crisis is to use dark pages. These web pages are not accessible to the public, and your web designer should know how to protect the pages online. With pages like this, you can prepare the template for your crisis response, and then cater it to the problem just before you let the page go live.

It makes a lot of sense to prepare for the inevitable crisis, and this is one of the smartest ways you can spend your time. Oh, and when something happens in the middle of the night, your IT person will thank you.

This is just one of the many tips found in What to Do When Someone Damages Your Good Name.

Posted by DK at 08:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When you come across a negative rumor about your company on the web, your first inclination may be to send out a news release stating the truth. Don't do this, because it will only give the rumor power.

People who regularly watch TV or read the newspaper may not have heard anything yet, and by jumping the gun to defend yourself, you are giving people negative information that they weren't looking for.

Instead of issuing a press release, turn to the place the rumor started: the web. Consider that many of the people who get their initial information online will continue to search the web for answers.

By posting something on your home page, you will be able to correct the rumor without offering negative information to the masses. If you do nothing, you lose your chance to frame the situation in a positive manner. Post something discreet but informative, and you'll minimize the spread of the rumor.

This is just one of the many tips found in What to Do When Someone Damages Your Good Name.

Posted by DK at 08:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you research your company online, you're apt to find some negative comments about the company or its services.

To see an example of the Internet's power to influence large groups of people, visit http://www.crankycustomer.com/. This site is a great example of how the Internet can turn a customer's private gripe into a public relations disaster. It's a terrific site for researching potential suppliers, and it's even fun to read, unless you happen to be the company being discussed!

When this happens, you have to make a judgment call about the comment. If it's an isolated incident - like someone who had a bad experience on a customer service phone call - you can probably fix it easily. Once they've gotten attention from the company and worked out a solution, they often drop their complaint altogether.

What you need to worry about is a problem involves a lot of people who feel strongly about the same thing. If you start to notice a bandwagon effect, and people are jumping to say negative things about your company, you need to take action with a wider response.

Find out just what kind of response is best in What to Do When Someone Damages Your Good Name.

Posted by DK at 07:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)