If you are planning a special event or have something exciting going on about your business you might want to create a buzz, a euphemism for stirring people to talk about your business. If people don’t know about it, they won’t talk about it. That’s why sometimes you have to “give a little nudge.”

PRWeb - Press Releases That Work

The point is to get people to talk about your business in such a way that they spur others to talk and get excited about what you are doing. That means appealing to their sense of wonder, awe, maybe even be a little bit controversial. Use your own strengths to get people to talk. What are they saying about you? If they’re saying nothing at all then it’s time to rethink your strategy. Even saying negative things about your business can get the buzz going.

The bottom line is, stir some excitement. When people are excited about something, that’s when they talk. They tell their friends and their friends tell their friends. Even members of the media will share the news if it’s exciting enough. But you have to get the ball rolling.

Is it possible to generate attention for your local business using online publicity strategies? I believe so, but it requires using local media before you start using online publicity channels and in conjunction with those channels to get the media attention that you desire.

Just about every community has a local newspaper, radio, or TV news. You should build a relationship with the news editor of these organizations and help them realize that you are the local expert in your niche. Press releases are a good way to do this.

PRWeb - Press Releases That Work

Local media use online resources as well as national media do. PR Web allows media professionals to subscribe to RSS feeds for their MSA and all you have to do is find out if particular news editors use those feeds for their local area. If they don’t, send them a quick e-mail encouraging them to do so. Then, when you submit your press releases you can submit to PR Web and your local media will receive them in their e-mail boxes and use them when they want.

When it comes to writing press releases, does it matter how long it is? I say it does.

But I’m not advocating length over quality. A press release can be short and be effective. A long press release can be ineffective. You don’t want a long press release just for the sake of having a long press release. Nor do you want a short one just so you can say, “I kept it short.”

PRWeb - Press Releases That Work

Follow these tips on your next press release and let me know how it turns out:

• Be brief - Not short, brief. Don’t say more than you have to.
• Say everything that needs to be said - Be complete. In other words, give all the information necessary to tell your story, but don’t bore your readers. They are, after all, busy professionals.
• When submitting your press release online, include a photo - A photo will go a long way with your audience in improving your credibility.
• Include your contact information - You do want them to contact you, don’t you?
• Don’t sell - You’re writing a press release, not a sales letter. Be sure to include the part about your newsworthiness. If there is news there, professional media people will notice it.

If you follow these tips in writing your next press release I’m sure you’ll get the results that you want. Size isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

You know that bloggers are a great source of publicity for your business. One great relationship with a blogger can be good for your business as some bloggers have untold influence over their readers. How should you approach these bloggers? Is a press release the best way?

PRWeb - Press Releases That Work

Some bloggers might not be put off by a press release, but most of them will be. But bloggers prefer to be contacted by e-mail with a short explanation of what you are promoting and a request. But you do have to make it worth their while. Why would they promote your product or service? Why would they send you traffic from their blog? You have to think through that question. Bloggers are people too and want to know, What’s in it for me?

Did you know you can include a video with your press release? On PR Web Press Release Newswire you can include a video with your press release and get the maximum exposure possible. Why would you want to include a video with your press release?

Another reason you might want video is to target news sites that use video to deliver the news. You can actually produce your video and publish it to PR Web Press Release Newswire and if a news agency - say a television news program - wants to use the video then they can just copy/paste the code onto their website and use it there. They may even want to run it on their TV program. Why not make it easy for them to do so?

Another feature that is included with the press release package that allows you to upload video is AP distribution. The maximum distribution available with other packages is search engines news distribution - that is, Google and Yahoo! But with the maximum level package you can have your press release distributed through Associated Press channels, upload a video, and create a .pdf document to accompany your press release. This is viral marketing at its best, and you can do this through PR Web Press Release Newswire for just $360.

You wouldn’t think it possible, but a press release can lead to sales. You want to write your press release as if you are writing a news story. You don’t want it to appear as a blatant sales pitch. You aren’t trying to sell through your press release. You are just conveying important information about your business that can help potential customers make an informed decision about whether you might have what they need, or not.

The way a press release can make you sales is pretty interesting. You are actually writing the press release for the media, not the public. But any member of the public can see your press release as you wrote it. This is quite unlike the way press releases were handled before the Internet. In those days, you wrote your press release to the editor and the editor decided whether it was newsworthy or not. Today, you write your press release for the news and media editor, but any one can judge for him or herself as to its value.

That’s because a well-optimized press release can rank just as high, or higher, than other content for the right keywords. If this happens and someone looking for your particular information can get your press release in the results page of their search query. Consumers have a less critical eye with regard to newsworthy content. While news and media organizations in your industry can reject the press release for various reasons, a consumer looking for information about a product or service can read your press release and call you because your contact information appears right on the release itself.

So don’t think that you don’t have newsworthy information to convey. You do. Your press release is a sales tool and very effective one if you use it the right way.

One of the most powerful ways to distribute your press releases is through RSS feeds.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It’s been around for a few years now and people have used RSS to distribute their website content, articles, newsletters, and blog content. Now you can distribute your press releases through RSS as well.

PRWeb, the largest press release distribution website online, has RSS feeds in more categories than you can imagine. From Post-911 America to Weather, anyone can subscribe to the RSS feed of choice - even to multiple RSS feeds if they wish. The options are awesome.

Rather than simply subscribe to the feeds through your email application, PRWeb allows users to subscribe to RSS feeds using the news reader of their choice, including

• Google
• Yahoo
• My MSN
• Netvibes
• Typepad
• And users can add a feed to their website

If you target your press release just right, you can actually encourage the syndication of your release through PRWeb’s RSS feeds. The trick is in the SEO and category selection. To see which categories are available for syndication at PRWeb, click here. Now, you can expand the reach of your press releases through RSS by careful selection and targeting of your press releases. Only at PRWeb.

When you write a press release in the information age, you can’t just throw it together and say “I’ve got a press release.” Those were the old days. The ideas in the press release were far more important than the individual words you use. That’s not so any more.

The ideas are still important. Don’t get me wrong. But it’s equally important that you use the right words - the right keywords.

Your title must contain your important keyword as well as grab the reader’s attention. You must include your keyword several times throughout the press release. You must also use some anchor text to drive traffic to specific pages of your website. And don’t forget the graphics. Today’s press releases can include graphic photos and images and when you use them, just as you would on your web page, you must include alt tags.

We’ll cover SEO for press releases a little more in depth as we go. For now, that should get your imagination working.

Do you know the 5Ws of press release distribution? They’re simple, not easy.

What I mean is, understanding PR distribution is a piece of cake. Doing it is a bit involved. It’s time consuming and can be frustrating if you don’t get everything just right. I’ve put together this list of 5Ws for you to keep you focused and help you better understand how to get your press releases out there and where:

Who: Anyone who has an online business or a brick and mortar business with an online presence should consider press releases. This is one powerful method of getting the word out about your business and what you do, and ensuring that your message reaches the right target market.

What: Online press release distribution is all about using your keywords and branding to communicate essential aspects of your business that might be missed in other ways. Whereas other forms of marketing target consumers directly or potential business partners, the press release targets the media.

When: Anytime you have an important message to communicate that should not be missed.

Where: The best place online to distribute your press release is at PRWeb Press Release Newswire. I like PRWeb because they have the widest distribution and when you distribute a press release through PRWeb you can be sure that it will reach your intended target market.

Why: Bottom line, increase market exposure. When you market your producs and services to customers directly, you are hitting each individual customer with your branding message one at a time. When you target the media with your message then you are targeting your entire industry, consumers, professional colleagues, and anyone else who might benefit from your product or service through one message. It’s mass communication and Internet press release distribution has taken it to a whole new level.

Writing a press release is a bit like chasing a chicken you want to eat for dinner with a fork in one hand and a knife in the other. If you catch the chicken you’ll have a might nice dinner, but if you don’t then you just look like an idiot.

Well, if you’ll exclude the analogy and forgive the drama I’ll apologize for scaring you. That’s not the intent at all. But it isn’t easy to write a press release that gets media attention. You have to understand, first off, what editors are looking for and secondly, what makes good news. Other than that, writing a press release is fairly easy - just like chasing a chicken.

The first thing you need to know about press release writing is to write a killer headline. It’s not as easy as it looks. The headline will determine whether or not anyone reads the rest of the press release. If the headline falls flat then you can expect no one to read the first sentence of your press release, no matter how good that may be.

Secondly, even a good headline can only go so far. If you hit the nail on the head and write the best headline ever, you still have to write a good press release. It has to capture, and hold, the attention of the reader all the way through. That means your press release must have some news worthy item in it. It also means it must be well written. You can have one or the other and your press release is a failure. To succeed, your press release must have both of these elements going in its favor.

Welcome to Online Publicity Journal brought to you by Nick Stamoulis and Brick Marketing. We will be bringing you daily posts about the following topics and more.

Writing a Press Release:
(Everything there is to know about how to write a press release, press release titles, body of a release, selecting a media contact, selecting a concept for a release, how to make a topic newsworthly, etc.)

SEO PR:
(How to optimize a press release, the same SEO content optimization fundamentals apply, selecting keywords per page, anchor text keywords, etc.)

Creating a Buzz:
Online publicity campaigns can create a buzz for a offline store, website launch, promotion, etc. How to add online PR into the overall mix of your online and offline marketing.

RSS Feeds:
Many distribution services use RSS feed distribution. This category to to example everything there is to know about RSS.

Getting Media Attention:
If the press release is newsworthy than it will get picked up. This category should have tips about how to get the greatest bang for the distribution dollar and how to get media attention, such as sending out a release only on Tuesdays, etc.

Getting Sales:
Tips how Online PR can get sales and visitors to a site. A big tip to note, never mention product pricing in a release, this will reduce the number of visitors.

We look forward to your participation in the discussion! So bookmark us now or subscribe to our feed!