Bill McRea

Many home based business owners and work at home business owners realize that they need some type of promotion in the form of press or news releases.  However, many feel that this is not feasible either due to their belief that they will not be able to fit it into their budget or they are intimidated by the process.  They take a look at press releases done by major corporations and feel that they can not compare.  In truth, though, all small businesses can benefit from press releases and most can afford rather easily.  Additionally, writing a press release is not rocket science, as long as you know your intended audience, know your newsworthy slant and understand how a press release is constructed, you can write a press release for your own company.

Form

A good press release does not have to be 1,000 words in order to be effective.  In fact, shorter is often better.  Think about news articles that you read in the paper.  Every word counts.  The articles are written in a concise manner without extra fluff and meaningless phrases.  Write your press release in the same way.  Keep it concise, to the point and make every word count.  A release that is 300 to 500 words is pretty much optimal much of the time.

There are services on the internet that will advertise your small business press release.  This is also known as a syndicated web post.  Your release can be picked up by a variety of sites, including the media so it is very important that you write your press release with the media in mind.  Think about newspaper articles and write your press release in a similar tone.   The three main aspects of your press release form are:

*  Straightforward, direct tone

*   Always written in the third person – NEVER in the first person

*  Specific format

Format

Press releases have a specific format that should be followed.  Different services have certain items that they need included, but the basic format never changes.  And it is easier than you think.

*  Slant or Focus

You want to come up with a newsworthy slant for your press release.  Find a focus that you feel would attract readers were they to see an article on that topic in the newspaper.

*  Headline

This is your title and next to the first paragraph, it is the most important part of your release because it is the “hook.”  This means that you need to be creative and write a headline that will grab readers and make them want to read the release.  However, it must be one sentence with no exclamation marks or similar “salesy” type indications.  Make sure that it pertains to your slant or focus and is not too long.

*  First Paragraph

This is an overview about your newsworthy focus.  Give your readers the who, what, when, where, why and how.  This should be your strongest paragraph and it should be very engaging for the reader.  Write this paragraph as if it is the press release and your readers won’t see the rest of it.

*  Subsequent Paragraphs

This is where you begin to get more detailed.  Talk about your newsworthy focus in one paragraph, comments on your company, its history or growth in another.  You may even devote a paragraph to your industry if it is relevant to your focus.

*  Quotes

Many press releases insert one or two quotes from a key player in your company or industry and incorporate it into the body of the release.  This can help your release look even more professional.

*  Conclusion

This sums up your release and reiterates your focus but it is never a sales piece.

*  Boilerplate

This is the bottom of your release.  It contains one or two sentences about your company, along with your contact information.  The boilerplate can remain the same from one press release to another.

End your release with ### to indicate to your reader that your release is complete and make sure that you proofread it before sending it out.  Writing a press release for your small business is fairly simple once you get the hang of it.  It is certainly worth trying, you might surprise yourself.

Related Articles

1. Small Business Marketing: The Truth About Building a Referral Based Business …
2. How To Find The Ideal Freelance Business-to-Business Copywriter …
3. Promote Your Business in Business Directories - Start With a Website …

Trackbacks

1. How to Create a Business Action Plan …
2. Planet Waves Acoustic Guitar Quick-Release System …
3. RALPH NADER IS IN THE RACE! (MEET THE PRESS PT 2 OF 2) …

I often ask this question of myself. I sell more and more info products every day, and it kind of scares me. I know that more than 50% of the info products I’ve purchased I thought were really trash and not worth the money. My own products I feel are designed to over deliver what I charge. This is the main reason I only charge $7 for an ebook or $5 a month for my video training site. Some sites charge as much as $997 per month, and they are definitely better, but who the heck can afford $997 per month. MAN…

SO what’s real to me?!? Information is cheap, and time is expensive. So it depends how bad I need the information. I buy all of Brad Callen’s stuff because it is great information and saves me time. His stuff is always FIRST class. I buy pretty bunch everything BigMike sells since his prices are reasonable and his quality is GREAT! These guys make real products to me. They offer something more, information that is tangible.

I make most of my money with products from Commission Junction and I feel good knowing that my customers can touch and feel the items they buy from me. And they are my customers. I found them and sent them to the advertisers, so I really care how their experience is once they make their purchases. Too me this is real as well.

Internet Marketing has a bit of a bad name due to the many scams, and MLM type pyramid schemes around. But it a real business to me. I buy from real people that sell real products and I sell value and tangible items.

I guess I’ll never get rich quick, but I will build a business that is honest, real and sustainable.

Bill McRea

Related Articles

1. Email Marketing Solution - The Right Content for Your Email Marketing …
2. Article Marketing Help - Outsource Massive Article Submission For Great Article Marketing Results …
3. Leverage Your Article Marketing With These 2 Profitable Article Marketing Secrets Like Me …

Trackbacks

1. Using Internet Marketing and Web Design to Build An Online Presence …
2. Why Product Management Marketing is Crucial for your Business …
3. [WATCH]: Cool-er Ebook Reader Review …

Triangle Marketing over 40 Internet Marketing Videos and more each month. Only $5 per mont

Related Articles

1. To A Successful Online Business: The Internet Marketing Process Flow Template …
2. Advertise Your Internet Marketing Business Using Video Marketing …
3. Will Internet Marketing Work For Your Business …

Trackbacks

1. Youtube Videos Music: USA SPEC PA11-HON - iPod in-vehicle interface adapter …
2. Youtube Videos Music: Medal of Honor Allied Assault Spearhead Expansion Pack …
3. Huntin the World: Colt Ford …

Links are probably the most important factors for high search engine rankings (SERPs). You cannot get high search engine rankings without good incoming links. A search engines values your website based on how many and how relevant the links are pointing to your website.   The more relevant one way links to your website, the higher your SERPs will be.

[eminimall]
If two or more websites are optimized for the same keyword, the site with the highest quality incoming links will receive the highest SERPs. You need both optimized quality unique content and links to get high search engine rankings.
The quantities of links are not the sole factor. The more relevant and the higher the linking sites page rank will also impact how well your site will rank for that keyword term. Links to your website that include your keywords in the link text(anchor tag) also contributes to higher rankings for your site for those keywords.
A link exchange, where you offer another webmaster and link in exchange for return, has less value than a link that is one way. To accumulate one way links you should use social bookmarking, article marketing and the ultimate is a press release or web release. You should also register your site with as many directories as possible. Links from Yahoo directory and DMOZ are extremely powerful and will certainly help you SERPS.
Social Bookmarking is only one step in building links for your site. They are easy and quick so make sure you use them on every page or post of your website.

Related Articles

1. Is The Internet Marketing Strategy or E Marketing Strategy Working For You? …
2. Article Marketing Strategy - How to Get Going With an Article Marketing Strategy …
3. Benefits of Marketing Strategy ? Does Your Strategy Measure Up? …

Trackbacks

1. Internet Marketing Strategy -- the a to Z of Internet Marketing …
2. Electric Guitar: Black Guitar to USB Interface Link Cable Audio Adapter for PC/MAC Recording with Variable-speed File Playback Function for MP3: WAV:AIFF Audio Files(support vista and MAC) …
3. Fact Guide to Automatic Fire Extinguishers …

This is a serious question. I think most businesses are concerned that they do not know how to do a serious press release and are intimidated by the process. I know I was the first time. On top of that, when you go to prweb.com and look at the releases it can be a bit scary thinking you need to produce the same type of press release as a major company. Then you look at the cost and bingo… “I am not doing a press release”. They are too expensive and too difficult to do.

Well you should rethink your approach. I am going to highly recommend you consider doing press releases or news release with WebWire.Com and here is why. First they have a very inexpensive service for $20 that will allow you to do a release that will be indexed by all of the search engine almost immediately. I have had AMAZING results with their serivice. Try this out. Go to google.com and type in Commission Junction Training.

Just go try it right now….Number 1 and Number 2 results are my release…. YUP thats me!!!

This press release cost me $20 and I was seeing results within 24 hours. I encourage you watch the video I did on this press release in this blog.

You can do what WebWire calls a WebPost for about $20 and see these type of results. To get the best result pick the title of the release carefully, use the keyword phrase that attracks your audience, and then the rest of the release does not have to be that long or complicated. In this case a 300 word press release (or news release) will get you just as much exposure as a 600 word press release.

Keep it simple and if you need to hirer a writer… there is a solution coming that will be less expensive than you think.

By the way… Notice the stumbleupon logo on each post…THESE HELP!

Related Articles

1. Affiliate Marketing on the Internet - Your Questions Answered …
2. #1 HOME BUSINESS THAT OFFERS MAXIMUM LEVERAGE …
3. LOCAL SEARCH MARKETING AND GOOGLE …

Trackbacks

1. LOCAL SEARCH MARKETING AND GOOGLE …
2. How Is It Important For Search Engine Marketing Companies To Be Google Qualified? …
3. The Different between Keyword Research vs Market Research …