Press Releases – How to Get Information About Your Company in the News

Press releases can be the most important part of your marketing plan this year. Publicity is the good side of advertising with the added bonus that you are being verified by a third party. Press releases can get your company in the local newspapers, on television and in trade journals. This is the kind of advertising that is priceless and does not cost a great deal of money.

To take advantage of this wonderful way to stand out, you have to keep these questions in mind.

1. Is there anything "new" in my story?
2. Is there anything unusual or unexpected about it?
3. Would this be of interest to anyone outside my business?
4. Will anyone actually care?

The ideal length of a press release is about 300 to 400 words. It should be 3 or 4 short paragraphs long and contain a few quotes.

The headline should be an eye-catching and genuine headline that contains the important keywords of your release.

The opening paragraph should answer the "Five W's": Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Start your release with the date and location as well a lead sentence that concisely summarizes the release.

In the body, use as many concrete facts as you can and avoid embellishment. Use sub-headings and bullet points to make information easy to digest, particularly if you're including figures or statistics.

The ending should include your company's contact information at the bottom. Provide access to more information by including your website.

When you cease to dream you cease to live. - Malcolm Forbes

If you're a good marketing person, you have to be a little crazy. - Jim Metcalf

Email Marketing Ideas

Email marketing is still an important method for reaching new customers and staying top of mind with current customers. Here are some suggestions for creating effective email marketing campaigns.

Make Your Focus Informative or Educational Instead of Sales-Based

Your readers are tired of sales pitches so don’t treat your email campaigns as mere product or service showcases. Learn how to craft messages that inform, educate, or entertain in order to get people to read your email, and eventually, buy your products.

Make it Local

Studies have shown that people respond better to offers and information that are local to them because it is more relevant. Provide offers and information that are relevant to their location.

Write Original Content

Create your own content and make sure there is value in it. You can briefly talk about your product’s features and benefits, but focus mainly on your customers’ pain and the solutions you offer.

Use New Technologies

There are email services that allow for higher delivery rates. Check out MailChimp or ConstantContact. Both are great email delivery services where your email will look professionally done. Be sure to have your emails created as mobile-friendly too. Many people check email on their smartphones, so you want to ensure that they can read what you send out. Also, make sure your email list is up to date.

Integrate Social Media with your Campaign

If you really want your campaign to be far-reaching, be sure to integrate your email campaigns with your social media channels. You can link to social channels through your emails and vice versa, and you can even use Facebook as an opt-in funnel for your list.

3 Tips to Increase Your Online Traffic

Increasing your online traffic will get the word out about your awesome products or services. Getting the word out to build awareness and educate potential customers is critical. Here are 3 methods for increasing your online traffic.

1. Use Long Tail Keywords

Your SEO (search engine optimization) should include long tail keywords. In addition to your website content, include these terms in any blogs you write and post on your website. A long tail is simply a keyword or phrase which contains 3-4 individual words. For example “marketing" vs. "social media marketing."

2. Optimize Blog Posts and Articles

Make sure any articles or blogs on your website are optimized. Use your target keywords sprinkled throughout your website and in blog posts. This is a great way to increase traffic and move your website up in online search results.

3. Provide Value to Your Audience

The most important piece of your online success is to consistently provide value to your audience. Create and post informative, engaging, entertaining or useful articles, videos, or blogs.

Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. - Oscar Wilde

4 Ways Small Businesses Can Maximize Their Marketing Dollars

Here are four tips for small business owners to maximize their marketing without busting the budget.

1.    Create a referral system: Getting clients is as easy as asking your best clients who else they know that would happily benefit from your services. Satisfied clients are usually more than happy to share this information--sometimes they just need to be asked! While asking for a referral, ask for a testimonial too. Use testimonials on your website and marketing materials.

2.    Network:  Create relationships by networking. Meeting and getting to know new people will increase the number of people who can refer your business to others and who can connect you with great new vendors or alliance partners.

3.    Develop strategic alliances: Strategic alliances are people who share the same target audience or clients as you do, but whose company or service doesn't overlap with yours

4.    Build your database: If you want to build your business quickly, build your database. And use that list of clients and potential clients as part of your email campaign. Send your newsletter to this list. Offer discounts or other incentives. This will keep you top of mind with these important contacts.

Using a set of proven marketing strategies that are simple and effective will help your small businesses save a lot of financial stress.  

Networking Can Be Fun!

Are you paralyzed at the thought of going to a networking event? As an entrepreneur, it is extremely important that you get out and meet new people. Remember, doing business is all about building relationships and the way to build relationships is to get out there and meet new people.

Why should you network? Why stretch your comfort zone and network with people you don't know? Here are some reasons you should network on a regular basis.

REASON #1 - PERSPECTIVE. 

You will gain new perspective when you get out of your office and are around other people, especially new people. When you continue to work in your own little bubble, it's impossible to stay on top of trends in the marketplace.

REASON #2 - IT IS FUN. 

Make it a fun experience! When is the last time you really did have fun at work? You can make it fun by playing games with yourself. Set some goals about who you want to meet. Practice a new 'elevator pitch' to see how it lands.

REASON #3 – INCREASE YOUR NETWORK. 

When you are actively networking, you increase the number of people you know. Remember the old adage, it’s not about what you know but who you know. Well, it’s also about who knows you and who those people know. Making connections can lead to other connections, referrals and new business. 

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. - Mahatma Gandhi

The Power of Testimonials

A testimonial is a short piece that tells the story of your customer's pain and how you solved it. Think of it as a mini case study that's been reduced to a paragraph or two.

Get permission

Always get written permission before you use a testimonial. Many large companies routinely forbid testimonials because they don't want to be seen as endorsing one vendor over another. Send an email to your customer and ask if they would write a testimonial for you. This is an easy way to get permission while doing the asking.

Identify the pain

The more your testimonials can make the reader think "that's my pain too," the more they will resonate with potential customers. The testimonial should concisely state the problem, your product and service, and how you solved the pain.

Identify the person giving the testimonial

Be specific, giving the name, position (if appropriate) and company for maximum believability.

If you can't get permission to use the person's name or identify the company, but the testimonial is too good to not use, genericize the person giving the quote, e.g., Vice President of Investments for a major financial services organization.

4 Ways to Market Your Small Business

In today’s market, small businesses need to work smarter, not harder, at reaching their customers. Let’s take a look at 4 smart ways you can reach your target audience.

Have a Professional Website

Having a presence on the internet is essential. Your website is the first place potential customers will go to see if you are legitimate and if you have what they need. Having a great website will keep your potential customers on your website and ordering your products. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly so people checking you out on their smartphones see a good looking website too.

Advertise on the Web

You can find low cost advertising available on the web. Look at Google ads or Facebook ads as a great way to get your company in front of your target audience. Exposure is everything.

Engage in Cause Marketing

A great way to get your business in the public’s eye is to support a local charity. Find a charity you feel strongly about and donate your time and money to it. Use the charity’s logo during fundraising events you sponsor. The charity can use your logo too if you are a sponsor. Being involved in a local charity is good for your small business and your community.

Join the Chamber of Commerce

Join your local Chamber of Commerce and get involved. Meet other small business leaders in your community. The Chamber is a great way to get your business’ name out in the community.