Rembrandt’s Blog

You have your business up and running and are ready to announce it to the world. Hold on! Before you send out that press release letting everyone know about your services, there are three things to keep in mind:

1.      Is your site ready?

If people see your press release and visit your site, what will they see? Does your content focus on customer-oriented benefits, or are you just saying, “We are the best, We offer…, We’ve been around since…”? Boring!

Your site needs to let potential customers know that you can solve their problem, and you only have a few seconds to impress them! If your site does not focus on the benefits you offer and provide valuable information to your target market, update your copy before sending out that press release.

2. What do you expect from the press release?

After your press release goes out, do you expect to be inundated with media requests and new-customer orders? Think again. Very few press releases create these kinds of results. Instead, a press release should help to boost online awareness via search engine optimization and build relationships with media members and new customers. Plus, it can help your business appear current, credible and newsworthy.

With this in mind, please have realistic expectations about your press release. It’s important to have regular, monthly news announcements, but press-release-distribution should be part of an overall, marketing strategy and plan involving other activities like e-mail auto-responders, newsletters, free reports, and more.

3.      Are you ready for orders?

Ok. Let’s say you’ve updated your site with the appropriate content and have started your well-thought-out marketing plan. What if your site is bombarded with orders after your release goes out? Are you ready? Can you system handle the orders? Are you customer-service-representatives trained on what to say and what to do?

Your press release can give you a lot of attention. But if potential, new customers show up at your door or Web site to make a purchase, and you’re not prepared, you could miss out on valuable sales and make a bad first-impression.

Press releases are an important tool for growing your business. Just be sure you have an action plan in place, have realistic expectations and think about what you need to do if your phone starts ringing with lots of media calls and online orders. This way, your press-release distribution will be as successful as possible, and you’ll save time, money and stress.

Do you need help boosting sales, awareness and credibility for your business? SEO copywriting and publicity can do wonders! For more information, please write to me here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com.

(Copyright© 2010, Rembrandt Communications^™, LLC – Not to be reprinted without permission)

After optimizing your site for the search engines and pursuing other marketing-efforts, it’s time to use the “power of the press” to boost sales, awareness and credibility cost-effectively.

But how do you pitch your story to a reporter?

Here are eight quick-tips to help you through the media process:

1. Know Your Targeted Media-Members.

Before you even reach out to a reporter, you should know what that person writes about and what he or she will be interested in discussing. Do your homework before contacting a specific reporter, and you’ll have a much better understanding of what you should say (and the topics to avoid).

2. Have Talking-Points Ready.

Keeping point number one above in mind, write down all of the benefits your business has to offer. Know why a reporter will be interested in what you have to say, and practice giving your unique story-angle. Then, when the time is right, you’ll be ready. (You may even want to place your talking-points on an index card by your phone.)

3. Be Newsworthy.

Try to think of a way that your business fits in with current news and industry events. Develop a story-angle related to something newsworthy and current. Then, approach a reporter with your idea.

4. Be Unique.

Media-members want fresh, interesting stories. Try to stand out from the crowd, and provide your opinion about a current topic, unique statistic or story angle that no one else can offer. By conducting research and offering something different, you’ll get much better results from your pitching efforts.

5. Be Succinct.

Reporters are on deadline. Get to the point fast. Practice what you are going to say in advance. Then, speak clearly and succinctly. Mention the most important benefits of your story-angle first. Reporters will appreciate your sense of urgency and respect for their time.

6. Know Your Industry.

Become an expert in your field and know the most current news, events and activities within your industry. Share your news with reporters. And soon, they will come to you for the latest industry updates.

7. Offer Expert-Advice.

Without pitching your own products and services, introduce yourself as an expert to targeted media-members. Comment on a current news-item, provide a special report and offer your help with a future article. Reporters will appreciate the fact that you are willing to provide assistance and may add you to their list of regular resources.

8. Follow Up Accordingly.

Media-members are busy people, and you will probably need to make an effort to stay in touch with them. If you are waiting for a pending story or a call back and haven’t heard anything for a few days, feel free to contact the media-member directly.

Try not to be a pest, but conduct the appropriate follow-up when necessary. This is essential to obtaining clips and maintaining professional, media relationships.

Go for it!

Hopefully, these tips will help you pitch your story to media-members and get results. By “thinking like a reporter” and offering beneficial information in a timely fashion, you’ll definitely increase your chances of obtaining some good media-coverage that can boost buzz and credibility fast!

Do you need help boosting sales, awareness and credibilty fast with SEO copywriting and publicity? Please write to me here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com.

Are You Traveling This Holiday Weekend?

If so, you may want to check out the Detroit Windsor Tunnel and my StartupNation interview with Carolyn Brown, the DWT Executive Vice President, at http://www.startupnation.com/blogs/index.php/author/mrembrandt/.

You see,  The Detroit Windsor Tunnel is one of the great, engineering marvels of the world and is the only “vehicular international subaqueous border crossing in the world.” That means it is the only underwater tunnel crossing borders in the world! How cool is that? (Hey, History Channel’s “Modern Marvels,” are you listening?)

Anyway, recently The Tunnel upgraded their system, and I wanted to get the scoop on their PR and marketing strategies involved in this process. Here’s what Carolyn Brown had to say:

Tell us about the Detroit Windsor Tunnel and your responsibilities.

The Tunnel is approximately one mile long, bordered on each side by a toll and an inspection plaza. It is the second busiest border crossing between the United States and Canada servicing approximately eight million vehicles per year. The majority of Tunnel traffic is local, commerce, recreation, and business originating and terminating in the Southeast Michigan tri-county and Windsor/ Essex area.

I am the Tunnel’s Executive Vice President, and my responsibilities include marketing, commercial and customer service operations, human resources and risk management. We have a staff of approximately 100 employees, U.S. and Canadian, who provide toll, traffic, maintenance, and administrative services for the Tunnel.

What kind of changes has the Detroit Windsor Tunnel gone through recently that you needed to share with your customers?

We  conduct  an ongoing program of maintenance, upgrade and service improvement. Recent projects of note include:

•  The introduction of NEXPRESS Toll launching July 5^th. The NEXPRESS Electronic toll rate will be lower than paying by cash, credit card, or token. Better yet, customers will never have to fumble for change or worry about a lost token;
•  On June 19, 2010, on the U.S. Inspection Plaza, we added new booths and increased the plaza’s capacity by 10;
•  There are now three more NEXUS lanes to permit the expedited clearance of enrolled, low risk travelers;
•  We upgraded the electrical and mechanical systems in 2001-2003; and
•  We replaced the tunnel cover in 1998.  

Those are quite a few changes. How have you marketed and promoted them?

We used banner ads on our website, used newspaper ads and inserts in local media, ran television ads, provided handouts at the toll booths, placed banners on the plaza and sent e-mail blasts to our customers.

Which of these activities worked best for you to reach your marketing and promotional goals, and why?

The e-blasts to our customers worked best because most of our customers have Internet access. The banners on the plaza also worked well because of their high visibility.

What challenges did you face in this marketing process and how did you overcome them?

Our main challenge is that we are marketing two initiatives in fairly close succession. This includes the expansion of the U.S. Inspection Plaza and the launch of electronic tolls. We are working to ensure that both messages are clearly transmitted to our customers.

What advice do you have for small business owners out there who are trying to promote and market a big change in their products and services?

I suggest they use a good ad agency, hire a professional to optimize their website for the search engines, keep their message simple and tailor it to their audience, try to not reinvent the wheel, train their front line employees in customer service, and use a help desk to address customer service issues.

Thanks Carolyn! That’s great advice, and we wish you all the best with your current upgrades. If you’d like to find out more about the Detroit Windsor Tunnel, visit www.dwtunnel.com.

And if you have questions about your promotional and SEO copywriting strategies, please contact me here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Have a great holiday weekend!