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.

With all of the ugly economic-news, the recent earthquakes and the snow and rain, it can be easy to feel sad. But the good news is… the economy can get better, you can prepare for natural disasters, and spring is just days away… And best of all, you are in charge of your own feelings.

After all, when was the last time you took control of your situation? Have you been moping around with spring fever? Are you unable to secure new customers or increase sales at your business?

Well, it’s time to regain your power!

With three little steps, you can start to turn things around with every aspect of your life. Here are my suggestions:

1. Review.

First, take a look at what’s going on in your life and ask yourself some questions:

•  Why are you tired all the time?
• Why can’t you seem to get anything done?
• Why isn’t your business growing?
• Why is the “grass greener” everywhere else?

You get the idea. Try to pinpoint why you are feeling sad or unmotivated so you can make positive changes.

2. Make a Plan.

Once you know what your main pain-points are, it’s time to figure out what you’re going to do about it. After all, you are in charge of your own feelings and success so take a few minutes and decide what you can do to fix things in your life.

• Maybe you need to get up earlier to get some exercise or finish a project?
• Are you eating unhealthy snacks that are zapping your energy?
• Do you need to update your products, services or Web site to bring in more sales and traffic?
• Are you spending too much money without realizing it?
• Is it time to get your annual check-up?
• How about hiring some outside experts help you with certain tasks?

Review your responses and decide what you can do to change things that aren’t working for you. Then, add your action steps to a calendar with due dates for each activity. Write down what you want to accomplish and when.

If you need help, find a friend, family member or co-worker for support. You may even want to hire a life coach or trainer to help keep you motivated and stick to your schedule.

3. Take Action.

Now that you have your list of goals, it’s up to you to make change happen.

No one is going to do it for you.

Things will just stay the same unless you take action. And if you are having trouble making changes, start small. Then with each success, give yourself a small reward. Maybe it’s watching your favorite television show, reading a book, eating a piece of candy, taking a little extra “me” time…

The point is that if you want to be happier and more successful, it’s up to you… so if you are waiting for things to get better, you may be waiting a long time.

And I don’t know about you, but things always seem to be better when you’re working to achieve something. Plus, think how great you’ll feel when you start accomplishing your goals – earning more money, losing weight, bringing in new customers – and feeling like you can take on the world!

Now that’s power. Can’t you just taste it?

We can all use some help and a little “pick-me-up” message once in awhile. If you are overwhelmed and need assistance bringing in new customers with public relations, SEO copywriting and marketing activities, please let me know here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’m here to help!