Press
Releases – Very effective and they offer a great deal of credibility
when published. You must have a well written release that is
pertinent to the media source you are sending it to. You can
distribute press releases both online and off.
A quick Internet
search under media resources in your city will bring up radio,
television, newspapers and magazines in your area. To find online
resources do a search under “free online press release
distribution.” Numerous listings will come up. Be sure to utilize
the free services when on a limited budget.
There are
services you can pay for if you are so inclined. Two excellent
resources for both free and paid are
www.prweb.com
and
http://arrivenet.com/.
Prior to writing
a press release, determine the following:
-Who is your
target market?
-What is your
target media?
-Who is the
contact person at the media outlet?
-What is the
timeframe for submission?
-Do you have an
attention-grabbing headline?
-Do you know the
who, what, when, where, why, how?
-Do you have
good quotes, research and technical date if appropriate?
Click this link to see how powerful a well-written release can
be.
2.
Articles - Writing articles is a great way to gain recognition as an
expert in your field or specific industry. By providing practical
information, you can reach targeted audiences. This can create
exciting opportunities for you and your business.
Whatever you
write about should be something you are knowledgeable on and your
information is factual. Incorrect or untrue information can come
back to haunt you.
Recently I read
an article by someone claiming to be an Internet marketing expert.
Their article was about gaining visibility on the Net. To find out
how much visibility this so called expert has I did a name search on
the author. The “expert” author had only 10 postings under his name.
Not very impressive when other experts have thousands of listings.
The author immediately lost credibility.
3. Presentations – One of the most incredibly effective ways
to market your product or service is to offer a complimentary
information seminar. When you provide great information that is of
interest to your market you have become a resource before you are a
vendor.
By positioning
yourself as a resource you are marketing in a very unique way.
Hosting a
presentation can be virtually expense free. You can offer to do a
presentation at a staff meeting for a client. Many large companies
have brown bag lunch speaking opportunities.
You can host a
meeting open to the public at your local library. Be sure to send
press releases to the local media when you are offering a
presentation open to the public.
Many
associations, including your local Chamber of Commerce, are
constantly seeking presenters who can provide timely and content
driven talks that benefit their members.
When you apply
one of the three recommendations to your marketing mix you will gain
benefit. When you apply all three the results can be phenomenal.
