Tag Archives: press releases

Keywords as a Publicity Tool

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Get Your Releases Noticed

Keywords and key phrasesPublicity writing can be a challenge when you are trying to write several press releases for the same client without repeating the same phrases that we all tend to use in our writing styles.

So what is the answer to this writing pattern? Try using a keyword search tool.

The Internet has opened up a vast amount of tools for all of the publicity and advertising industries. The problem is not everyone sees or really understands how to apply these great tools to their everyday business activities. For example, I just mentioned that publicity writers should use keyword search tools to make their press releases, articles more targeted to the pr client’s market.

PR Clients want to know that when a press release is submitted, it gets published and noticed. One way to help this process along, is by inserting the different phrases and keywords that you might not have considered.

Why use these keywords and phrases? For a lot of reasons! One of the most important reasons– your release on the internet will get higher rankings and help your PR Clients web site rank higher as well.

Reporters, when searching for specific topics, will find your release easier and faster because of the keywords you inserted.

There are a lot of keyword tools, such as Overture, Wordtracker among many others. Visit one of these keyword search tools, try it and I can assure you that words and phrases will appear that you probably didn’t think about before.

One more important point. The number next to these keywords are the number of people who typed that word or phrase into a search engine. That makes these tools more valuable when writing.

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How Are Your Communication Skills?

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One in a series for publicity tips


Knowing how to write a press release, or an article for publication is in itself a talent, a skill. But do you know how to communicate your pr client to the media? Oh yeah, that’s right, you’re a pr professional, so how can you not know! Well, don’t be surprised, but many of the new people in the industry are just not "listening" to their pr clients. This is alos true of companies that have in-house publicity departments who are probably experiencing this same problem…no one is really listening.

This is a skill that seems to be lacking within the publicity industry. Everyone wants to be heard, but no one wants to take the time to really listen.

Listening is much different than hearing.

For example:

  • When we are asleep, we still "hear" things. That is how we wakeup to an alarm clock, or a dog barking.
  • Listening is when you are understanding to what someone is saying

This is the main difference. We are seeing that young publicity professionals are too busy THINKING of what to say in response to the person talking. That holds true with pr people not completely listening to clients about the new product or service they want to promote.

This skill is very important when communicating to the media. The way you speak to a reporter, how you "hear" and Listen" to what they are asking, can make a big difference in getting a story, or a press release published.

Look into getting a refresher course, or ask for help from professional pr people who know how to communicate. There are a lot of sources, courses and books. Make yourself be a good listener, it can only help you communicate better.

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How To Structure Your Press Releases

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Good structure makes a difference

publicity structureNot all press releases written by professional publicity people or pr clients follow the standard rules for press release structure. This can affect the chances of your release being read, or even published.

Remember, reporters and publishers all have a lot to do, and looking over hundreds of releases a week requires streamlining their time. So if you get too wild with your release structure, you might just get overlooked.

A web site called publicity advisor, gives some good structural advice to help those wanting to get noticed with the media much easier. I know that if you have a good relationship with a specific reporter or media contact that you can break many rules in publicity. But that is limited in your viewpoint, because not every person remains in one place. When visiting the site, you may think, I know this stuff. Ok, maybe you know "most" of it. But are you practicing it?

For example are you aware of this: “If your news release contains a local news angle, putting information about where should be giving high priority at the top. Also try to get your company name as close to the top as possible. This will decrease the chance that they’ll "chop" your company name out of their news coverage, and increase the chance that you get publicity with your release”. That’s just one suggestion in the advice offered. I recommend you go through all the information before making a judgment. You just might uncover something new to help the next release get more attention.

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Web Marketing and Publicity

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The do’s and don’ts

optimizing for publicityThe blog I wrote on "Publicity is your web site" is one of several parts to taking advantage of a web site as another pr tool.

An overstated word is "optimizing". Since I cannot think of a better word to describe this process, let’s start with these steps:

  • Optimize each page

Pr clients and businesses do not realize it, but some web marketing companies only optimize the Home Page and maybe one other page. You need to do all the pages.

  • Optimize your Page Titles and Content

In addition, look for keywords that are relevant to your company and industry. For example in the PressRoom page use words that are in the press releases or articles.

  • Create inbound links and label your images

This is a great place to have links to published press releases or articles about the company. Or place links to service organizations in your industry.

  • Your Website needs to be spider friendly

Search engines use spiders to read web sites. If the site contains flash, you need to address this in the html codes and modify them so spiders can see the code.

  • Keep the site fresh

Just like sending out new press releases, you need to keep the content fresh in the text (body). Every quarter have the content be updated, but don’t use a string of keywords, or phrases or hidden text, that will only make the spiders angry and get you on the "bad" list.

Having a good web site that can be found is good publicity. Why? Because when the editors, reporters or other media look at your site it will be easy for them to find you and the products you offer. Keep reminding yourself that "Publicity Is Everywhere".

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Who Is Getting Your Press Kits?

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Do you know the right person?


Sending out press releases or press kits to editors, publishers take more than addressing a label. You need to make sure the person receiving your media kit, or article is the right person.

Depending on the industry you are in, it can be a guessing game. And if you are sending to the trade media, or consumer media make sure that person is still working at the publication or broadcast station.

Finding The Media
There are many sources to locate the right publication and get the name(s) of the individuals responsible to receive your information. You can go to the public library, buy an SRDS (the cost for the subscription is costly), or do some surfing on the web. Another source is Gebbie Press.

Once you find the right person, make sure you spell their name correctly, and then call to verify that reporter, or editor is still working there.

If you are interested in getting TV or radio exposure, you can call your local affiliates. Many times, they will direct you to the proper producer who is in charge of programming.

Again, be sure to write the name of the person, their phone number and email correctly.

After all that research, you need to contact these people and ask if the story is one that will fit their station. It is always a good idea to have someone in the company, or ask your pr client who would be best suited for an interview.

Follow Through
You can send the reporters or producer a letter, which is probably best in the beginning. Then follow-up in about a week to see if they received your request.

A good public relations service is having the media right people in your contact file. Otherwise, it is time wasted for you and your pr client. 

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Getting Listed With Search Engines

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Publicity is everywhere, even on the net

Just about every traditional (brick and mortar) company has a web site. Beyond the fact that you need to have a web site today to be recognized as a real company doing business, clients and customers want the ability to gather information or place orders via the web.

With that said, we need to now see how publicity coupled with marketing can make good things happen.

Web sites are only as good as the marketing that supports it. Just because you have a site doesn’t mean it will be picked up and listed at the top with the major search engines. It requires strategic planning and implementation to make things happen.

To begin, you need to have the site optimized. That’s an overused word, but it still needs to be said. This alone is not enough. The SEO’s are battling again for power and that means more challenging times for web masters and programmers. You now need to include a plan that includes “back end marketing”. This can be a series of things like a blog site, eNewsletters, and above all a strong publicity plan.

Yes, publicity is a major element in getting listed higher. There are two methods used to see a sites value. Page Ranking and Site Listing. Page Ranking shows how you are rated (ranked) on search engines, like Google, Yahoo, MSN and Alta Vista to name a few. It is based on a scale of 10. Sites with anything in the 5+ ranking is excellent. Even with a 3 you are doing fine. Remember, that there are over a billion pages, and several hundred million sites. Even in any vertical market, there are at least several hundred thousand sites.

Listings are where you are positioned on that search engine. Everyone wants to be on the first page of a listing, and not further than the third page. But again, with hundreds of thousands of sites, not everyone can be on top.

Once you get there, you need to be more aggressive with press releases, keywords added and updated, keep daily blogs going just to maintain a solid position (listing) with the engines. No guarantees can exist. The only way to stay near or at the top is to have an on-going plan.

A couple of our clients are getting their time in the spotlight. Partition Specialties now has a solid listing using several keywords such as modernfold, tate access floors and skyfold. They are listed with the various SE’s in either a #5 or #12 position with Google and Yahoo, MSN, etc. That’s out of 1,500,000 other web sites in a specialized industry. We are using several marketing tools with the publicity to maintain this.

Foundations Financial in only 6 weeks got a high PageRanking with Google of #3. We are using the blog site and a lot of publicity releases, TV interviews and links on the site to gain this positive momentum. Keeping this will be an on-going battle that we plan to win. Within a few more weeks, they will enjoy the high listings as many of our other clients do.

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Use All The Internet Tools

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Publicity is everywhere


It’s time to continue the discussion about publicity being everywhere. The most active and productive place is the Internet.

Before we dive into this, keep in mind that traditional pr, such as publications (both newspaper, magazines), and broadcast media should be an on-going mix with your overall pr activities.

Clients tend to either keep the traditional methods and don’t explore the new media, or they drop all the reporters and publishers and only concentrate on the Internet news for press release distribution.

As I began saying earlier, you need to work within the powerful media of the Internet. One good suggestion is the RSS with a blog site.

I’ve mentioned this before, but pr clients tend to not fully appreciate the advantage of this new media. Because we use the Internet as a means of gathering information "quickly", clients feel that their blogsite should have "instant" success.

Remember that Kevin Costner movie…well, just because you build a blog site, not everyone will read it.

You need to market the site. When done correctly and with the right company, professional bloggers (yes they do exist) can make the site become highly ranked. And the company doing the work for you, if they are into RSS and Blogging can get your main web site listed high with the popular search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and Alta Vista.

There are lessons to be learned when building a blogsite. More importantly you need to have daily blogs. I cannot go into all the needed essentials to building a good business blogsite in this short blog lesson. So keep in mind to be successful in any industry, use all the marketing tools that exist. That may even mean a direct mail program if that’s what is needed to gain favorable publicity. When was the last time you had an open discussion with your pr director, or met with the publicity firm to review a plan? If it’s been over three months, then it’s time to call a meeting.

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Press Releases ON-Line

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Use the media that offers wide reach, on-line releases


If you are a pr pro, or in the publicity industry, you need to make sure that you are using all the resources available.

This means print, broadcast and of course, on-line.

Writing releases for the mass media, such as the print industry, requires information for the editor to feel it is newsworthy. This we already know. One important point is to make the release fit that industry. Sometimes its revising one or two paragraphs to make the release more appropriate to that readership.

Now lets move to on-line.

While print releases can be two to several pages long, on-line releases should not exceed 800 words. Actually it should be closer to 650 words or less. Don’t go the opposite and write something only 400 words.

As much as readers on the net like short reads, we want to feel that the information has value and content and was beneficial to us.

Keep the on-line source as part of your media mix when distributing press releases.

Another critical secret in on-line releases is to embed, or provide links. This cannot be done with other media outlets like broadcast and print. Don’t go crazy with links on every sentence, and make sure these links are support for the release.

The next step is to distribute the releases. Use a service that you know can handle on-line distribution as well as traditional. Some of these companies are PRNewswire, Bacon’s, and Business Wire. Also, remember to add the releases to your own web site.

One more thing you need to make sure you are doing to get the most of a release. In your web site, create a navigation button titled newsroom, pressroom, or something similar. Place the releases, and/or stories published in that section. Now you have an additional on-line presence with your releases.

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Getting Publicity By Talking

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Interviews, books and seminars are good publicity tools


Releases, stories and articles as well as interviews can deliver getting your message out to the market. Sometimes conducting seminars can open a new market for potential customers.

Such is the case when our client, Foundations Financial, had two opportunities to present their services by being interviewed on these TV talk shows. Our client was given the opportunity to present (before the show aired, about four days earlier) the five key points they wanted to make that related to the host’s topic. Then the host would have questions relating to these points making the interview successful for everyone. In all, both shows gained favorable pr for our client and they attracted several inquiries for new business.

It seems that reporters and publishers are constantly being hit with press releases and pitched by companies and pr firms to do a story on a specific product or service.

But how many times have you tried to contact a TV show, or a radio show that might specialize in your industry, and offer the producer a representative from your company to speak about a topic that will fit their audience? Probably not often enough.

This media, broadcast, can be an excellent way to get your message out. But you need to understand just like the print media, you need to make your pitch fit that shows profile. You can’t just sell your product/service. You need to position yourself as an expert and explain how the listener (audience) can benefit by using a product/service like yours. Again, this is a thin line that usually the host will control on how much will be about you (your company) and how much will be about the topic in discussion.

Being prepared is important and knowing what to say is critical. So consider all areas of publicity. Don’t limit yourself to one media.

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Cold Calling Is Like Publicity

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Know your prospect and know the media

How many times do you or other companies you know ask their sales people to make cold calls. Or tell them it’s a numbers game. The more calls you make, the more chances you have in getting a sale.

This is a bad method to doing business. Because the reality is that you loose more prospects and probably don’t get past your 5 seconds of intro before the person on the other end hangs up on you. Also, you are wasting a lot of hours making calls that may never buy from you.

This can be compared to publicity. It isn’t a numbers game in sending out a flood of press releases to media that are not interested in your product or service. Be selective. Know your media. Contact the reporter, the publisher and send them a press kit with a cover letter. You can do this as an email if the publication you are contacting accepts this form of communication.

By choosing a limited number of cold calls that you have identified, you should know about that prospects company, the products they are already buying (from you or a competitor), know what they need then make your call. And that call should start off with a question. Asking them to help you with a problem. Make it relate to their situation and your product or service.

This may not be exactly the way to make a call to the media. But think about it, you call them not knowing anything about the publication, or you haven’t done your homework to see if your product or service will be a featured subject a few issues from now, or maybe it already has been written about.

Contacting the media is not a numbers game, nor should your sales department think it is either.

Target marketing is the best solution and that applies to your publicity as well.

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