How the Press Can Advertise for You

Want a new way to generate some interest in your business, but your idea bucket is about empty? Why not rip out a page from the old tried and true methods that public relations firms have been using for years, the press release.

This is a simple way to provide free advertising, but this doesn’t necessarily mean writing a release is simple. Here are some hints to write a successful piece that informs, yet provides your business with a boost by appearing to be authoritative on the subject covered.

What should it be about?

What do you sell? What special information do you have that might be of general interest to the public, especially as it relates to a current hot topic? Answer this question and the reporters will be at your feet. If you make flower arrangements for instance, could you write a release on the importance of flowers during a time of loss and how to pick an appropriate arrangement. Are there stories in the news that relate to what you are selling? Linking information about your business and the public’s current interest in a particular news story could lead to a successful press release. For instance, with all the news about the Gulf oil spill, a cleaning supply business could tie it into how to clean chemical spills around the home. A good title could be, “Chemical Spills Mean Trouble at Home”. Remember to find the “hook” in a story, the grabber that will make people read the article because it captures their attention. Going back to the Gulf oil story, a travel agency could write a press release about how to check your intended vacation spot to see if it’s been ruined by the spill. Hopefully, the mention of your business will bring in a few more customers, looking to vacation in an oil-free zone.

Whom Do I Send it Too?

Most local newspapers are always looking for low-cost material to keep their pages full and readers satisfied. Radio stations are required to produces a certain amount of public affairs programming. These programs usually trotted out at odd times, like early Sunday morning, but still may allow you to submit material that might lead to an actual interview.

Now, How do I Write it?

Here’s where you start the actual work to write something that captures people’s interest and establishes your business as expert in the field the piece highlights. Remember the reporter that looks over your press release doesn’t want an advertisement to your business; he/she is looking for a story that will be easy and grab the public’s interest. Your job is to make it easy. Use the first paragraph to summarize what the article’s point of view will be. The reporter may read only the first few lines, so make it interesting. News departments love to jump on trendy bandwagons, so once again, tie it into a current topic. Ever notice when one plane crashes, several more do? When a monkey attacks a human, suddenly it seems like simian revolt is taking place? That’s because once one story is big, reporters pounce on similar stories that never would make it to the news desk otherwise. Your job is to pounce on whatever is hot at the time. The first few sentences must pique the reporter’s interest, making them think they’re geniuses for coming up with a clever tie-in to whatever is going on now.

Let’s go back to the travel agency example to see how current news could be hijacked to create a great press release. With all the trouble near the border with Mexico and people viciously killed with drug related violence, a travel business could write an effective piece that would fit in nicely. The piece could give hints on travelers on how to be safe when they are out of the country. It could give information on how to find the safest hotels and resorts to stay and that travel agencies can help in the process. Somewhere in the piece, describe your company and how it could help. Make sure you don’t overemphasize your business. If it sounds like an advertisement, it will be rejected. Do some research on the web about the number of instances, some statistics about the problem and how the average traveler may be at risk. By timing your article to coincide with a recent story about the subject, a local paper might be very keen to publish it.

The whole article should be written in the reporter’s point of view. Never use “we, us or I” in your piece, unless it’s used during quotes. You want it written in the perspective of the third person. In the travel example, you could include a paragraph that reads like this, “The XYZ Travel Agency was established in 1993 to assist travelers make safe, wise choices when going to another country. It offers a wide range of services to the value oriented traveler.” In this way, your business is promoted, but not shamelessly, as it would be in a commercial. Remember the story is what you should be selling in the piece, not your business. If your business is spotlighted in a favorable way while the reader is engrossed in your missive…that’s the free publicity that you are looking for.

Hints to Polish Your Masterpiece

Sometimes the most important part of the release is the title. Think about all the titles you’ve seen the newspaper. It’s full of puns, plays on words and uses anything to capture people’s attention. You should take some time to devise a good one as well. Our travel agency could title their release, “Problems Associated with Travel”. That is about as dull as a film capturing flowers grow. Perhaps a better idea would be, “US Travelers Attacked…A Growing Trend”. A sub-title added could read, “Savvy Vacationers Learn to Fight Back”. This would attract my attention and chances are I would take the time to read it. Creative titles are an integral part of a good news story; newspapers actually hire people just to come up with interesting headlines.

It is easy to use hyped-up phrases like “unique”, “state of the art” and “amazing”, but resist the temptation. It not only can make your release sound contrived and staged, making it resemble an ad instead of news. Read several news entries in the publication to get the feel for the newspaper’s style of writing. Remember most reporters would be very content to let you do the work of writing, the less they have to rewrite something the better. Remember the old saying, “Brevity is the soul of wit”. Keep your writing brief and to the point, condensing it down to achieve maximum effectiveness.

Just like you use the first paragraph to grab attention and summarize the focus of the writing, use the last paragraph to sum everything up in a nice, concise package. A reader of news copy should be able to capture the gist of the article by the first and last paragraph. At the bottom of the article, include your contact information, so the reporter can contact you if necessary.

By utilizing these techniques and a little practice, you can receive much needed attention to your business for nothing more than the time it takes to create such content. By taking advantage of trends, news coverage and celebrity misdeeds, a clever marketer can use the press release to foist their name to the public, who might otherwise never hear of your precious enterprise.

Hot Product Trends:  Or Are You Still Stuck with Beanie-babies?

Marketing Trends

We’ve all seen the tidal wave of products in the past that started selling here and there and suddenly everyone wants one. Soon every vendor on almost every street corner suddenly has a huge inventory, and then as soon as it started, nobody wants it anymore and you can buy it for cents on the dollar. Whether it’s the yo-yo, Pokemon cards or, remember this, the pet rock, fads and trends make some people rich and others stuck with merchandise that won’t sell.

So how can you spot the next big thing in marketing? Oh yes, the million dollar question that everyone asks. It’s like picking the right stock that will make your retirement fund flush with astonishing possibilities; few people can actually do it. However, thankfully for the free market system, many people try. I can offer a few ideas, or at least a few pitfalls to avoid. I, like most people, have a few theories on most everything, so I’ll offer them free.

Trends are like Waves, they Rise and Fall

Consider the fact that surfers have to catch the wave at just the right time. Since I know little about surfing, I won’t be able to use trendy surfing terms, but I know enough by watching that getting on the surfboard must be done at the perfect time. Getting on the board before a wave starts, generally means the wave will always appear where you aren’t. Getting on too late sounds like a good way to have tons of water dumped on your head. The best surfers spot the wave just before it crests, gets positioned on the board quickly and rides it to its inevitable conclusion.

So how can you spot a trend before it gets old? One way is to check out EBay’s Pulse at: “http://pulse.ebay.com/“. Here you will find the most popular selling items, biggest sellers and browse through different categories. You can also type in, “What’s hot” and “products” in Google to find more information. Make sure the sites you visit are independently reporting about fast selling items, not actually selling them. You don’t want to fall prey to other people trying to sell off their old “Lost” series action figures. (Although that big Hurley guy might be a collectors item someday) You can also get your teenagers to lend a hand at something creative for a change, by telling you what is popular. Be aware that they may just turn your marketing research into another plea for a new cell phone. If they actually do give you a thoughtful answer, try to quiz them rather the item is extremely hot…or just cool. Teens are very keen on wanting an item, just before it becomes “so not with it”, like the $100 pair of jeans, they will never wear, because Paris said something negative about them. If you are the creative type, perhaps you could actually start a trend…now that’s where you could potentially make some money.

Once you decide that something is going to be the next best thing, decide on how much you are willing to invest. My instinct would be to buy a small amount of the merchandise, or a minimum investment in equipment for a service, so as not to be the victim of the next Beanie-Baby downturn. If it sells, you can always buy more.

The Wave Will Crest

So you have a product that is really selling, everybody seems to want it and you are making money like an oilman, what’s going to happen? Well under our capitalist system, other people will find out you are making money and decide they want in on the action. Soon, everyone is selling it. Think about all the places that offer cell phone accessories. Even gas stations sell the stuff. Just like in our wave analogy, if a trend rises, it will fall. The price you can realistically charge will quickly fall, along with your profit margin. The trick is to get out, or at least limit the amount of stock just before the bottom begins to drop out. One obvious way to detect this downturn is to look around. Is everyone beginning to offer the same thing? Is the price falling quickly? Quick, time to spot another trend. I am reminded of an old story during the severe market crash of 1929. One of the few remaining rich tycoons during the Great Depression said he got out of the stock market just in time. His cue was when the shoeshine boy started to talk to him about stocks. When everyone’s in…it’s time to get out.

You Can Make Money on Washed Up Trends

What happens to the poor people that didn’t sell off all their “Cupie Doll Bobble Heads”? They are stuck with little ugly heads, bobbing and weaving. With every wiggle, these bobble-brats are bearing witness to the fact that somebody didn’t see the wave cresting soon enough. That’s where you possibly swoop to the rescue, snatch them up for five cents apiece and sell them for $1.00 at your surplus store. Hey, they were $9.95, so a few people will still want to jump on the deal; they might still be renting Lindsey Lohan movies. So in this case, if you spot a good deal on an old trend, you could make a profit. Just remember not to pay very much.

Alas, Scarcity Could Be the Biggest Trendsetter

If spotting the next best thing was condensed into an easy to read pamphlet, you just know everyone would be doing it and then the wave would either never form or would crest immediately, which I guess would be the same thing. Nevertheless, the thing that may actually trigger a trend is scarcity. Something brand new is scarce, therefore usually desired by more people. The new I-Phones from Apple are a great example. Somebody has to make a new product, a few brave souls try it out and risk humiliation by their snobbish friends and it suddenly becomes popular. The biggest example of this is fashion. Have you ever watched a fashion show on TV or pictures of one in a magazine? Some of those clothes look hideous to me, but some “cool” people (usually celebrities) start wearing it and eventually it ends up on clearance in a blue-light special. Women want to be just about the only one wearing a new dress, but they certainly don’t want to be the only one, unless they’re attending the Oscars. It is your challenge to create something different, give a hint of scarcity and cross your fingers.

I hope I imparted a few ideas you can incorporate in your marketing endeavors. At the least, maybe I took an interesting stab at identifying a peculiar trait of all humans, we want to be different…but not weird. We want to be like other people, but we don’t want to look like we are copying them. Marketers are making big money manipulating this attribute to their advantage. It’s the fine balance of how to convince customers that they can be an individual and still buy the same thing as their neighbors. I guess that’s why they have different colors.

Internet Marketing; Using Video To Create Personal Touch

Can online video boost your conversion rates?

Video has really become a very important feature of many websites.

Some of the very important benefits of using video to increase website conversion and sales are:

• Better enhance a customer’s ability to understand or relate to an affiliate offer or one of your own products,
• Demonstrate certain features and or the major benefits of your offer.
• One of the most important is that it allows you to engage with the customer on a more personal level.
• Sets off emotional triggers easier, ultimately influencing buying decisions.
• Video can help make your website ‘sticky increasing chance of sale.

Using video allows you to really enhance your website experience for the customer by better engaging them which ultimately lead to higher conversions.

Driving traffic to your website is only part of your task when it comes to making sales online. Conversion is the true measure of your sites effectiveness in turning visitors in to customers. Increased conversion means increased revenue from your website.

Before you start your video campaign as in anything else you need to start with a clear goal. By starting a video project with clear goals you can create a successful video campaign to increase your conversion rates. Things to remember when deciding on your goals are;

• Have I established a starting point for measurement! In other words what are my current website statistics such as traffic and conversions from the current traffic.

• Have I established a way of measuring my results. What is in place to help me measure higher traffic and conversions. One possibility is to install something like Google Analytics on your website. Website traffic is perhaps one of the easiest to measure. If you have Google analytics installed on your site, you can easily see where your traffic is coming from and also see what paths the users take once on your site.

• How will I act upon the results that I get!

By setting proper goals you can create a successful video campaign to increase your conversion rates, whatever they may be.

One important thing to remember is that you need to create compelling video content to be delivered to your website visitor through your video. Your video must reflect your key message and website goals.

While adding video to your online store isn’t exactly new, it really is still an online medium in its infancy. Only within the last year or so have Online Marketers really begun to wake up to the real power of video as a marketing tool that builds customer confidence and increases conversion rates.

Think of your online website as an offline store for just a second.  How would you go about getting your customer that just walked into your offline store to stay in your store and increase your chance of making a sale?  Of course you would do what you could to engage them by talking to them.

Why treat your online visitor any different?  When your visitor comes to your website take every opportunity you can and engage them in what is going on.  Talk to them.  make it personal.  Make it seem like that website was just setting there waiting for just them to show up.  Deliver the ultimate experience to each visitor that show up to your website.  After all you worked hard at getting the visitor there in the first place.  Use every tool you have available to increase your website conversions.  Video is one of those tools you need to start with.

I would love to hear what your thoughts and experiences have been on using video to help increase conversions.

Online Success;  Repetitious Thinking Can Stifle Success

“I have been trying to make money online for so long now and each time it just ends in failure.  I have been buying one product after another and doing my best to follow everythign I am being taught but for some reason the Success that so many others are having seems to elude me.”  Does that sound familiar to you?  Well maybe it is because there is a bigger underlying problem that is standing in your path that keeps tripping you p along the way to making money on the internet and the online success you desire.

You do remember the world before CD’s and mp3 players don’t you? Well, I guess I’m dating myself, but I remember a device that played music on a flat, black disc that required a little needle to produce music. We called it the record player, or more accurately the phonograph.

We thought it was very sophisticated, especially the automatic record changers. All you had to do was to place a stack of 33 1/3 or 45 rpm records on a slender metal pole and one by one, they would fall down onto the platter. Oh, I know I am bombarding you youngsters out there with technical jargon that perhaps you never heard of. The platter is the revolving platform that turned the record round and round. The stylus, another fancy term for the needle would magically place itself onto the beginning of the record, and with a few odd and sometimes hideous noises…the music would begin to play. Just go to some garage sales and you may see some of these historical oddities going for a dollar or two.

One of the frustrating aspects of the phonograph was the occasional skip. But unlike today’s skipping CD’s, in which you can do nothing but bang the player about in a temper tantrum, a record player could be adjusted to stop repeating itself. By adjusting a dial on the rear of the tone arm, you could balance the stylus so that it put just the right amount of pressure on the record. You could off course just abuse the record and put pressure on it with your finger to make Elvis sing the word Hound Dog repeatedly. But wait, you kids know about that…that’s almost what deejays do with old records to make new mixes, only they manipulate the platter. Well say, we are on the same page after all.

What’s my point on all of this? I almost forgot, but here it is. We sometimes are like those old phonographs. We start thinking certain thoughts, usually negative ones and we play them over and over again in our head. We tell ourselves we are losers, or that other people are to blame for our failings. We rehash old hurts, hover around feelings of inadequacies and brood over past mistakes and missed opportunities.

These constant replays of damaging thoughts will not only diminish ourselves as human beings, but severely damper our chances in any attempt at a home business or advancement in our jobs. How can people forge a new path for themselves, if they are still stuck like a stylus in a record groove? Someone came up with the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Likewise, thinking the same useless thoughts that get us nowhere will not suddenly spring forth a fulfilling life. At some point, we have to grab the controls of our mind and force it to think anew.

Internet Marketing Success begins with a proper mindset

How many times have you thought about your childhood? I’ve noticed that if I begin to think about all the bad things that happened, soon that’s all I can remember. One bad memory leads to another and another. Eventually I was feeling rather sorry for myself until I decided my penurious thinking was nonsense and was making me miserable. I began to force myself to relive happy memories and tried to be more thankful, it didn’t take too long, and my opinion about my past magically lightened.

Some people spend years wallowing in the mud of the past instead of rejoicing in life’s wonderful moments. All of us have our share of heartache…it is part of the human experience, but how we react to it makes all the difference.

Let us all try to recondition are brains to dwell on better ideas, happier thoughts and avoid negative memories. Let’s try to laugh more, love more and use our mental faculties to come up with inspiring and inventive thoughts instead of useless and diminishing ones. I bet we will feel better, those around us will notice a difference and that home based business, you just started will get a kick in the pants. Maybe you can even get out that old phonograph…those old records might just make you feel young again

The Daily Schedule How to Turn a Taskmaster into a Friend

Home Business Time Management

For most of us, our daily deadlines and schedules cause stress and anxiety. We hurry about, trying to fit as much into our day as possible, until we collapse at night. Then we can’t sleep, because we’re worrying about what we have to do the next day.

Although we have to show up to work on time and fulfill various commitments, when it comes to a home-based businesses, the schedule can actually be of benefit.

It can lesson the stress of our pursuit of our financial goals. How can that be, you may ask? Yes, I know, we all hate timetables and to-do lists, but hear me out. If you have a business, you’re the boss and the one who decides what gets done. Your profit, or lack thereof, depends totally on you. You can work 18 hour days or play around with it for an hour…it’s all your call. The fact that you even have a business, no matter how big or small is testament to the fact that you have some motivation…probably a lot of it. So if anything, you spend any downtime worrying about what you should do next and feeling guilty for enjoying yourself.

Here’s where you can actually employ a schedule to work for you, instead of being a slave to it. Why not write down at the beginning of the week some things you would like to accomplish. Once you have a list, break it up into smaller bits and decide how many hours of each day you would like to devote to it.

If you decide to work 5 hours a day and have a certain goal to achieve, when your time is up or the goal reached, quit for the day. Then when you’re watching reruns of Gilligan’s Island, you won’t feel quite as guilty, because you fulfilled what you set out to do. See my point, your schedule has now defined your purpose and also allotted your down time to spend with family and friends. There’s no need to jump up and “do one more thing”, because you get those pangs of feeling lazy.

You have made time your partner instead of your enemy, at least in relation to your business. You will still have to show up to your mother-in-law’s on time and return your video before you get charged a late fee. Why not try for a day or two and see if it makes you more productive. It might even prove useful in other areas of your life too.

Just think what a feeling you’ll have with your feet propped up in your favorite chair, knowing that you achieved a piece of your dream today. Now, just sit back and watch Gilligan mess things up.