tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7314274.post-31979098606476735292008-03-25T09:53:00.004-05:002008-03-25T10:16:04.198-05:00I just read an excellent article offered on the site above as a free eBook download. this piece is chock full of great advice and links that everyone should know about. I recommend that everyone interested in enhancing his/her site performance read, no, study, the complete document, but I will attempt to summarize below the concepts that particularly caught my attention in it.<br /><br />"New" means marketing directly to the user, not just through the media that press releases used to be addressed to. Media attention now becomes a "fringe benefit" of your press releases!<br /><br />Press releases used to be about "big news", but no more. Anything your organization is doing can be fodder for a release now. For example (as the author suggests),<br /><ul><li>CEO speaking at a conference? Write a release.</li><li>Win an award? Write a release.</li><li>Have a new take on an old problem? Write a release.</li><li>Add a product feature? Write a release.</li><li>Win a new customer? Write a release.</li><li>Publish a white paper? Write a release.</li><li>Get out of bed this morning? Okay, maybe not… but you are thinking the right way now!</li></ul><br />Use distribution services to get your news out to the broad audience available. The article suggests four well known services, which can also be found in my <a href="http://www.small-business-consultants.net/Downloads/web_marketing/linksfile.xls">file of useful links</a> (Search the links page in the file for the phrase "press release sites".)<br /><br />Don't forget to include the news on your web site. You should have a PR section of your site where you collect all your releases. Keep them there for as long as the information is relevant (why not forever?)<br /><br />Consider "answering questions" and "browsability" in creating content! Keywords emphasize the first, but navigation and suggestions emphasize the second. Suggest things to people that they didn't think to ask!<br /><br />Include the Press Release as a PDF in case people want to print it for any reason.<br /><br />Pay attention to links in the PR. That gets people to your site, and increases your ranking. This means that you have to have the appropriate content on your site. That may mean writing something for the site before creating the PR.<br /><br />Speak in terms that your buyers/users/clients use. That may include jargon, but mostly does not.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"On the best sites, content does more than just sell product – it directly contributes to an organization’s positive reputation by showing thought-leadership in the marketplace of ideas."</span><br /><br />Segment your audience and release to every segment specifically!<br /><br />Create something of interest that you can "mail" to people. Yes, snail mail, so you get their real addresses! Downloading is good, but sometimes people will want printed content that you can add value to.RGMyershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12904517262971335678noreply@blogger.com