Advertising and Marketing

Do you have a service or product that you want to get in front of the masses? Maybe you have reached a new milestone in your existing business that you want to shout out to the world. Well, the easiest way to get the message out is through the power of a press release.

Press releases have been around for awhile and can be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. If you have a little experience writing, you can create one on your own. If not, you can hire a professional to write one for you. It is well worth the money to get a professional job done.

There are several elements that comprise a press release.

1. The contact information, this allows the press to contact you for a possible story or for potential customers to come to your site to see your offerings.

CONTACT: www.ABCcompany.com
Joe Schmoe, President
Phone: (123) 456-7890
Boston, MA. 00000
Email: schmoe@email.com

2. The Headline, this is possibly the most important element of the press release because it must be “newsworthy.” It can’t be a sales pitch but must be crafted as though you are announcing a news item. For example:

WHERE WILL YOU GO?

Local Online Job Network Shows You the Path to Job Search Success.

Not something like, ABC Company Is Offering The Best Job Hunting Technique In Town!

3. The first paragraph of the press release needs to make the announcement. The thing to remember throughout the press release is not to make a sales pitch, that’s not what it is intended for. It is meant to make an announcement about something that is considered news such as opening a new store, a new division, relaunching a business and so on. For example, Sterling Heights, MIJune 20, 2004ABC Comapny, a new local online job network for residents of Massachusetts, is set to launch on July 1st to give job seekers an additional outlet to aid in their job search. This is announces the date of the launch of ABC Company.

4. The rest of the press release should give background on the company, the product development or the service improvement etc. For instance, ABC Company offers numerous benefits to both those seeking a job and employers looking for local talent to fill positions. The benefits to job seekers includes the ability to search for jobs by location, date range, categories, job type and keywords. It will give a person the ability to view all jobs posted by a specific local employer.

5. Add at least two quotes from an executive in the company. For instance, “We’re very excited about the launch of ABC Company. Being able to provide both job seekers and employers with direct access to local jobs and candidates, respectively, is the best possible solution for both,” offers Joe Schmoe, President and founder of ABC Company. Further down in the press release, add another quote like, According to Schmoe, “The benefits to local employers besides finding qualified candidates for positions, includes a reduction in time and effort in regards to recruiting new talent.”

6. Finish with something like, ABC Company is a local online job bank serving residents and employers of Massachusetts. They are based in Boston, MA. and can be reached by calling (123) 456-7890, by contacting Joe Schmoe via email at schmoe@email.com or visiting www.ABCcompany.com for more information.

That’s about it. Easy, simple and quick to whip up.

Once you have the press release completed, you will need to distribute it. The best place to so that is at http://wwwPRweb.com because they offer a low cost solution to distributing your press release.

If you need a professional to write a press release for you, please contact me at writetouch4u@verizon.net My press releases have netted press interviews and stories for many of my clients. I would love to help you “get your message out.”

Copyright 2005 Lorraine Cote

This article may be freely reprinted as long as the author’s information and copyright notice remain intact.

Lorraine Cote is the CEO and Owner of The Write Touch 4U, Copywriting Service. She is also a published freelance writer who has written over 100 ebooks on various topics for clients as well as all types of other written materials. She also has 16 years experience in the corporate world as a Trainer and Business Writer and is an Internet Marketer as well. Visit her at http://www.thewritetouch4u.com or visit her blog at http://writetouch4u.blogspot.com

Related posts

• Marketing to the Masses through Article Distribution (0)
• Write Press Releases That Get Noticed (0)
• Why Your Press Releases May Fall into the Junk Category (0)
• Wanted - Sheep for the Marketing Flock (0)
• The Importance of Press Releases (0)

Tags: copy, copywriting, press release, press releases, write, writing

Hoo boy, I am sticking my neck out here! Ready for the chopping
block I am - but it needs to be said and here it is:
“Marketers - wake up! Get back to basics and get original”

So what is this all about?

The other day I got an e-mail from a marketer: Intriguing subject line, but also a little disconcerting. “Leon, Don’t ever trust me again”. Wow, this is really thin ice stuff. I must say it really intrigued me. A powerful statement and unique. Methinks that this marketer had a lot of faith and kudos’ to him for a very original opening headline.

So what did I do? Of course I opened the mail and had a look!

Why did I open it? It was a mail from one of my trusted marketing acquaintances in the marketing world. It was from someone that has built credibility and trust with me over a period of time. And yes, the headline or subject hooked me - why should I now suddenly not trust this marketer?

Yes it worked

Now comes the crunch - why, o why must everyone copy - like
sheep, I tell you.

In the next 24 hours I received another bunch of mails with the
same heading/subject from other marketers! O dear me - how
un-original can you get - A flock of sheep following a leader!
My unsubscribe button worked overtime. It now was becoming an
irritation - not an attention grabber.

Come on marketers - it worked for the original creator of this
headline. It is a unique headline - like a signature, but for
the originator only. Not for copycat purposes.

What has happened to creative marketing? What has happened to
re-packaging? What has happened to original thinking? What has
happened to you, dear fellow marketers? I am using a specific
example of an e-mail in this article, but unfortunately it
happens all the time. I see this happening continuously - the
same marketing messages/headlines/subject coming through from different marketers. It is so obvious.

The originator of this created a great attention grabbing
headline/subject for the marketing e-mail. It also worked for
him because he had already built a trust relationship with his
customers. Because it was so unique, it stood out - like a
brand.

Other marketers that copied this - word for word I must add -
fell flat on their faces - it worked against them as it was
obvious that there was not even a hint of originality in their
thinking. By all means copy the method, even the manner,
but copying the exact words as well ?

So please marketers - be wary of what you copy. And when you copy someone’s message please check the spelling.

Please marketers - be original, be yourself, take a little time
to be creative - repackage the message to fit your style and
your list.

Please marketers - be aware that you have customers on the other
side and not just a list of names that needs to be fed
regurgitated copy.

Please marketers - stop copying and start marketing to your customers!

Leon Williams has been involved in corporate internet marketing for many years. He is passionate about the psychology behind web marketing and has now decided to live and work his dream by training entrepreneurs on the applied techniques of web marketing psychology.

Related posts

• Yardstyle Marketing (0)
• Word Of Mouth Marketing - Why Testimonials Should Have Everyone Talking About You (0)
• Why Your Press Releases May Fall into the Junk Category (0)
• Three Steps to Your Ultimate Marketing Message (0)
• The Top 10 Marketing Tools to Grow Your Business in 2004 (0)

Tags: copywriting, Marketing, marketing copy, marketing tools, original marketing, true marketing