There are a whole range of reasons why all South Africans should support proudly South African products but the main spin off of the Nedlac initiative is to create more jobs within our country’s borders.

The vast majority of South Africans want to make a positive difference in our infant democracy and buying products or services emblazoned with the Proudly South African logo is one simple way of making our economic clout count.

To be part of the Proudly South African campaign, manufacturers and service providers have to follow strict criteria that include

• All goods and services having a minimum of 50% local content, including labour

• All member companies embracing fair labour and employment practices

• All member companies imbuing sound environmental standards

These criteria form the building blocks for responsible and sustainable business practices that can only lead to an improved life for all South Africans and will most certainly enhance South Africa’s image abroad, particularly in the business sector.

It has been estimated that between five and twenty-two new jobs are created for each 1 million spent on locally produced products and when we take a quick look at unemployment statistics in SA and the impact it has on crime, then each and every one of us should make a concerted effort to buy Proudly South African.

The battle against unemployment

Whether the Proudly South African campaign had any impact on the latest unemployment statistics is unknown, although the positive newsflash is that unemployment levels sank to 23% in September 2007, a record low since the 2001 inception of the Labour Force Survey.

According to Statistics South Africa, a total of approximately 13.2 million people were employed, a net gain of over 430 000 jobs. The nation’s unprecedented growth has been tagged as the driving force behind job creation – in the past six years South Africa’s burgeoning economy has added over 2.1 million jobs and counting.

Crime busting

There is an indisputable link between unemployment, poverty and crime and if we are serious about making this dynamic and potentially great country one of the leaders in the global village, then these three disaster areas have to be curbed, and quickly.

South Africans have been held hostage by the electrifying crime wave that has engulfed the country for quite some time now and each and every one of us is aware of the damage it has caused to investor confidence. Quite simply, without substantial investment, South Africa is in danger of becoming just another average African state. The good news is that crime is on the decline, with a 6.4% drop overall.

In a nutshell then, the Proudly South African campaign is really a loyalty programme with the entire population of South Africa, all 48 million of us, as members. There is no doubt that if we continue to support South African goods and services, the lives of all South Africans will improve immeasurably. View this site

Article Source

Tags: business, ethical, product, worker, ethics

It is completely amazing all the scams out there in the world, many feed of people’s egos and some folks would say; it serves them right! Well, maybe they have it coming to them for their shear arrogance, but a scam is a scam and these folks for whatever reason are victims and the scam artists, well they are unethical practitioners if not outright criminals.

How do such scams work? Well, they call you up and tell you that you have won an award and then they tell you to get your prize send them money. Pretty interesting isn’t it, worse it works, people actually send in money for a plaque, trophy, certificate or a listing in a book. Of course, the book is $50 or more and the only reason they are in it, is because they bought the book, or trophy or plaque or high-priced certificate. Amazing!

This is a common scam – we’ve seen this for years. It actually works very well. You can tell by the number of consultants and “business coaches” that display pictures of these awards on their websites and include such awards in their resumes. Once you realize and notice this, you have to laugh at all the vanity, ego, and kudos generation going on these days. And isn’t it a lot like folks purchasing fake degrees through mail order or online? Our society is rapidly becoming a group of cheaters from kids in college cheating on tests, athletes using steroids and politicians playing us and the media for fools.

It is my contention and realize I get at least one of these types of emails per week, that these types of scams and email offers will go on. Many of these types of groups are also calling blocks of business cell phone numbers as well. Their story sounds compelling and they are very good at ego stroking to get the orders. Think on this.

Article Source

Tags: customer, ethics, product, problems, issues

He was brilliant. Polished. An asset for the company he represented. In less than an hour, he worked up the crowd to fever pitch. Hundreds of people lined up to sign up for the next step—which involved a no-cost, eight-hour financial investment training day.

He was also an author. He told his story of how he met a man who invited him to several investment meetings. And those meetings changed his life forever.

He became wealthy from practicing those investment strategies. He turned from amateur to pro. He had finally arrived. And now he wanted to teach those same strategies to investors.

He made the audience laugh, repeat “yes” for the umpteenth time, and put everyone at ease with his low-pressure persuasion techniques. He was even crawling on the floor to illustrate a point. There’s no doubt he graduated Sales Mastery with honors.

But the crowning moment was when he invited four investment newbies to take the stage. He showed them how easy it was to make money whether the market was going up or down. He had them bobbing their heads the entire time. This provided the social proof people needed to participate in the next step.

But many knew better…

I spoke with Ashley, a graphic designer who signed up because Carmen, her realtor mom, wanted to check out the training. Ashley was suspicious of the sales pitch and she wanted to protect her mom from these cleverly disguised sales wolves. I hope Ashley doesn’t lower her guard either.

Because once they get you into their training room, they will hit you with a variety of persuasion techniques to scramble your radar. They will make you feel like you have an IQ of a slug for not investing in their program. Don’t forget to take prescription strength “stubborn” pills with you on that day.

And my colleague, Dana, didn’t approve of the fact that she was being sold. She was skeptical from the start of the presentation. She never cracked a smile during the entire talk. She may have been half-fuming. (Or half-envious.)

But let’s be real…

Salespeople have to make a living. Selling is their job. The economy becomes stagnant when nothing gets sold. I hope you agree that selling is a good thing.

Yet people don’t like to be sold. They like to buy, but not be sold. Buying puts us in control. We own that power. We lose that power position when we’re being sold.

So the speaker did a great job. He racked up hundreds of people into the next phase. He’ll receive a nice bonus for his persuasive presentation.

Yet the question remains: If you could—should you?

If you could bottle fountain water to sell to unsuspecting supermarkets: should you?

If you could pay off the FDA to market your medicine: should you?

If you could pressure people with their last dollar to invest into your program: should you?

If you could sell company secrets to competitors: should you?

If your boss commanded you to lie to consumers: should you?

If you answered “yes” and can sleep well at night, then you are lower than the slime on the bottom of my shoe. You may dress in business attire on the outside, but the inner person is polluted with soot. Despite the media coverage that white collar criminals get incarcerated to Club Fed: You should hold yourself to a higher standard.

Besides it’s hard to become stealth with unethical conduct. Your inner circle of friends and closest allies notice what you do. Especially in a hi-tech society where everything is traceable.

But if you decide to burn people anyway—the Universe always has a way of settling these accounts. Eastern philosophers call it karma. Western ministers label it “reaping what you sow.” And enlightened people name it the Law of Cause and Effect.

So why would anyone corrupt themselves for a buck?

Avoid the scandals, fines and embarrassment. Do the right thing always. And leave a legacy of integrity, accountability and upstanding character for generations to admire and model.

Tommy Yan helps business owners and entrepreneurs make more money through direct response marketing. He publishes Tommy’s Tease weekly e-zine to inspire people to succeed in business and personal growth. Get your free subscription today at here.

Get a FREE 5-week Secrets to Web Mastery e-course. If your websites aren’t making sales or capturing leads, you can’t afford to let it idle in Cyberspace. Read more..

Article Source

Tags: ethical, salesperson, product, career, company

Tell most people that you are in sales and watch their reaction. Their experiences with high pressure, poor service and poor quality have conditioned them to believe the worst when they hear this word – salesman.

This visceral reaction might be why many involved in sales now call themselves business development representatives. Yet, after talking to them, you know that what is, is. They are in sales.

So why this extreme negative reaction? If we look to the past, we may remember the used car salesman or the high-pressure salesperson that we encountered during our work experience. Our negative reaction has more to do with their ethics and values than their selling skills.

What most of these salespeople have in common is a lack of ethics. Without clearly communicated ethics and core values, theses salespersons will do almost anything to secure the order. Their beliefs and attitudes were once the sales were made, go on to the next sale or sucker.

Today’s marketplace is different. Buyers are far more intelligent and have easier access to researching potential products and services. To differentiate yourself demands that you construct your own values statement or business ethics statement. These values or ethics are non-negotiable behaviors that you will consistently demonstrate in all interactions.

Maybe, it is time to use a core values statements to disqualify potential clients so that you can secure clients who will truly benefit from your products or services. When we as sales people take any order just to make a sale, we may be compromising our own core values and ultimately end up with a dissatisfied client. Remember, that dissatisfied clients share their unhappiness with more people than satisfied clients do.

If you are a salesperson and do not have a written values statement for yourself, take the time right now to construct one right now. For you and more importantly your demonstrated ethics are the change in the world.

Do you want to increase your sales? Then, you might be interested “Simply Speaking, Increase Sales by…” a truly quality e-book combination workbook that focuses on helping you within the 3 key areas of Marketing, Selling and Planning. Learn more at here.

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S. is a speaker and national business coach who has written hundreds of articles with a focus on leveraging human capital for transformational change by developing results driven leadership in people, teams and organizations.

Article source

Tags: ethical, salesperson, product, career, company

Successful product launches are key to a company’s success. For a start-up company, the success of the launch may well determine whether the company survives.
And yet in nearly 30 years of advising companies, from start ups to Fortune 500s, I’ve identified 5 common mistakes that can sink a launch. Here they are the five:

1. Assume the product/technology/service will sell itself.
Lots of things have changed in the past few years. But one thing remains the same: People will not beat a path to your door if you build a better mousetrap, UNLESS, they a) know it exists; b) are convinced it really is better; c) their current situation is painful enough that they have a desire to change; and d) they can afford it.
2. No “Story.”
Start-up entrepreneurs often get so caught up in their solution, they forget to mention the problem they set out to solve. Established organizations often assume everyone already knows the problem. But venture capitalists, analysts, potential customers, and especially the media, need to hear your tell “The Story.” Part one of “The Story” is the pain/frustration/fear/loss that your solution solves. Part two is your solution filtered through the concerns of the audience.
3. No articulate, excited beta users, early adapters, satisfied customers or clients willing to “go public.”
Reporters crave the opportunity to talk to people who have used the product or service. From the very beginning of product testing be looking for willing customers and exciting stories. (There are ways around this lack of users willing to comment publicly, but that is a separate topic!).
4. One presentation fits all.
I recently learned of a CEO who gave a group of industry analysts the same presentation he had given to venture capitalists. In addition to being a painful experience for him, it created a lasting skepticism on the part of the analysts. Yes, we know everyone is already stretched thin and working long hours, but VCs, analysts and the press are audiences crucial to success. If no one in house can put together a powerful presentation, hire an outside source to do it. It’s too important to leave to amateurs.
5. Media attention before the message is clear and the spokesperson is ready.
Media attention is great, IF the coverage is good. But companies, especially start ups, often go after the media before they’re ready. A big play in Computerworld, the Wall Street Journal or Moneyline can set the company and the product or service being introduced back significantly if the messages aren’t persuasive and the spokesperson comes across as uninteresting, unclear, or defensive.

And now to keep you focused during your launch, I invite you to claim your Free Instant Access 400-year-old tool I’ve adapted to help you stay on message by visiting this site.

From – Lou Hampton, The QuoteAbility(tm) Coach and Speak to Lead.com

Article Source

Tags: PR, strategy, Mistake, product, launch

To some entrepreneurs and business owners, the answer to this question might be, “it doesn’t matter – publicity is publicity and I’ll take all I can get.” True to a degree, but the smart entrepreneur knows that there is a strong difference between product and business publicity and their respective effects on your bottom line.

Sure, the bottom line is to create consumer/industry awareness of the product or business and increase sales. But how you go about increasing that awareness, that brand recognition, can mean the difference between publicity and obscurity. Determining which type of publicity campaign you need is really all about timing.

What I recommend to my clients is what I call “Diversified Publicity”. Just as stockbrokers tell their clients to diversify their portfolios, the same holds true for publicity. A diversified publicity portfolio is a vibrant and active portfolio. What I mean by Diversified Publicity is creating different publicity angles based on your business’ life cycle and timing those pitches to the media for optimum exposure.

In a typical business plan, I would recommend PR campaigns/pitches in the following order:

1) Product Publicity – described below in A
2) Business Publicity – described below in B
3) Advertising – described below in C

(I strongly suggest exhausting all “free” publicity angles before jumping into a more expensive ad campaign.)

* This cycle can be repeated over and over based on product improvements, additional product launches, business development and expansion, etc..

A) Diversified Publicity typically begins with a nationwide “new product publicity” campaign designed to create multiple media placements and subsequent consumer/industry interest. Many media outlets are seeking the latest in new products and will give you solid product profiles/reviews in their publications or on their shows.

B) A few months after the product campaign, we would launch a “business publicity” campaign or what I would consider a “corporate campaign”. This is a people-behind-the-product campaign, which of course indirectly plays up the product again, further generating sales.

In this instance, I like to highlight new developments that have occurred since the product was first launched – product acceptance, sales milestones, the product’s impact on the industry or an individual customer, strategic alliances with other businesses, etc. This is also a great opportunity to play up newsworthy stories that may have occurred during the development of the product or business.

C) Now that the new product and business/corporate campaigns have generated some brand recognition and increased sales, your budget may allow for advertising. The publicity campaigns you just launched have gone a long way in helping your customers/industry to understand the product/business. Now you won’t have to waste valuable advertising space describing who/what you are.

It should be noted that many times, especially in startup businesses, new product publicity IS business publicity – the business for all intensive purposes IS the product. You’ve all read the stories in the media describing an innovative new product. Even though the product is the main focus of the story, invariably the company behind the product is mentioned as well.

If a well-known company, say Panasonic, Schwinn, or Kellogg’s launches the product, the reporter won’t go into a whole lot of detail about the company – at least in this story. But if the company or business is new, the reporter or producer will most likely include more information to introduce the company behind this innovative new product. However, a brief mention about the company in any new product stories does not qualify as a corporate campaign. You should still follow up a few months down the road with a quality corporate campaign that will detail the success of the recent product launch.

Many businesses that have launched product campaigns over the past few months or even years have never followed up with the corporate campaigns. They only rolled one of their publicity bowling balls and there are still pins standing in this frame. Perhaps the business simply tried to ride out the product publicity as long as the media would allow and now are just hoping for continued sales. As good as the product may be, it must be understood that product publicity has a shelf life – meaning you can only take advantage of new product publicity angles for a limited amount of time.

Once that shelf life is over, it is time for the next step in you Diversified Publicity campaign. As a former TV reporter and producer, I can tell you from a media standpoint – I always wanted fresh meat, different stories and new angles. Whether a reporter/editor/producer used your new product pitch or passed on it, hit them again with how the product is now impacting the industry – a newsworthy angle that has developed since the product was launched a few months back. Ideally, you’ll get coverage from both pitches.

The media targets for these campaigns differ greatly as well. The new product campaign is going to have a strong consumer and general interest editorial base. The corporate campaign will have a much stronger business/industry slant and will therefore be focused toward completely different editors or producers. Researching the expansive media markets and outlets to find the most applicable media targets is the key to your publicity success.

Whether you are at the new product publicity stage or the business publicity stage, use these tips of diversified publicity to take advantage of the ever-increasing media market – keeping you, your product and your business in the equally diversified public eye.

Todd Brabender is the President of Spread The News Public Relations, Inc.

His business specializes in generating media exposure and publicity for innovative products, businesses, experts and inventions.

Visit this Site

Article Source

Tags: public relations, publicity, industry, product, business

Public relations plans can easily pay for themselves many times over, especially when compared to the cost of advertising (rates range from $4,000 to $8,000 for just a ¼ page ad in major city newspapers) or a direct mail campaign ($20K and up!).

A well-placed news article is a more effective and less expensive way to get a bang for your precious marketing bucks. Yet, many companies equate public relations expertise with the costly monthly retainers often required by larger PR firms. While it’s true that large firms may be too expensive, chances are independent consultants and small firms are more affordable than you think.

Many PR professionals offer businesses of all sizes first-rate, affordable services. Seasoned marketing and PR experts often prefer the flexibility and creativity of working independently and their low overhead is reflected in their rates.

So, if you’re looking for PR counsel but thought it wasn’t in the budget, think again. The following guidelines will help you get started.

Ask for referrals when seeking PR help
First thing’s first: Find a public relations professional with good references, sound advice and enthusiasm about your business. Try networking through business colleagues, professional associations and friends. You can also find quality pros by searching articles posted on blogs and online magazine sites. And don’t forget the power of the Search Engine.

Know what are you’re trying to achieve
Do you want an ongoing PR campaign or a one-time boost related to a new product, store opening or announcement? This will determine your strategy and budget moving forward.

Identify your target audience
Defining your target audience is probably the single most important decision you’ll make when implementing a PR plan. Are you trying to reach your customer base or the general population? There are thousands of media outlets – and the number is growing exponentially with web-based news sites – so the more specific you can be about who you want to target and why, the more successful your PR effort will be.

Have realistic expectations and patience.
Sometimes the most powerful news stories are those cultivated over weeks and sometimes months (think “Watergate”). If your business doesn’t have a deadline-oriented announcement (i.e., the date-certain launch of a new product), it often takes time to pique a reporter’s interest in a story or angle – but it can and does happen.

Public relations is a powerful tool for companies of any size.

Karen Preiss Miller is a partner in JKP Group, a marketing communications consulting company. For more tips, visit this site

Article Source

Tags: pr, research, product, methods, promotion

I went to a new dentist about three months ago. As soon as I made the appointment with them I received in the mail a greeting card welcoming me along with a picture of the entire staff and a brief paragraph describing the practice. I walked through the door to their office in a good mood already, and was greeted with various plants in the corners, an aquarium composing the far wall of the waiting room, and soft, comfortable chairs. The women behind the counter greeted me with a smile. The whole experience was pleasant, and after the appointment was over I received a thank you card about a week later. I intend to go there again.

Everything, from the greeting card, to the comfortable look of the office, to the friendly smile behind the receptionist’s desk was evidence of successful marketing. The quality of the job he did was also exactly what I had expected, but then, I think most would agree that going to the dentist isn’t always just about the quality of the service being provided. Given how many have a specific fear of the dentist, calming the person down can be just as important as how well their teeth are cleaned.

All of this leads to the unique differences between marketing a specific product in comparison to a service. Quite often I receive catalogs and booklets in the mail advertising various products, and when it comes to selling a computer or an article of clothing the catalog is rather effective. If I’m buying a computer I like to know what the specifics are, something a catalog can tell me. Sure, I want the person behind the counter when I pick it up to be friendly to me, to be nice, but ultimately the product is what I’m going to be happy or unhappy with. But would a dentist use catalog printing as an effective way of advertising their services? Could a stock advisor send you a booklet and get your business, or are you going to want to meet the person before you put your trust in them?

Marketing a product can be as simple as letting a customer see what they’re getting and effectively providing it to them. This isn’t a particularly lengthy interaction. If the product is well-priced and high quality you’re going to keep doing business with them. The product is what makes or breaks a person’s interaction with the business. But when it comes to jobs based around a service, you’re selling more than just the service being provided. You’re becoming close to the customer, getting to know them and allowing them to get to know you, and because of it you need to handle marketing yourself in different terms. Printing greeting cards allows them to know you care about having them as a customer, just as sending thank you cards shows them you want to continue this business relationship. Could Best Buy send out greeting cards to every customer they have? Of course they couldn’t, and so they utilize catalog and booklet printing instead.

No matter what business you run, think first about the exact nature of what you have to offer the customers, and consider what the best way to market yourself will be. Every business needs marketing, but understanding the best path, and understanding the differences between marketing a product vs. a service will do wonders to secure a customer base.

Lynne Saarte is a writer that hails from Texas. She has been in the Internet business for some years now, specializing in Internet marketing and other online business strategies.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit: Catalog Printing, Booklet Printing, Greeting Card Printing

Article source.

Tags: product, strategy, development, market, global

Today, there are many businesses that offer press release distribution services. You can also purchase press release distribution software at a fraction of the cost. Regardless of which method you choose, there are some things you will need to consider before you invest your money.

To begin, you will need to make sure that the press release distribution agency has access to all the newest contact information for the publications you are interested in. You can learn a little about this by looking at their most recent news articles. If you perform a web search, you can easily spot where the press release distribution agency was able to place the materials.

In a similar way, if you use software to meet your press release distribution needs, you will want to select one that offers free database updates. Journalists and editors have to deal with spam like everyone else. As a result, they may well change their email address or contact page on a frequent basis. If your software does not have the latest information, your important documents will not be received to get published.

As you browse through press releases distributed by an agency, take note of how popular each news site is. If a lot of blogs that are not very popular, or poorly maintained, chances are the press release will not be read by potential customers. In addition, if press releases in areas not related to business, it is a clear indication that the press release distribution service is ineffective.

Fortunately, if using press release distribution software, you have a good bit of control over where, and when your release will appear. Therefore, target media outlets dedicated to a specific industry, then opt to send your documents only to them, and no one else. That said, if the decision is made to send it to more places later on, the software will make it very easy.

It is also important to gauge the volume of business that a press release distribution agency has. As an example, if they have not generated a press release in over a month, something may be wrong with their services. While it will occasionally be difficult to get a handle on that information, a lack of customers is still a clear sign of issues.

When it comes to software, it is difficult to evaluate how popular the program actually is. Look at some software reviews, or even see if there are any particular programs that journalists recommend. Or, try purchasing one software package and see if it fits your needs. Chances are, you’ll find it better to take this step first, rather than spend a substantial amount of money on one single release.

Today, many business owners want to take advantage of press release distribution methods in order to cut marketing costs. Even if you’re only a small business owner, there are affordable methods that are available. That said, before purchasing the services of a press release distribution agency, it is very important to make sure that you will be getting your money’s worth. You may even want to try a software package first, and see if it is suitable for your purposes, as this is generally the cheaper, and occasionally more effective, solution.

Rod C. Beckwith, co-creator of the Press Equalizer software, has made hundreds of media contacts and distributed thousands of press releases online. If you need to distribute press releases online, then check out his software package.

Article Source

Tags: distributions, strategy, product, global, strategies

This is what online public relations can do for you: it can make you the right one. Unlike marketing or advertising, which are essential activities and. Public relations is about messages and their delivery, but that is not all PR is. Unlike marketing or advertising, which are essential activities and correlation with Branding, the goal of public relations must always be to create. Indeed, there is little anyone can do about it, especially with the Union, Corporation infighting and the over regulation and insane number of lawsuits in the US.Public relations is important no matter what type of business you are in. Public Relations is a pretty unforgiving field to participate in.

Marketing

Like any service and or product, marketing is the key. First, try to be a regular speaker in your marketing area. Many writers and authors fall into a fantasy world that once their book is printed and binded all will flock to it. Like any service and or product, marketing is the key. So efforts made by companies to create goodwill through advertising and marketing are effective. So efforts made by Marketing is the life blood of any business.

Well, they need a new spokesperson because their current leader is in hiding in fear for his life. Public relations is communicating who you are, what you do and how you make a difference. The difference between Public Relations PR and Advertising is simple, you pay for Advertising. Public Relations is generally an indefinite discipline and somehow quite an underestimate resource. The practice of public relations is typically a method of promotion. Many experts on Branding espouse the opinion that public relations are a vital part if not the most vital part of the unlike marketing or advertising, which are essential activities and in other words, public relations is meant to generate news coverage. Making your business more public friendly can mean gaining the confidence and trust of the people. Public relations are a cheap and a more effective way to do it.

Zola Mathe is the author and a writer for more information on public relation visit us at site

Article Source

Tags: public relations, importance, marketing, service, product

Without question it must be really nice to be Oprah Winfrey. After all who truly reach the heights to have an annual show appearance that becomes the holiday season biggest rave and be able to give away millions of dollars in prizes to the audience? This year’s Oprah’s Favorite Things show for 2007 give away over 2 million dollars in prizes to the audience, awarding over 300 audience members prizes worth over $7,247.33 a person.

Oprah typically selects 20 companies and products to feature during her favorite things show. What about the other hundreds of millions of other companies and products out there? They can generally wait another hundred million years to make the list or turn the hype from Oprah’s Favorite Things show into their own publicity campaign. This theory proves to be a sure bet for success as Oprah even selected her very own book to appear on Oprah’s Favorite Things as her #19 pick – O’s Guide To Life. No wonders how this will impact her book sales?

The first thing is to understand the hype surrounding Oprah and the power her name carries in the media. Oprah’s Favorite Things show is an instant boost to the economy and for the lucky 20 companies selected a mega revenue surge. Just knowing this information you would think that most companies would kick down doors to be apart of this publicity. However, few take advantage of this golden opportunity to increase brand awareness or revenue earnings.

Publicity tips to capitalize from the hype of Oprah’s Favorite Things:

1. Item Category – Review Oprah’s Favorite Things and search for a product that is in your same category. Highlight features and benefits that make your product standout.

2. Promote Category Selection – Prepare a media release about Oprah’s Favorite Things selecting your product category. Tell what makes your product’s features and benefits standout. If possible reveal customer testimonials, experiences etc.

Here is how a good sample header would appear:

Oprah’s Favorite Things Wows Audience With Body Butter

XYZ Company offers a wide selection of body butter including the same scent selected on Oprah’s Favorite Things list with all 100% pure and natural elements.

3. Next Year’s Campaign – Now is an excellent time to start campaigning to make Oprah’s Favorite Things list for 2008. Pitch Oprah’s producers on how you started your business, if you borrowed a loan from your father-in-law or took on a second job stress those points. Let them know about your struggles to success. Tell them why your product should be featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things for 2008. Don’t forget to include product samples and customer testimonials.

4. Target Similar Lists – There are thousands of other media resources that are searching for holiday products to highlight. Often many of them trend themselves after Oprah’s Favorite Things and looking for similar products or bigger better ideas to top Oprah’s list. A good start would be to target holiday gift guides, magazines, newspapers, etc. Contact your local area newspapers, radio stations, talk shows etc. Often times you can create a local buzz and turn it into national news.

5. Christmas In July – July is the ultimate time to target publications for December, which Christmas features most often need six months plus. Present your pitch why your product is a favorite things holiday gift idea.

Utilizing the publicity power of Oprah’s Favorite Things is a great strategy to increase brand awareness. This is the golden opportunity to take rejection and turn it into something positive. The power of the O factor is limitless.

“CR” Cataunya Ransom is the Co-founder of Mosnar Communications, INC. She developed a niche for Luxury PR & Global Marketing. Guiding clients on how to brand, market, and promote luxury products, events, and services. Highly respected as a luxury public relations expert! “CR” consults clients and speaks to audiences about luxury public relations and global marketing practices. Visit “CR” at this site

Article Source

Tags: media relations, promote, person, product, information

Still, while Public Relations is an excellent marketing vehicle, understand that it takes time to build a successful PR engine and the results might not be immediate-making it difficult to gauge whether your efforts are successful or need to be modified. With that in mind, you’ll want to get it as right as possible before you implement.

To get you started on the right foot, or to audit your current strategy that isn’t yielding the results you’d like, follow these five steps.

1) Develop a press kit.

Whether you are a product or service company, there are three documents EVERY media/press kit should have:

* a. Backgrounder-this provides the “story” about your company and should include information about when it was founded, by whom, and for what purpose, as well as an overview of your offering.
* b. Fact Sheet-this acts as a quick reference for key points about your company such as location(s), contact information, size, markets served, board of directors and/or executive management team, revenue, brief description of company and product/service offerings, mission statement, key clients, significant milestones or awards/recognition, etc.
* c. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)-this is a summary of all the most important elements of your offering and company in question and answer format, as well as answers to questions that are often posed by prospects, customers, and partners.

Additionally, depending on what you are trying to achieve with the kit, you should include pertinent collateral for product/service offerings, current press releases, and any supporting or value-add materials such as product specifications and white papers.

2) Create a targeted media list.

Whether you purchase a list or create your own through research, you need to know more than just the publication name, address, and phone number for the publisher or editor-in-chief. Purchasing a list or service from Bacons, or similar vendors, does provide this level of detail, but it can be costly. Either way, you’ll want to verify the publications are appropriate for your target audience.

Next, you need to determine who the appropriate contact is-whether it is an editor, writer, or freelancer-covering your type of business. You can do much of this by going online and searching their websites or calling the main office and asking the receptionist or main operator. Obtain as much contact information as you can before ever contacting the editor, you don’t want to waste their time when you do get a hold of them.

Be sure to track your communications with each editor, as well as planned coverage in each publication, in a database or spreadsheet. By doing this, you’ll be able to easily manage your efforts and your list.

3) Study the publications.

Gather current and past issues of the publications on your media list and read them from cover to cover. Take note of the audience, recurring columns, themes, or types of stories, as well as who is writing, so that you can better craft your submissions to fit the publication. You should also obtain editorial calendars to see what future stories pertain to your business. Check the lead times for the issue and make sure you get your relevant ‘pitch’ into the appropriate editor far in advance.

4) Get to know your editors.

Aside from knowing your editor’s contact information, there are several other things you need to learn about them to establish and maintain a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship. Knowing their preferences is key. How do they prefer to receive information? (Believe it or not, some still want it via fax!) What is the best time of day or day of the week to contact them? What are they really looking for from you (i.e. What will help them do their job and get you the coverage you want)?

While you want to keep the lines of communication open and flowing, you should limit outbound contact to them to newsworthy and useful items only and stick to what is convenient for them.

5) Have a plan.

Developing a Public Relations Plan that outlines your goals, objectives, strategies and tactics for the upcoming six months to year is a must. After documenting all of the planned, newsworthy events, launches, and announcements, as well as other possible opportunities such as self-written articles, case studies, etc., you’ll want to create an implementation calendar. Map opportunities you found in editorial calendars to your announcements, and plug them into the calendar. Remember, pitches to editors will likely occur months in advance of issuing a press release so you’ll need to make two entries in separate months for things like this.

Your ultimate goal throughout your efforts to obtain good publicity is to do your editors’ jobs for them. Provide them with information they can use, that doesn’t require additional legwork or research on their end, and always think of ways to make their lives easy.

Go-To-Market Strategies is a resource center for sales and marketing professionals and business leaders. Our tools, templates, and services help companies achieve big aspirations with limited budgets.

Visit our website for sales and marketing templates and access to free downloads or browse more articles

Article Source

Tag: online, pr, marketing, product, communications

Even if you have the World’s best new widget to solve all mankind’s problems it matters not unless you tell people. This is why Marketing Experts often are paid so highly out there. They are worth every penny for those companies who offer new and exciting technologies, products and services and yet sometimes all the advertising and marketing in the world is just not a enough. Even with a robust friends and family program, buzz marketing program and word-of-mouth referral networks, more is needed.

Ah ha, the answer is a stellar public relations and marketing program combinations that promotes community goodwill in the industry sub-sector, with the potential customers and announces too the world; Look at all the great things our widget can do!

Lets take a look at such a project and case study; remember the introduction of the Segway Scooter? Heck, they had this thing on every channel on TV, even the President was filmed riding on one with short video clip. That indeed makes a lot of sense and that was a good example of how the super combination of public relations and marketing can come together in a big way. They sold some 35,000 of these things at over $3,000 a pop and made it synonymous with personal tech toys. Perhaps you will consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online ThinkTank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

Article Source

Tags: public relations, marketing, product, advertising, network

You may wonder what I am talking about when I say you can get “almost free” new product publicity to work for you. By way of explanation let me site a couple of examples out of my personal experience. These are new product publicity campaigns I wrote and developed for my clients and myself.

Example: One of my clients was an importer of disposable plastic hospital wares such as Petri dishes, plastic syringes, specimen sample trays and more. I helped him, using only a series of regular, well written, monthly new product publicity releases to grow his business from one based in his two car garage to what is now one of the largest, most successful importers and distributors of these specialized plastic disposables in the USA.

Here’s another example: A number of years ago I invented a filing system for archiving used time cards and I promoted the sale of my system via regularly scheduled mailings to targeted lists of business publications. Some of the publications on my list then printed new product releases about my system in their publications. A few of their subscribers noticed the release and asked me for more information. I responded with a sales letter, a product brochure and an order form. Result: orders flowed in to me in a steady stream – for the next sixty years for that one product! Would you call that a successful publicity campaign?

You see, new product publicity is my specialty. If you want either the whole world or only a small but highly targeted audience to know about your new product, I can help you with the kind of publicity releases that can get profitable results. And all of this is ” almost free.”

Why do I say “almost free”? Let me tell you why.

After many years (about fifty, of direct response advertising, mail order selling, and writing order producing new products releases for many clients with products such as: disposable plastic wares, office aids, road building machines, industrial pressure sensitive tape, consumer items such as sleep masks and more), I know what works. I also know good, carefully written and planned new product publicity releases are better than most paid advertising. They are not “free” but they are extremely low-cost compared to very expensive paid advertising space in similar publications.

Experience has taught me that you have to plan your new product publicity as a continuous campaign. What I mean is this: in order to get significant inquiries and orders for your new product you need a series of new product releases to go out to the same people over and over again for a long period of time. Let me say that again in a slightly different way: To be successful with a “free” publicity release campaign, you must be willing to commit yourself to a rather long term schedule of product releases sent to a specific number of carefully selected publications.

I want to help you make your new product a profitable success in the days ahead. This kind of publicity release plan may be the only way for you to get profitable results at very reasonable out of pocket cost to you. What’s more, you can expect to get sales results ($$$) you can track directly back to your publicity campaign as proof of its success.

So, if all of this sounds interesting to you, and you think you may want to sign up for this kind of almost free new product release publicity campaign, give me a call. Let’s work together to get your new product announcements in the works – now! Today!

Terry L. Weber

The website here.

Terry Weber is a retired advertising/direct mail sales letter copywriter and inventor of several useful items. Terry and his wife Doris are Habitat For Humanity, RV Care-A- Vanners who, for the past eight years have volunteered to help build more than 39 houses all over the USA. They travel to and from the 2- week long builds in their RV. The money they make on their http://www.originalsbyweber.com website helps them pay their expenses to and from those volunteer Habitat builds. P.S. Due to the high cost of gasoline we can no longer afford to drive the RV to Habitat builds. The RV is parked until gasoline prices come down.

Article source

Tags: pr, event, publicity, product, marketing

Follow this step-by-step process to write and expose your news.

Format

Call it a ‘News Release’, ‘News Bulletin’ or ‘Announcement’. ‘Press Release’ sounds like propaganda.

Add, ‘For immediate use’. This implies urgency. It also allows them some choice on when to run it. If the news is date sensitive state ‘for use before’ or ‘for use after’.

Fax or mail? If urgent – fax. But to get noticed mail it. They get a lot of junk mail and junk fax. The fax junk looks too much alike. If you mail it you have a chance to get attention with the colour and feel of the paper. Send it on good quality paper with your logo. That could be your letterhead.

Don’t address it to ‘newsroom’ or ‘editor’. That’s the same as ‘occupant’. Instead address it to a person. Get their name.

Make it easy to read. Maximum one page. Use easy to read font. Twelve point size Times Roman works well. Add a little spice by bolding key names – but sprinkle lightly. Italics draws attention but is hard to read. Use capitals and small letters – don’t print the whole thing in capital letters. That is extremely difficult to read. Keep paragraphs and sentences short. Double spacing is best.

Make it clear whom the release is from. Lead with city and date of the release. This gives perspective. At the bottom of the page state, ‘The end’ or ‘- 30-’ Show contact name(s) and phone number(s) clearly at the bottom or top of the page.

Make sure those contacts receive a copy of the release and that they will be available and prepared to talk to the press when called. Impress on those contacts that the press need speedy responses to make their deadlines.

Content

Start with a strong title. A subtitle is not necessary if the title is strong. Study newspaper headings for ideas. Examine the style of the target media you are trying to reach to get ideas.

You have only one chance to hook them with the title. If you do not, they will not read any further. One glance at the headline is how they preview the release. There must be words, themes, companies, personalities or issues in the title that slows their glance enough to invite them to read the first paragraph.

The first sentence must grab them. Rework that first sentence until the first few words or even the first word pulls the reader in.

The first paragraph is important. It should contain your most important message. If they read that far – it is what draws them into the story. Write that first paragraph as if that might be the only paragraph they print.

Follow with the next points in order of decreasing importance. Assume that they might chop it after any paragraph. Write each paragraph applying the same approach to your sentences. If they only print one sentence make that the first sentence.

Good news releases are not written , they are re-written and re-written.

Make it easy to read. Maximum one page. Use easy to read font. Twelve point works well. Add a little spice by bolding key names – but sprinkle lightly. Italics draws attention but is hard to read. Use capitals and small letters – don’t print the whole thing in capital letters. That is extremely hard to read. Use many short paragraphs and short sentences. Double spacing is a very good idea.

Proof read before you send it. Journalists are especially sensitive to poor grammar and typos. It hurts to read garbage – so they won’t.

The media will read your release thinking, ‘Will this interest my readers, listeners or viewers and is it unique?’ It doesn’t have to be ‘very’ unique – just a little. Every January we get news about the first News Year’s baby. Because the first one is unique at that time, the second is not news.

Relate the news to the reader. Why is it important to the readers, listeners, or viewers of the media? Test for significance by asking, ‘So what?’

Answer a reporter’s key questions: who, what, why, where, when and how. You could even use these questions as sub headings – or as a summary. Use these questions as a quality test before you send it.

Quotes are good and more interesting. You might use quotes from company officials, community leaders or customers. When you use a name always state who they are, e.g. National Sales Manager, President and Founder, author of… Use quotes that evoke emotion, create controversy or present a position.

Don’t introduce too many new names. This confuses readers. Talk about one or two.

Write the name in full the first time you use it. After that you can use only the last name. If you want a name to be remembered use it several times in the release.

After the Release

The reporter(s) may call for more information or to arrange a photograph. Be available. If you are out of the office check your voice messages often. The press has tight deadlines.

Don’t expect to review the reporter’s article before publication. Occasionally they will run the article exactly the way you wrote it – but not often. Once you give them the information they have control. It helps if you have read other articles from the reporter and know their slant and hot buttons.

If they use your news release, send them a thank you note.

Keep and file all your news releases in sequence – even the ones that did not get action. Clip and save the articles that ran with the release. Study them to find what works with whom and when.

See you in the news!

©EZ George Torok is co-author of the national best-seller, ‘Secrets of Power Marketing’, Canada’s first guide to personal marketing for ‘non-marketers’. He delivers seminars & keynotes to corporations and associations across North America. You can reach him at 905-335-1997. For more information about how he can help you visit here

To get you free copy of “50 Power Marketing Ideas” visit here

Article Source

Tags: news, pr, product, people, legal

Managers: Your PR in the Strike Zone?

It is if you’re trying to do something meaningful about the behaviors of those important audiences that MOST affect the business, non-profit, government agency or association unit you manage.

It’s in the strike zone when your public relations creates the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

And it stays in the strike zone when you follow through by persuading those key outside folks to your way of thinking by helping move them to take actions that allow your department, group, division or subsidiary to succeed.

Your managerial public relations is NOT in the strike zone when all that preoccupies you is how to move a message from one point to another using simple tactics like broadcast plugs, brochures and press releases. A simplistic approach to public relations that ignores the need to properly profile and qualify your target audience by probing how they feel about you and your services or

products.

This could be problematic because the perceptions of key outside audiences invariably lead to behaviors that can help or hurt a business, a non-profit, a government agency or an association.

Instead, consider this approach to your managerial public relations and do something meaningful about the behaviors of those important audiences that MOST affect the organization you manage; create the kind of external stakeholder behavior change that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives; then follow through by persuading those key outside folks to your way of thinking by helping move them to take actions that allow your department, group, division or subsidiary to succeed.

A one-two-punch that lets you measure the success of this methodology while you get the best public relations has to offer. In addition, this approach recognizes that many managers build their public relations program around communications tactics which, as noted, they simply use to move a message from here to there. But the reality is that tactics such as special events, press

releases, broadcast plugs and brochures cannot, all by themselves, deliver results like those outlined above.

It’s not every day that you can base your public relations planning on a high-potential underlying premise. But here you can: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is usually accomplished.

The fact of the matter is, the right PR planning actually CAN alter individual perception and result in changed behaviors among key outside audiences. But, you’ll only get there when your PR requires more than news releases, special events and broadcast plugs. Only then will you receive the quality public relations results you deserve.

Now, a sampling of possible results could include capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures showing up; customers starting to make repeat purchases; welcome bounces in show room visits; community leaders beginning to seek you out; politicians and legislators looking at you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities; new prospects actually starting to do business with you; and membership applications starting to rise.

Because your PR people already labor in the perception and behavior vineyards, they’re prepared to handle your new opinion monitoring project. Be doubly certain, however, that the PR staff really accepts why it’s SO important to know how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. And insure that they believe that perceptions almost always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

Your overall public relations plan for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences, must be reviewed with your PR people in detail. Suggest that they consider asking questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the exchange? Are you familiar with our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Be aware that it costs real money to employ a professional survey firm to do the opinion gathering work, and this must be compared to the cost of using those PR folks of yours in that monitoring capacity. Nevertheless, whether it’s your people or a survey firm asking the questions, the objective remains the same: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Without doubt, your top priority now is the establishment of a realistic PR goal calling for action on the most serious problem areas you uncovered during your key audience perception monitoring. At this point, you probably will decide to stop that potentially painful rumor on the spot, or straighten out that dangerous misconception, or correct that gross inaccuracy.

Goal-setting begets strategy-setting and that’s what you must undertake now. A strategy that tells you how to reach that goal. However, you have just three strategic options available to you when it comes to doing something about perception and opinion. And they are, change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Of course, the wrong strategy pick will taste like chocolate covered asparagus. So be sure your new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. You certainly don’t want to select “change” when the facts dictate a strategy of reinforcement.

The order here is a persuasive message that will help move your key audience to your way of thinking. And your very best writer must come up with a carefully-written message targeted directly at your key external audience. The writer must use corrective language that is not merely compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if it is to shift perception/opinion towards your point of view and lead to the behaviors you have in mind.

Still burning the midnight oil, you should make a decision as to those communications tactics most likely to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. Fortunately, you have a lot from which to choose. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be certain that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

Alert: communicating your message, particularly HOW you communicate it, has a lot to do with the way your message is perceived, especially its credibility. So you may wish to unveil such corrective language before smaller meeting presentations, rather than using higher-profile news releases.

Sooner or later, you’ll have to show how things are going and that’s where periodic progress reports come in handy. They can also demonstrate how resources applied to public relations pay off. Progress reports also provide timely alerts to begin a second – and comparative — perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. You’ll want to use many of the same questions used in the benchmark session. But now, you will be on strict alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

In the unlikely event that your PR program loses some of its forward motion, remember that you have the option of speeding things up by adding more communications tactics and/or increasing their frequencies.

Fortunately for all concerned managers, when you take proper control of the public relations being performed on your behalf, the PR program tends to move into the right strike zone and away from dependence on communications tactics. What it does is something meaningful about the behaviors of those important external audiences of yours that MOST affect your operation.

Naturally, as you follow through by persuading those key outside folks to your way of thinking, you help move them to take actions that end up allowing your department, division, group or subsidiary to succeed.

Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has published over 200 articles on the subject which are listed at EzineArticles.com, click Expert Author, click Robert A. Kelly. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations.

Article Source

Tag: pr, segment, segments, product, marketing

If you own a mobile oil change business then you know that it behooves you to find as many customers in one spot as possible. One because it costs nearly $3.00 in fuel to drive around and two, because you make money when you are parked with cars lined up in a row and you are burning valuable time and costs when you are in route to the customer.

One on-site oil change company owner asks; “Many of the small tenants participated. However, I have had some difficulty reaching anyone in the bigger companies. Any ideas there?”

Well indeed it makes sense to contact the Human Resource Directors and Facilities Maintenance guys will be your decision maker. There are many ways to do this and there are lists and phone numbers often available at the Chamber of Commerce or the Business Journals; “Book of Lists”. For our company we always noticed that when we were involved in the community we always ended up with more business without really selling, marketing or trying. For instance; if you want to reach these companies do car wash fundraisers for civic groups in your area;

Or perhaps do mobile oil changes for the elderly free at certain churches twice per year. A little giving back to the community really goes a long way and it is surprising how much your business will thank you when you are thanking the community for doing business with you. Consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online ThinkTank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance. Lance is an online writer in retirement.

Article Source

Tags: advertising, product, public, relation

In these days of every increasing demand and competition, there is a considerable choice available to the cautious consumer. People have the choice of various types of media, if they are looking to shop for any particular product.

Looking at the various types of media, we realise just how large the choices are for anyone venturing into buying or selling something. At the same time, there is the factor of convenience. It wasn’t so long ago, when the customer either went to the shops, to buy, or looked in the local or national press, to browse through the classified and commercial advertisements.

Then came along the advent of radio and television, which provided a whole new concept in advertising. You could now sit comfortably at home, and listen to, or indeed see, advertisements for your favourite products. But this didn’t provide a huge market in private individual advertising, due to the costs involved, although some local radio stations were able to provide so called ‘small ads’.

It has been customary in the past, for someone wishing to sell a product, to advertise it in the local and national press. This continues today, as one only has to browse through the papers, and see thousands of adverts from private individuals.

In recent times, we have seen the evolution of the computer, as an additional source of advertising, and more and more people are turning to this method, as essentially it is one of the most convenient methods of placing an advert. It is also very easy for buyers to browse through the ads, or more specifically, type a word or phrase into a search engine, and save time in being directed straight to the object they are searching for.

But let’s not be complacent about online advertising, either from the buyers or the seller’s point of view. Those of us who run online shopping websites are responsible in ensuring that our customers get a clear and concise picture of exactly what they are entering into, when they open a webpage. It is our duty to provide people with the facts, particularly if they are entering into any online financial commitment. How often do you see the ‘added extras’ tucked away, after completing the initial registration details, or see an additional credit card fee charged? How often do you see an initial price, only to be weighted down with hidden extras? It is imperative in this day of high technology that the end user, that is, the customer, is provided with the full facts of a transaction, at the very beginning.

Starting off with a low or ‘bargain’ price is all well and good, if that price is the final price, but far too often we see the final price creep up with additional fees, charges, add ons, call it what you may. The responsibility lies with the vendor, to ensure that the price has no ‘furry’ edges, and is transparent. If there are taxes in addition to the price, we as vendors, should state so, from the very off. If there is postage and packaging, extra costs for additional services, or anything else, it needs to be stated at the beginning.

Keeping standards extremely high and not taking advantage of the speed in which online transactions pass from one page to the next, to reach the final destination, is an objective that many online businesses have adopted. Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go, for many. Let’s hope we will all, one day, maintain the standards that the general public deserve.

Paul Bryant is the Chairman of Wamee Ltd, a UK Online portal, for people to buy and sell almost anything. Wamee maintains a policy of transparency and clarity in every aspect.

Article Source

Tags: online, pr, marketing, product, communications

There are many ways available on net to publicize and market your business, but, one of the cheapest methods is to use online press release websites, as many of these offers free of cost or low-cost PR options.

With online press release one can simply reach the significant online community. PR web-sites offers article submission database of free content and reprint articles. Publishers, who are in quest of free reprint articles and the business community who wants to shoot their business, can make best use of this significant resource to enhance their marketing weapon.

Online PR is a unique way for your content to reach huge mass of people without spending too much money. Actually, many online PR sites allow submitting press release free of cost.

Another forms of online press release is internal PR, or PR on web-site. Posting press release on a separate web page helps to hike profit ratio. One can easily step forward by using keywords in each page of these releases appear on and then registering them individually in search engines.

The writing and distribution of feature articles is another way to take advantage of the efficiencies of online PR because web publishers, editors, journalists and website are always in search of good contents. Feature article writing is one of the best online or offline marketing techniques.

One of the key benefits to posting articles online is that provides the opportunity to include a biography,contact and resource box at the bottom of the article. This box should include contact information for your business and company background information. This resource box might bring you more response than most paid advertisements, and it’s completely free of cost.

There also other cost-effective online PR strategies that work well include such as online kit, e-mail marketing, announcements, posting on forums, online bulletin boards, newsgroups and online radio, which is just getting popularized.

PR on the internet is so expanding rapidly because of its vast distribution network, the broad potential of contacts and of course, its cost-effectiveness.

Here is list of some sites, which provides free of cost or low cost press release facility:

www.prweb.com;

www.internetbasedmoms.com;

www.free-press-release.com;

https://secure.dataovation.com/prweb/;

www.powerhomebiz.com;

www.prwizard.com

And many more you can find simply by typing a keyword “free press release submission”.

Just check it out this way of marketing, I am sure it will generate substantial traffic to you web-site.

Paras Yadav: Freelance content/Article writer, have experience of almost editing 3500 news and content article.

Article Source

Tags: online, pr, marketing, product, communications

There are many ways available on net to publicize and market your business, but, one of the cheapest methods is to use online press release websites, as many of these offers free of cost or low-cost PR options.

With online press release one can simply reach the significant online community. PR web-sites offers article submission database of free content and reprint articles. Publishers, who are in quest of free reprint articles and the business community who wants to shoot their business, can make best use of this significant resource to enhance their marketing weapon.

Online PR is a unique way for your content to reach huge mass of people without spending too much money. Actually, many online PR sites allow submitting press release free of cost.

Another forms of online press release is internal PR, or PR on web-site. Posting press release on a separate web page helps to hike profit ratio. One can easily step forward by using keywords in each page of these releases appear on and then registering them individually in search engines.

The writing and distribution of feature articles is another way to take advantage of the efficiencies of online PR because web publishers, editors, journalists and website are always in search of good contents. Feature article writing is one of the best online or offline marketing techniques.

One of the key benefits to posting articles online is that provides the opportunity to include a biography,contact and resource box at the bottom of the article. This box should include contact information for your business and company background information. This resource box might bring you more response than most paid advertisements, and it’s completely free of cost.

There also other cost-effective online PR strategies that work well include such as online kit, e-mail marketing, announcements, posting on forums, online bulletin boards, newsgroups and online radio, which is just getting popularized.

PR on the internet is so expanding rapidly because of its vast distribution network, the broad potential of contacts and of course, its cost-effectiveness.

And many more you can find simply by typing a keyword “free press release submission”.

Just check it out this way of marketing, I am sure it will generate substantial traffic to you web-site.

Paras Yadav: Freelance content/Article writer, have experience of almost editing 3500 news and content article.

Article Source

Tags: online, pr, marketing, product, communications

More than half of America skips the Super Bowl, the nation’s most-watched TV event. So it stands to reason that not all your prospects will see your publicity, even if you’re on 60 Minutes and Oprah. Create a strategy to use your publicity proactively to reach and impress everyone with it. Here’s how…

You’ve worked hard, gotten your story in. You’re a media star. Wait… Job’s not done!

You want everyone in your mailing list – not just those who read today’s paper – to see it. Create a nice-looking reprint and mail, e-mail or fax it to everyone you know. You heard me right, everyone. Customers and prospects aren’t enough.

Everyone else on your list – that should include friends, neighbors, and vendors. These folks may not be prospects, but they surely know people who are. They are a potentially rich source of referrals for you. (Note: Check with the publication to see if permission is needed to reprint. Sometimes they will create the reprint for you—for a fee.)

Article reprints should look appealing and be easy to read. Take time and care to get them looking good. Ask a print shop or local designer to help out if need be. Or just have someone computer-savvy and design-minded give it a once-over. It’s worth the small investment.

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth. The president of Ned Steele’s MediaImpact, he is the author of 102 Publicity Tips To Grow a Business or Practice To learn more visit this site .

Article Source

Tags: strategies, plan, marketing, campaign, product

Just like a financial planning client fears not having enough money for retirement, reporters fear getting their facts wrong in print.

Inaccuracy isn’t tolerated in newspapers or magazines. Look at the outcry after Mitch Albom, bestselling author of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven, mis-stated the location of an interview subject in an article. And this was in a sports column! Imagine the fallout if he’d made a crucial error on the business pages. It’s no wonder reporters are fearful.

This provides an opportunity for you to stay in contact with a reporter after your interview, and maybe even steer the story in the direction that will maximize your publicity and marketing results.

After the interview is over, send the reporter a note or email inviting them to fact-check with you before the article goes to print. You’ll get to correct any obvious errors in your comments or in the article, and perhaps even smooth out any infelicities in your quotes. With a little diplomacy, you may be able to exert some last-minute gentle influence on the story’s drift.

Think of this as a value-added service for your client, the reporter. It shows that you understand their job and will make them more likely to interview you again for their next story.

Ned Steele works with people in professional services who want to build their practice and accelerate their growth.

Article source :here

Tag:pr, release, product, news, marketing

It sounds too simple to be true, but it really is… A well targeted and timely PRESS RELEASE to the media is the most powerful form of marketing and advertising on the planet! A high quality press release, with the proper targeting and distribution to reach the correct media members, could have many businesses sailing on a sea of new sales and profits. Just one feature or a mention in a popular or targeted business publication has the potential to cause some business’s phones to literally be ringing off the hook!

The next big question that arises, “How do you go about writing a quality press release that will grab the attention of the media and your particular audience? Here are some tips to help you succeed:

- Pick a “Newsworthy” Angle. Press releases are not an advertisement. Do not try to sell your product or service. Do not use “hype” in press releases. Instead give the media what they want and they will give you what you want… Now, what the press and media really want is a story! Just provide: the Who, What, When, Where and How with regards to the uses of your products and or services in a story format. Show examples of ways that people have used your products and services to their benefit. If you can include some emotions in your story all the better. Think to yourself: Would this be something that I might read in a newspaper?

- Get a Good Start. The headline and the first few sentences of the first paragraph are the absolute most important part of the press release. If you don’t catch the readers interest here you will lose your audience. The best way to do this is to use your most hard hitting
infomation FIRST rather than build to a climax. This may be opposite to what you would normally do when writing other material – but it does work! What follows in your press release are the details that SUPPORT your story or theme.

- Write to the Media. Remember your press release is being read by a journalist, editor or reporter, not necessarily a client. It’s not your job to sell them your product or service. It IS your job to give them an interesting story or piece of news that they will be happy
to share and announce to their audience.

- Keep Your Release Short and to the Point. It should contain no more than about 500 words and no more than two pages.

- Include Your Contact Information. Provide full contact name, company name, full address, phone number, email address and Web site URL. The contact name should be someone who is knowledgeable and available to answer any questions by media members such as editors, reporters and journalists.

Targeted press releases to the media have helped thousands of companies succeed. They are the most powerful form of marketing and advertising on the planet! Remember: One article is all it takes!

For more information on how you can get a quality targeted press release written or have your press release distributed to the targeted media contacts in our 600,0000 press and media contact database, please visit our Advanced PR department at Majon International.

About the Author

Matthew Hesser is President and CEO of Majon International, one of the most popular internet marketing and advertising companies on the Internet

To get a high quality targeted press release written and/or distributed to the press and media, as well as get GUARANTEED media and press coverage for your business please visit this site

Article Source

Tags: marketing, product, communications, launch, marketing

If you have had any experience in public relations or marketing, you probably know how well press releases can work. There are many, many companies who have increased sales by 100%-300% in a matter of months simply through using press releases.

Most people don’t know how to write them, distribute them, or use them to their advantage in general. I’m not going to describe how to write them in this article, that’s for another day. However, I will outline the plan that I have used to generate literally millions of dollars in free publicity and advertising for my clients. It is a special program that I call the “24 week total publicity plan”.

This plan works by using publicity to get your clicks and links, which will also boost your standing in most search engines. Furthermore, by sending out enough press releases, you are virtually guaranteeing that you will get a fair amount published and get some awesome publicity.

If you haven’t guessed how the plan works, it works like this. The first week, you look over articles from your industry on e-zines, websites and trade publications. You then come up with 26 different ideas for articles and press releases. You then write them in batches of 5 and start submitting one each week.

You will want to plan ahead for certain seasonal ideas. For example, if you are in the construction business, put out an article or press release describing winter care for your house in the late fall and one on air conditioning as summer starts to come. Timeliness will ensure getting more articles and press releases published and will help your publicity plan in general.

If you have a problem with writing, you’re not alone. There are many people who want to use public relations to their advantage but they simply cannot write for the job, or don’t have the time. The Internet is coming to the rescue, though, because there are many people that are happy to ghostwrite your articles or press releases for a reasonable fee.

Sometimes in publicity and search engine optimization, quantity beats quality. In this case, you may want to write the articles yourself, but you may also want to hire a professional writer to draft the most important ones for you.

Good luck on your quest for great publicity!

Bryan Thompson is a young entrepreneur and founder of Press Release Writing Online (here). In his experience as a freelance publicist, writer and entrepreneur, he has worked with dozens of small, medium and large companies. He is also writing a book on the basics of publicity for small businesses and is also managing several other online businesses at the same time.

Article Source

Tags: online, pr, marketing, product, communications

A wise friend of mine has often said, “There is no such thing as competition.” I happen to agree with that philosophy. In fact, I have many solid business and social relationships with people you might consider my “competition”. Some of my best friends are “competitors?”

Whenever I mention this, most business people disagree. “How can you say that,” they protest, “when every month I lose business to competitors?”

I explain why my viewpoint is different. Certainly, there will always be other people in the same kind of business as ours, but that’s not a bad thing. It keeps us motivated, and stimulated. And it also allows more people to learn about our type of business, which makes them more knowledgeable when we talk to them. I truly believe that there is enough business out there for everyone if — and this is the key factor — we are providing something valuable and unique enough to our target market.

Here’s what I mean. The public relations business certainly has no shortage of agencies and independent practitioners. When I started my company three and a half years ago, my focus was traditional marketing and public relations, with standard retainer and project fees.

But along the way, my direction changed. My clients and prospective clients gave me other insights and ideas that led to the creation of new concepts and services (the Do-It-Yourself Public Relations Kit™ and P.R. Buddy Program™ for do-it-yourselfers, and the Pay for Results Publicity Program™ for people who wanted a more concrete way to gauge public relations efforts). These new products and services have led to more clients and profits.

So how do you become busy, profitable and not afraid of competition?

1. Create something truly unique and valuable. If you build it right, clients will come. Examples: JetBlue Airlines, cell phones, broadband Internet access.

2. Remind your existing clients and tell your prospective clients about your Unique Value Proposition. Whether it’s through a newsletter, advertising or a P.R. story, make sure your target market knows what you have to offer. For example, whenever I send out this e-mail newsletter, I get all kinds of responses from people — some just saying “hi,” some telling me they enjoyed the newsletter, some who are interested in my services, and others who are even referring clients to me!

3. Do the best possible job. If you do, you won’t even have to ask for more business or for referrals. People will be happy to help themselves and others by working with you again.

Copyright 2008 Margie Fisher All Rights Reserved

Margie Fisher, President of Zable Fisher Public Relations, is the author of the Do-It-Yourself Public Relations Kit. For more information on the Kit, the Pay for Results Publicity Program, and to sign up for the complimentary PRactical P.R. newsletter, visit this Source

Article Source