Chapter 57
Write a Press Release
Have you ever sent out a press release?
If you're like most people who own small businesses, the answer is no. But the opportunity with public relations and press releases is growing, not shrinking. Back in the good old days, press releases were only intended for journalists and media coverage, but the Internet has changed that. Let's start the discussion by looking at today's marketing process.
Modern marketing can essentially be broken down into two stages. First, you have to market to people who do not yet know who you are. This is the process of finding, attracting, and qualifying prospects. Second, once a prospect has found you, you have to market to that prospect again, ensuring your company instills confidence with your audience. What do people do when they hear about you or your company? Many of them look you up on Google or one of the other search engines. Maybe not everyone does this, but many do, and that percentage is growing every year. Put your name or your company name into a Google search. What comes up? Anything? Good stuff? Bad stuff? Weird stuff?
When you send out a press release, you populate the Internet with information that you control. That's a tremendous opportunity. There are platforms that allow you to distribute press releases to a huge number of news-related websites. These are often referred to as “wire services” and one of my favorites is PRWeb.
PRWeb has four primary distribution options ranging from ...
