The Draw of a Powerful Press Release

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As a business owner or even someone looking to promote an event you are part of at your church or non-profit group, you should know that a press release can be very powerful.

A friend of mine was president of a youth baseball league for five years. He tells me the use of press releases far outweighed the return then most paid advertising in the same newspaper.

So what makes a good press release? Here are some handy tips to help get your press release going.

The headline of your press release should not be made up of some infomercial gimmick where your readers think you are trying to con them. A bad headline would be, “Miracle Product Cleans Your Floors For You”. You can tell the headline is a bad one, and chances are no one will read the release. However if you reword it to grab the readers attention can make all of the difference. For example, “Self Cleaning Product for Floors Hits the Shelves in Record Numbers”, might do better. Come up with a good headline.

Every press release must, according to my friend, answer the whos, whats, whys, wheres and hows of what it is you are trying to talk about. In his case he was trying to promote his youth league. He had to talk about who they are, what the league is about, why they exist, where they are located and how the readers can get in touch with them. If you cover all of these questions you will have all of the information in there that you need.

The content of your press release should read like a news story not an advertisement selling your product. In my friend`s case he wrote press releases talking about a variety of things, but all were made newsworthy. For example, after games were completed, he would write up small snippets to be placed into the sports section of the local paper, that gave a nice write about the game, who won, who were the stars etc. The local media loved, and my friend claimed that his small articles appeared almost daily while the season went on. You could imagine the impact this had on the success of the league.

Whatever it is you are trying to promote through the use of a press release, chances are you can make it newsworthy. If you don`t the editors that you send it to will more than likely will just throw it in the trash. Throw in some quotes from professionals and experts in your field, some statistics of your industry and you will have yourself a winner.

Once you have your great headline, awesome content, you need to throw in how people can get a hold of you, your company or product. A good way of doing this is to fit it in over the course of your content. For example you can add a quote earlier in your content that reads, “according to John Smith, General Manager of ABC Toy Company located in Anywhere, USA…”, you get the point. Now that you have been mentioned, near the end of your press release, tell readers how they can get a hold of you. “For more information on that ABC Toy Company, Mr. Smith can be reached at…”, would do just fine.

So there you have it! The meat and potatoes of how to write a press release. It is not as difficult as you think, but spend some time on it to polish it and it will surely be a hit for you.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.indocquent.com/, an online resource and social network, where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Don`t forget to follow Indocquent on Twitter at http://twitter.com/indocquent

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Using Online Social Networks To Help In Marketing Your Business

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Social networks like MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and of course our site, are all the rage right now and have been for a couple of years. They are a means by which people from all over the globe can come together, meet, socialize and learn new things. You make new friends, share ideas and so much more.

The downfall of social networks as it relates to business is very few companies have been able to figure out how to use these websites wisely to build a customer base or a following.

Here are some suggestions that you can use that might help your business in the realm of social networks.

According to Michael Bush of Advertising Age, “If ever there was a place in the world of marketing where the motto of `look before you leap` held much credence, it`s here. Any marketer worth its salt is going to spend a good deal of time studying the dynamics, rules and language of any social network before attempting to establish a presence there. To think you can just waltz in and begin spouting off about your product is totally wrong.”

If you walk into a social network and start acting as if everyone should be your friend, join your club, or have an arrogant persona about you, chances are no one will listen and even worse you might get banned from the site.

Bush says, “If there are any marketers out there who still believe the world of social networks is filled only with young nerdy types and weirdos looking to hook up, they need to take a good second look. Not only is it a prime target for marketers looking to reach moms-the all-important gatekeeper of the household-but within some of the most popular networks, a significant percentage of users are over the age of 35.” The demographics for social networks are changing daily. Not only are the age ranges changing, but more and more people are joining. These people are your potential customers. You need to become a part of any social network and really should be a part of all of them to get your business name, products and services out there.

Studies have shown that using mainstream marketing and advertising methods will not work. If that is the case, what is the purpose of social networks then? According to Rick Murray, the president of Edelman digital, “Frequency of message is not the idea here, Frequency of contact is.”

Social networks are areas where consumers go to ask questions on products or services they are thinking about buying or using. This presents a great opportunity to you. Not to throw an ad in their face in the hopes that they buy, but to socialize with them by answering their questions. This helps them with their issue and helps your business by presenting you and your company as experts in an industry.

Although social networks have been around for a little while they really are still in their infancy. You need to become a part of them, get involved in helping consumers with the expertise in your field, and start building your friend`s list. That list will eventually turn into your customer base.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online advertising and social network medium where you can promote your business, products or services without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Advertise or Content, Which Should You Be Using To Attract Website Visitors?

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With an online website and/or business you are probably sitting their wondering what the best option would be to draw more attention to it and attract visitors. There is a debate that has been ongoing in regards to this very question. Should you pay a search engine for targeted advertising or add more content to your website so that people come back to learn.

According to Jon Fine of Business Week, “The old guard of media forever struggle with the degree to which they`re comfortable engaging with the newer players online. (To pick just one example: Viacom sued YouTube over copyrights last year, while many other programming giants partnered with it.) But a variant of this tension also erupts inside some big online portals–Yahoo!, AOL, and, most recently, Microsoft–which are media operations themselves, since they produce content and sell ads around it.”

So what is the right answer? Simply put…both of them. If one works well and so does the other, it makes sense that applying both techniques to work together doubles your efforts. It is what we do on our web site, and it works very well for us.

In a recent interview in Business Week, Wenda Millard, president for media at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, who formerly ran ad sales at Yahoo after stints in print says, “What AOL and MSN and Yahoo have become are tech companies–infrastructure companies that will facilitate some of the [ad] buying and selling processes. They are not heading toward becoming media companies.”

Fine says, “Millard`s infrastructure comments allude to the arms race among all major online portals to buy and build platforms for massive online ad networks, which sell and place ads across multitudes of Web sites. (The ad network argument for Microsoft-Yahoo: Such networks make more money from ads on sites they own, since there`s no sharing of revenue with an outside content owner.)”

As the big names, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google battle it out for internet supremacy in the advertising world, while confusing what media content is, you can take a much less cut throat approach, add some content to your website, run a few ads, and get those visitors you have been wanting. Of course none of this will matter if you have a website that people do not know how to use. That is for another article.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online advertising and social network medium where you can promote your business, products or services without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Using Offline Means To Promote Your Online Business

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The other night I was out walking my dog. I have a chocolate lab mix. Although I think the mix part is with being crazy. He can be a bit active, very jumpy, but for the most part is a great dog.

While walking him the other night, I ran into a neighbor of ours that lives on the opposite side of the development. He took was walking his dog and the irony about his dog is that he acts just like mine. Needless to say both dogs get along really well.

So while walking our dogs together I started to talking to him about how things are going with work with his job (he is in the trade show industry), and just about life in general. Of course he did the same, asking about our company and how things are fairing in this slowing economy.

This got me thinking of better ways to promote an online business using offline means. What I mean by that is, what are better ways to promote a website, blog or some type of online content with the use of offline advertising or socialization?

In the course of a month I will meet a ton of new people through various business meetings, family gatherings and helping friends or associates with their own businesses. While assisting them I give them information on our website. Either through a brochure, a flyer or a business card I make sure information about our website gets into their hands.

All the rage is online social networking, however this is a great way to social network offline and is just as if not more so important.

If you are like us and have an online business venture, you need to spread the word offline as well. Get your website or blog information into the hands of anyone and everyone that you think would be interested.

It does not need to be some type of elaborate marketing package. A simple business card with your website information on it will do. Business cards can be one the least expensive ways to promote your business. At your local office store, such as Staples, Office Depot, or OfficeMax, you can get up to 1000 of them printed for less than $25. Now that is a steal!

Once you get your information printed, start handing them out. Always carry about 10 to 20 on your wherever you go. When you do hand out your information, make sure you give the person three copies. One for them and two more for each of the two friends they are going to hand them to. It is great offline viral marketing.

Results won’t happen overnight, as they normally don’t. However, a consistent and persistent approach to this type of offline marketing will work wonders for you overtime.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online advertising and social network medium where you can promote your business, products or services without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Update Your Website Content To Keep It Fresh And New

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My wife and I were shopping the other day for some clothes for an infant girl our friend just gave birth to about a month ago. Being a parent I know and understand the joy of having a child. They bring a smile to your face everyday.

We wanted to get her a new outfit or some type of cute clothing that our friend can put her in and of course like. We visited a local department store and immediately went to the infant section, specifically girls. I say immediately, because if my wife wanders we could be there all day and never buy what we went in there for in the first place.

My wife and I decided we would buy an outfit for down the road, meaning that we would pick up something that would fit our friend’s daughter in the six to nine month range. We felt this was the best option as we already know she has plenty of things for the zero to three month range.

While browsing the different clothing options I could not help but notice the variety of styles, fashions, colors and of course sizes. Who would have thought infants need that many choices?

This led me to start thinking about our website and more importantly the websites of our clients.

I started doing some research on the big name sites such eBay, Amazon, Microsoft and so on and wanted to see the color layouts and page design on what they offered. I also put some contacts in to see how often they change these things up. I was surprised to see and learn that although the layout may at times seem the same, they really do make noticeable changes every 3 to 4 months or so.

Whether it is moving some things around, offering specials or adding new products, they make changes to keep things looking fresh.

This leads me to this question. Are you changing the content of your site so your visitors feel like it is always new and fresh? I can tell you that we do at our site. We are constantly adding new features to enhance the services we offer. It gives our registered users the satisfaction that we are always updating the site to meet their needs.

You should be doing the same. Maybe change up the colors once in a while, or post different content on your home page every few days or so. Whatever method you use, you should implement it to give your visitors the sense that you are always improving your web site. This lets your visitors know that they are reaching a web site that is current and active.

It does not have to be anything drastic or a life altering change. Subtle changes to let your visitors know that you are on top of your web business. So go ahead and make those changes today.

In the end my wife and I purchased a six to nine month outfit for the summertime. I would never imagine in my wildest dreams that the same outfit came in about seven different colors.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online advertising and social network medium where you can promote your business, products or services without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Work Creatively With Radio Stations and Other Advertising Outlets

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If you are even a little bit like me you love music and love listening to the radio while you work. For me, it is a good way to pass the time during the day while sitting at my desk.

Recently a friend of mine, who runs his own promotion company, expanded his business to concerts, bands and other musical acts. His first show in this genre is a style of music called freestyle. To me, freestyle music is old school club music, although there are some newer acts on the card, from what I was told.

Being that this was his first event, as you can imagine, he was a bit nervous. A slowing economy, music that is not so much main stream anymore and to top it off the show is booked at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ which holds about nine thousand people.

To his delight and not really any surprise to those that know my friend, the show sold out in a few weeks. He used a wonderful marketing effort combined with some creativity on a local radio station out of Philadelphia, PA.

The first step was to get the radio station to agree to plug the concert. That was fairly easy to do since he paid for that portion of it. However he wanted the radio station to go above and beyond just the normal advertising package that he purchased. He wanted them to plug the show every hour or so leading up to the date the tickets would go on sale. My friend’s request, however, did not stop there. After the tickets went on sale he wanted the station to plug the show every hour. At first they thought he was crazy and said there is no way they could do that. So here is what my friend offered.

Beyond the normal cost of what he had already agreed to he offered them two things. The first being the radio station would receive compensation on every ticket sold. This meant each ticket sold would produce more revenue for the station. By accepting, the station agreed to the terms above. The second part of what my friend offered was 200 comp tickets to the show. Once the show sold out, the radio station used these tickets as a way to maintain listener ship to their station. Listeners had to stay tuned throughout the day and when they heard a certain song they were to dial the station’s phone number and be the 96th caller. The winner would receive a pair of tickets to the show.

This was a win-win situation for everyone. My friend was willing to part with a portion of the profit, knowing that if the radio station had not plugged it as often as they did, it might not have sold out. The radio station made out because they earned more revenue then what they originally expected and were able to bolster their listeners to the station by keeping them tuned in throughout the day.

Whether you are working with radio, television, newspapers, online advertising agencies, are you thinking of creative ways that will benefit everyone involved? This is a great form of partnership that everyone enjoys. When making partnerships, such as my friend’s, everyone involved has to equally benefit from it (or close to it as possible), otherwise one side will seem like they were taken advantage of.

Get your creative partnerships going to jump start your business, product sales and services that you offer. It worked wonders for my friend, it works well with us, and it should work well for you.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online advertising and social network medium where you can promote your business, products or services without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Good Advice on Bolstering Your Customer Service

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I was on the phone the other day trying to get to customer support for an issue I was having with a product that I own. It seemed like forever to actually get through to a real live human being, and when I did, I think I landed the person who must have started with the company about twenty minutes before they took my call.

It seemed after every question I asked they had to put me on hold to go ask someone else. I really should have just said can you just put someone else on the phone? I think it would have saved both of us and the person she kept bugging to get answers, a lot of time and frustration.

In the end I was able to get my issue resolved, so the end result makes it well worth the aggravation…I think.

I do not know how you think, but for me, when I call in to get assistance on something, nothing is more frustrating then either one, not talking to a live person, two, constantly getting someone’s voice mail, or three, getting a person who really isn’t ready to talk to live people on the phone.

Does your business handle phone calls from the outside world? Either for help desk or customer support? If you do then you really should have your people prepared. In the case above the person I talked to clearly wasn’t educated on the topics I needed covered and therefore cost people involved a lot of time. The best thing would have been to transfer the call to a more knowledgeable staff member and then have her listen in to learn how to handle the situation.

If you have employees who talk to customers over the phone, they really are your first line of good customer service. You always want people to leave a phone conversation more pleasant then when they called. If they are calling customer support, then chances are they are already aggravated by something that your company sells, services or supplies. Your customer support personnel should be well trained to be sympathetic to their needs and even though they might not be able to help them, have the ability to make them turn 180 degrees to feeling good about the progress and potential results of their phone call.

So many times I personally have encountered, whether it is over the phone and even in person, customer service just not caring about the needs of the customer. There is nothing more frustrating then trying to get help on an issue, only to experience that you leave more angry then when you started because the person you were working with just doesn’t care.

Do your company, employees and your customers a favor, and spend the time to train your employees on good quality customer service. Let them know that customers, regardless of how irate they might be, should be treated with respect and dignity. You could even make a contest out of it as to see which one of your employees has the highest rate of customer service satisfaction.

Whatever method you choose to bolster your customer service department it should ultimately in the end yield happy customers.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online advertising and social network medium where you can promote your business, products or services without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

Is Your Business Rewarding Customers for Repeat Business?

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My wife and I were planning our next vacation. We were thinking of going to sunny Florida maybe hitting Disneyworld or Universal Studios. We both love going on thrill rides, visiting theme parks and so on.

While in the planning stages we were determining should we drive down which is about a 20 hour car ride or fly. Both means have pros and cons. The obvious for driving would be the time, although we both love to take road trips.

During the time of year that we wanted to go a cost for a flight was extremely high. It was nearly $300 per person round trip. So cost was a factor when it came to flying. However, we remembered we had some airline miles, but were unsure if we had enough. A couple of phone calls later, some Internet surfing and poof! We had two round trip tickets on coach.

The use of points in this scenario reminded me of some other companies that I shop with that do something similar. My grocery store is an excellent example. They use points for additional savings and coupons that I can earn by being a repeat customer. For example, during the holidays, specifically around Thanksgiving, each dollar spent counts as a point. When I reach a certain number of points I can redeem them for a free Turkey. It is a pretty good deal.

Are you currently implementing a points system with your business? Studies have shown that when you implement this type of procedure people are more likely to come back to increase that value.

There are some message boards that I partake in online and with each new post you create or respond to, your credibility rating points increase. The higher that number, the more credible you become in the user community.

You should be implementing this style of system with your business. It does not matter what kind of business you have. With some creative thinking you should be able to use it. For instance, let`s say you sell widgets. With each widget you sell the customer earns 5 points to their account. Now make sure you let your customers know what they get for all of those points. You could have a chart or something of that nature on display. The more points someone is willing to redeem, the better the prize. You get the point (no pun intended).

If you are a service oriented business, you can hand out business cards. As you respond to a person`s needs for your service you can sign a spot on their card, stamp it, or whatever method you choose, and the `x` time you responded the customer gets a discount.

My friend, who owns and operates a heater repair and service company, uses this technique. With each three services someone receives, the fourth one is free. He claims it has produced a lot of repeat business and a lot of word of mouth advertising.

There is no question this is a great technique that you can use for your business. If it were not, the bigger companies would not be using it.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.indocquent.com/, an online advertising and social network medium where you can promote your business, products or services without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

A Trip To Vegas Sparks Helpful Marketing Tip

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A couple years ago my wife and I took a trip out to Las Vegas. This was obviously before kids, but when we landed, we were both enamored by the lights, and what the city had to offer that was just on display from the street.

From the Bellagio’s musical water show to the Mirage’s exploding volcano, the sites and sounds were wonderful. Besides the many things to do in Las Vegas, you aren’t too far from the Hoover Dam which we did do a tour of and enjoyed very much. If you have never seen it I would highly recommend it.

Beyond all that, what I found out is not a lot of people know about “old” Vegas. Most people associate the city with the likes of grand hotels such as the Luxor and the Venetian. However tucked away a couple miles down the strip is what started it all, the original and now called “old” Vegas.

There you will find what Vegas used to be, with its small gambling casinos, little side shops for all kinds of things you can buy, and a plethora of items that you couldn’t possibly imagine in your wildest dreams.

However while we were there, the entire area had a customer, advertising gimmick type of thing going on. Certain shops were handing out beads with purchases of different items and some were free. Those beads then can be turned in at other shops or stores for a free drink, one free roll of some wheel to win a prize and so on.

So my wife and I went on a bead scavenger hunt so to speak. It was a lot of fun, we collected a lot of things (and some drinks also), but the challenge of it all is what really lead us to partake in it in the first place.

This brings me to my business topic of the day, and that is trying to drive traffic to either your brick and mortar business or your company website. Did you know that on average a person must see your advertising, products, business name or marketing at least seven times before they decide to make a purchase? That is correct. Studies have shown that consistent exposure to the same thing will draw people to act upon it.

You need to drive repeat traffic to your website or business. The shops in Vegas did it very creatively. They knew that most people there are on vacation and will only be around for a short period of time. So they created a way to get people into their shops as many times as possible by the end of the night.

Unless you are in a similar business there is no need to go to those extremes, however repeat traffic is a key to your business’s success. One good way is to offer something for free. Now as I have said in the past I am not big on freebies as freebies create free loaders. But in this marketing sense you can give away something that is useful to the consumer as well as to your business. A good example would be an eBook. This is good for online businesses. You can put somewhere on your website, that you are giving away a free eBook each week. In order to receive it they must enter their email address and then you will send them a notice when it is ready to be downloaded.

For brick and mortar businesses, let’s say you run a store that sells music. You could work with local up and coming bands to obtain their music and distribute a free weekly mp3 download, cd or whatever format you choose. This helps you and the bands that give you their music. It is a win-win situation for everybody.

You will have to decide what items or methods work best for your business. Once you implement this strategy and run it properly, you are sure to get that repeat traffic you need that will eventually turn into sales.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.Indocquent.com, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.

How To Use Advertising In Your Business

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by Alyice Edrich

How important is advertising? It can make or break your business. People need to know you exist, what you have to offer, and how they can get what you have.

No business can succeed without proper ad placement. Advertising is very important to the success of any business venture. If you don`t have the money to advertise in a national publication, advertise locally. If you can`t afford to advertise locally, think outside the box. How can you advertise your business inexpensively, yet still show yourself as a “professional”?

A one-time placement in your local newspaper, on television, on the radio, or in a national publication will be a total waste of your time, money, and effort. Consumers need to see your product a minimum of 7 to 10 times before they will even consider ordering your product or service. Your best bet would be to purchase a business-size card ad, with two or three colors, a graphic, and a bit of information about your product or service. Advertise in the same publication for six months. If after three months the advertisement doesn`t trigger any new sales or clients, change the ad, but keep it in the same publication.

Last year, we had a new coffee shop open up in town. Though many coffee shops have come and gone, this one picked up gusto and earned enough revenue to open a second shop in the next town. How did the owners prevail? They knew how to advertise their business. They placed the same advertisement in the same spot, in the same paper, every week—without fail. And they learned to use their public relations skills to gain free radio time as well as television time.

When sitting down to develop your advertisement, keep these things in mind:

• What advertisements do you read over and over again, even though you pretty much know what the ad is going to say? What is it about that ad that continues to capture your attention?

• Which advertisements do you automatically gravitate to when reading the paper? What is it about those ads that draw your attention to them?

• What do you want your advertisement to do for your? Promote your business? Offer a sale? Inform the public?

• What is your product or service`s biggest seller? Should that be mentioned in your advertisement?

• Don`t crowd your advertisement with tons of colors, words, or pictures. Less is truly more.

• Place a “call to action” in your advertisement…call this number, visit our store, sign up for ____, or visit our website to download free ____.

Finally, remember that you can`t always rely on the results of others as to a “good place” to advertise your business. If your business isn`t geared towards the readers of a certain publication, your results will not come close to that of the person who recommended that publication in the first place.

Alyice Edrich (http://dmwrites.com) is the award winning editor of The Dabbling Mum®. Stop by for your chance to win free videos and books or to download three free e-books (http://thedabblingmum.com).

About the Author:
Mr. Tucker is the Associate Director of http://www.indocquent.com/, an online resource where you can advertise your business, products or services throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees.

You can now download Indocquent`s free social bookmark utility for your website or blog at http://www.indocquent.com/social_bookmark/social_bookmark_landingpage.html.

Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource where you can promote your business, products and services around the world.