Press releases are probably the best form of marketing available today.  Although I do recommend paid services such as http://PRWEB.Com and others, there is only one service that I have found that is free: http://www.i-newswire.com/submit.php.

It appears on Google and Yahoo almost instantly.  The reason I like the 80$ PRweb service is because it generates many more links back to your website.  Do a release through i-newswire.com and then do a links: yourdomain on google and then see the results.  Then, do the same release on PRWeb and see the results.

However, for low-cost marketing, i-newswire.com is an incredible option to get your news out on the internet.  You would be amazed at how many services pick up the news from this free resource.

Writing press releases is quite simple.  You first need a Headline, a Sub-Headline and then a Body of the message.  In PRWeb you will need some other information such as the contact person of the press release, website name, keywords, and you can attach pictures, pdf brochures and more.  PRWeb also specifies who gets the release and you will need to choose specific categories.  I-newswire.com doesn’t require this info, and just focuses on blasting it out to the internet.  It doesn’t seem to go directly into the hands of editors and writers.

The headline is the most important part of the press release.  You would like to have your hot keywords in there and make it catchy.  Go to one of the press release services mentioned above to see a list of the recent releases for examples of what you can do.   Example:  Dog Business releases new product for Small Dogs

The subheadline can delve into more specifics about the headline.  You would like to keep the headline short.  Therefore, you can expand the idea more in the subheadline.  Example:  New product helps small dogs to be healthier and happier.

The Body is the core of your press release.  You start with the Location of your business and the date and then start off with a reiteration of the title.  Go into detail and explain the product and its benefits.  Then give a link for more information, a contact number, and then you give the company blurb.  The company blurb is a standard paragraph that talks about what the company offers, who is the owner of the company and other basic information.  This blurb is generally added to all of your press releases.

Publicity begins within and then you take it to the public.  You need to identify what it is you want to say about your company.  How do you describe yourself?  What specific service/product do you offer.  Drill it into your staff, create scripts for your sales people and then you are ready to take it to the public.  The last thing you want to do is have a public face and a private face.  You want everyone in your organization (including your outsourced workers) to be on the same page and know what you do and what to say if asked.

Now you can start writing your press releases.  If you aren’t good at writing them, perhaps someone in your organization can write them for you or you can outsource it.  But beware.  Public Relations firms cost an arm and a leg.  You can outsource to our firm or many others that offer basic press release writing services and submission services for a few hundred dollars, as opposed to several thousands for a Public Relations firm.  Most PR firms also are newbies when it comes to search engine optimization.  I write press releases for several companies, and one of the biggest areas I focus on is creating search engine optimized text in the header, sub header and body.  I do my keyword research and select the most powerful words for the release. So, whoever you hire, be sure they are SEO savvy and will do the keyword analysis and integration into your PR copy.

Standard submissions start at around $80 with PRWeb.com and you can attach PDF’s, brochures, pictures and other ancillary items to the release.  I sent out one release for an Italian distributor of cosmetics over 3 years ago.  I had my contact info on there and I still get emails and phone calls from editors looking to write a story or businesses looking to sell their products.  Press Releases are amazing if they are written well and submitted well.  Submission is the key to a good press release.  Not only do you have to fill in all the fields you can so you don’t miss any opportunity, but there are several areas that I have realized give more bang for the buck.  One area is submitting to RSS feeds.  RSS is Real Simple Sindication.  It is a news wire source in electronic format.  Always choose this as one of the distribution options.  It is very powerful.

After you set up your press release, don’t forget to send it to your staff.  You definitely want your staff to know what you are publicizing.  The last thing you want is a client to ask a staff member about something they read in a press release or a followup story and have your staff be unaware of the information.  For example, let’s say you publicize the acquisition of a top flyer sales person.  A client says, “hey I know Johnny X when he was with xxx and I see you guys got him.”  Your staff should be prepared with a proper response, “Yes, Johnny is quite a catch.  We were very happy when he joined our firm.  He is a great guy, and provides great customer service–something we strive for.”

Publicity involves much more than just press releases.  However, a press release is the first place to begin your campaign.  You should write on anything that is important to your firm.  Any award, new hire, new product, new website, new focus, new anything that is newsworthy should be publicized.  If you can produced 4 press releases a month you are really gearing up a quality publicity campaign.  Almost every company should be able to do 1 press release per month.  If you don’t have anything worth publicizing, get to work!  Alot of awards are very winable if you just put in half an effort.

If you are serious about your company, you should have a sound byte that everyone in your organization has memorized.  So many times have I asked employees of a company what they do, only to be given a blank stare and a mumbling of some kind of title.  Every employee needs to know what you do and how you can help them.  Here are some short examples:

“I am a copywriter.  I help people convert visitors to their websites into buying customers”

“I am a lawyer.  We provide help provide bankruptcy relief to struggling businesses.

“I sell shoes at www.______.com.  We ship shoes to you with 100% satisfaction guarantee.”

Come up with your catch phrase today.  If you have dificulty, it is often caused by lack of focus in your business.  You may be trying to be everything to everybody.  That isn’t effective.  Pick the one thing you do, or want to focus on and market it.  Clients will be pleasantly shocked to know you do other things as well, but if you focus on one thing, they will always remember it.  If you focus on too many things they may get the impression that you are unfocused and may provide poor service.

Publicity is a catch phrase for many types of marketing techniques.  It is different from Advertising.  Many publicity techniques are free, but require time and hard work.  And, as I have found, some publicity that does cost money (such as doing press releases) can be some of the cheapest overall marketing you could possibly do. Seriously, if you look at any kind of advertising, you could easily spend thousands of dollars.  A local business magazine with local circulation could charge $1500 or more per 1/4 inch ads.  OR MORE.  Google ads start at 5 cents but if you really want traffic, you have to have a competitive bid which could amount to $10 a click.  This can add up.  A press release through PRWeb starts at $80 and is extremely efficient at bringing one-way links back to your site, while also allowing you to write significant content and information about your company.  A 1/4 page ad gives you only enough room to put the name of the company and highlight your business in a catch phrase  or a list of services you provide.  You could do nearly 10 press releases for the price of a single advertisement.

Publicity as a whole is a much lower cost way to bring in business over advertising.  Publicity involves Websites, writing articles, giving speeches, participating in panel events, and volunteering your services to others.  It also involves speaking to and getting on various lists as an expert.  Writing a Book can both establish your credibility as an expert while at the same time providing significant Publicity for your core business.