Go Direct With PR - Write Your Own Coverage - B2B Marketing and Sales Tip #98
TechCrunch published an excellent mini-tutorial on how to develop and distribute press releases in a Web 2.0 world. Why should you care? After all, who reads press releases? Well, according to the Tech Crunch article, a recent Outsell study highlighted that over 51% of IT professionals reported that they get their news from press releases in Yahoo and Google news over trade journals!
Tech Crunch advises, and BreakingPoint just witnessed (with our May 9th announcement) that “the trick for this new breed of press releases is to write it as the article you want to read.” Because, if you’ve done a good job, very often that is exactly what will be published.
Here’s another gem: “When implemented with calls and links to action, and if they read in a way that’s compelling to people aka customers, you’ll find that they’re usually compelled to act.”
The TechCrunch post is a must-read. And, here are a few other tips on getting better press release pickup in last week’s blog post, Using Press Releases to Drive Web Traffic and Leads.
2 Responses to “Go Direct With PR - Write Your Own Coverage - B2B Marketing and Sales Tip #98”
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June 25th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Consider these 2 keys in regards to PR….
1. Forget what you think you know about publicity.
Most people think they need a “hook”– something dazzling, exciting or unique — to generate PR. Not true! To get publicity, simply give people information they want.
For example, suppose you bought a new house and needed to landscape the yard. If you’ve never hired a landscaper before, how do you know what to look for? Now, suppose a landscaper in your area sent out a press release on how to pick a landscaper or how to avoid common landscaping pitfalls. Wouldn’t he rise to the top of the list of landscapers you want to talk to?
Similarly, suppose your current house needs a new roof and you aren’t sure whether to replace the shingles or upgrade to tile. If a roofer in your area put out a press release on how to evaluate and select roofing materials, wouldn’t you want to talk to that roofer before anyone else?
Shingles and landscaping pitfalls are not dazzling. But people want to know about them. Bottom line: mundane works fine for PR as long as it contains information people want.
2. Provide “foundation” information.
Foundation information is news about your product, service or business that may not be new or interesting to you, but holds great interest to your prospects and helps them solve small problems.
For example, if you run a plumbing business, consider setting up a “do it yourself” plumber’s help line. Set aside an hour every Friday afternoon to take calls from people with questions about plumbing. No charge and no sales pitch on your part. Simply tell people what they want to know about their plumbing issues. Or, set up a website that shows people how to make simple repairs, such as replacing a washer, without calling a plumber.
Will this cost you some small jobs? Probably. But when the people who call in have a broken pipe or need a new water heater, who do you think they will call? Some random plumber out of the phone book, or the plumber who took the time to help them fix a small problem for free?
more here… http://www.readtheanswer.com/index.php?RTA=web2
June 25th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Totally agree. People need to rethink the press release. Every time we post a new tidbit of news via a press release on Marketwire, we get an influx of leads and inbound links. So that means requests for demos and evals and better SEO, in addition to the traditional press pickup.