Buzz Marketing - Advertising, Promotions & Public Relations » tips

The power of the press release….FREE distribution sites!

leslie — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 17:27:49 +0000

Information distribution is key to the success of any business. You have to let people know about what’s going on in your business: upcoming events, new campaigns, important people, awards, contests, etc. The most effective way to distribute this information is by a press release which is accepted by all media outlets as well as other businesses, blogs and most importantly, search engines. By sharing your information online, the search engines will pick it up and create links back to your organization website. The more exposure you have online and the more times your organization name pops up in a search, the better. Online press release distribution is also a fantastic compliment to your businesses social media strategy.

There are a number of sites online where you can submit your press release for FREE and are worth checking out. Here is a list of 70 such sites. These are some of the most frequently used sites, but there are certainly many others.

1 http://www.prleap.com/
2 http://www.prlog.org/
3 http://www.free-press-release.com/
4 http://www.clickpress.com/
5 http://www.downloadjunction.com
6 http://www.newswiretoday.com/
7 http://www.openpr.com/
8 http://www.pressbox.co.uk/
9 http://www.sbwire.com/
10 http://www.1888pressrelease.com/
11 http://www.afreego.com/
12 http://www.sanepr.com/
13 http://www.theopenpress.com/
14 http://www.free-press-release-center.info/
15 http://www.prfree.com/
16 http://www.ukprwire.com/
17 http://www.pressreleasespider.com/
18 http://pressabout.com/
19 http://www.pr-inside.com/
20 http://www.pressmethod.com/
21 http://www.24-7pressrelease.com
22 http://www.freepressreleases.co.uk/
23 http://freepressindex.com/
24 http://pr-gb.com/
25 http://www.pressexposure.com/
26 http://www.i-newswire.com/
27 http://www.mediasyndicate.com
28 http://www.publicitywires.com/
29 http://www.seenation.com/
30 http://news.eboomwebsolutions.com/
31 http://www.prwindow.com/
32 http://www.pressreleasecirculation.com/
33 http://www.dime-co.com
34 http://www.ecommwire.com
35 http://www.express-press-release.net
36 http://www.free-news-release.com
37 http://www.kazor.com
38 http://www.malebits.com
39 http://www.newsreleaser.com
40 http://www.pr.com
41 http://www.pr9.net
42 http://www.press-releases-news.com
43 http://www.prnewsnow.com
44 http://www.przoom.com
45 http://www.usprwire.com
46 http://www.afly.com
47 http://www.bignews.biz
49 http://www.pressreleasepoint.com
50 http://www.ideamarketers.com
51 http://www.upvery.com
52 http://www.postafreepressrelease.com
53 http://www pressabout.com
54 http://www.exactrelease.com
57 http://www.press-network.com
58 http://www.prfriend.com
59 http://www.live-pr.com/en/
60 http://www.addpr.com
61 http://www.netforcepress.com
62 http://www.prkiosk.com
63 http://www.pressrelease001.com
64 http://www.prurgent.com
65 http://www localnews.biz
66 http://www.prbd.net
67 http://www.pitchengine.com
68 http://www.prbuzz.com
69 http://www.prfire.co.uk
70 http://www.seenation.com

Happy Submitting!

Do-it-yourself PR

leslie — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:39:36 +0000

I’m back! Man, time gets away from you if you let it. But, that’s no excuse for leaving you without useful marketing and public relations information. So, this one will be extra useful….or so I hope…..of course it will, trust!

Public Relations is about maintaining relations with the public according to Wikipedia. Well, this is entirely true. But it also goes on to explain that public relations encompasses a variety of other things including communication, community relations, crisis management, customer relations, employee relations, government affairs, industry relations, investor relations, media relations, mediation, publicity, speech-writing, and visitor relations. Whoa, that’s a mouthful and very broad although also true. To me, public relations is simply getting your message in front of people as often as possible. Awareness, awareness, awareness…..which in turn creates interest. The more people see or hear your message, the more curious or interested they become.

Here are some tips on what you can do to create your own BUZZ. Obviously I can’t deny it is beneficial to hire a professional since we can’t all be good at everything, and as I’ve stated before we should focus on being good at one thing rather than mediocre at everything. But, here’s how to start:

1. Learn how to write a proper press release and distribute it online. There are MANY sites where you can post it for free. Here’s a list of 50 free press release submission websites.
2. Network. Networking is a great way to get your name out there, networkingphoenix.com is a fantastic tool to find various networking opportunities in the Phoenix area. If you aren’t in the Phoenix area I’m sure there are comparable sites in your city.
3. Get involved in the online community. Social media, online forums, blogging, videos, photo sharing, social bookmarking, commenting, etc. are all ways to engage with your audience. Although these means of marketing have made it very easy for businesses to market themselves and gain visibility you shouldn’t rely solely on Internet marketing.
4. Offer current customers incentives to bring in new customers.
5. Newsletters. Make sure you ask someone if you can add them to your newsletter distribution list. Make sure it’s opt-in so people aren’t always opting-out.
6. Find out who produces the news programs at the television stations and send a press release with a creative idea on how a story about your product or service would be useful and newsworthy to their viewers.
7. Follow media personalities on Facebook and Twitter. Often they post stories they are working on and need resources.
8. Be visible in the community. Participate in community events, festivals, business organizations, charities, etc.

These are all great ways to make yourself visible and things you can do at little or no cost. If you are doing this on your own, you must be consistent in all areas. Checking in every now and then doesn’t help because getting exposure is often based on relationships. Now go out there and create some BUZZ of your own!

Five things to consider when hiring a PR firm

leslie — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:10:03 +0000

This year has been a business development year for Buzz Marketing. In the past, I have been fortunate in that business, for the most part, has come to me. Ironically, I haven’t had to spend much time marketing myself or my business. Now, you may think I’m a hypocrite since I’m constantly preaching the power of marketing a business; however, being that Buzz Marketing only has one employee (me), I only need a certain number of clients to sustain my business and haven’t had trouble doing so. But, none the less we should all be constantly be marketing our businesses regardless of how busy we are because marketing helps to build our brand and establishes credibility. When we lose a client it’s already too late at that point to fill the void. I too learned that lesson the hard way!

This year has been a whole new ball game! I have spent the year actually marketing my business and seeking out clients. In doing so, I met an appalling amount of business owners that have engaged the efforts of a PR firm and were “burned” as many put it. I can’t tell you how many times I heard people complain about PR firms making lofty promises and not delivering. So what does this mean? To me it means perhaps businesses aren’t doing their due diligence before hiring a firm. Here are five things to consider when hiring a PR firm:

1. References – talk to former clients. Ask them how the firm operates, how the campaign or efforts affected their business, did they deliver on their promises, etc.

2. Contacts – much of PR is based on contacts. Find out where their contacts are; locally, regionally, nationally, etc. Are they bloggers, analysts, journalists, TV producers or all of the above? What kind of relationship do they have with these contacts? Is the firm well liked by the media? Perhaps even ask for a media reference.

3. Representation – many times the owner of a firm will meet with potential clients, sign the deal and pass it off to a Jr. account executive or even someone just out of college with little to no experience. Make sure you know who will be working on your account.

4. Past campaigns – ask for samples of past campaigns or examples of coverage received. See the types of stories they are pitching and the coverage they are securing. Ask for an idea of what you can expect in the first few months of working together.

5. Personality – make sure you can relate to and will enjoy working with the person(s) who will be working on your account. Not all personalities will mesh and that’s ok. Make sure they have enthusiasm for your product, understand your business values and know how to have fun.

Of course there are many more things to consider, these are just a few very important ones that came to mind. Be picky, ask questions, get references and CONTACT the references. I had several potential clients in the past year ask me for references but never bothered to call them, then hired another firm and came back later and said they were displeased with the results. This is beyond frustrating!

Despite all the precautions you can take, you still have to take a chance and trust the process when hiring a firm. Have realistic expectations and realize that PR and marketing takes time, nothing happens overnight.

do’s and don’ts of publicity and interviews

leslie — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:50:06 +0000

Publicity is invaluable, make sure you treat it as such. Although you feel you are providing the media with a good story, they are doing you a favor by letting you tell your story. Much of securing publicity is based on relationships so agencies and people like myself take it very personally if the interviewer or producer doesn’t have a good experience. It is our livelihood at stake and our reputation on the line. Stories we set up are a reflection of us, believe it or not, so PLEASE OH PLEASE take heed to these do’s and don’ts outlined below:

Do’s:

1. Show up for an interview on time, or rather early, dress appropriately and be prepared (common sense right?)

2. Be flexible! There is a good chance the interview time may change, they may cancel at the last minute, cut your interview time or they may pull the reporter from the story.

3. Be conversational and light-hearted. Think of it as a conversation with someone that is interested in what you do. Show enthusiasm but don’t overdo it so it seems insincere.

4. Be clever but avoid industry jargon. Speak so the average reader/viewer/listener will understand.

5. Get your point across without sounding like a commercial. They have paid advertisers for that! Although your intent is to promote your product or service, their goal is to educate their audience. You must find a way to do both.

6. Have visuals for TV and good photos for print. The more visual you are for TV the more likely you are to be asked back and something is more likely to be printed if you have a really good, professionally taken photo to go along with the story.

7. Accommodate producers, writers, etc. every chance you have even if it’s last minute. They will remember that and call you the next time they need a story idea or fill in.

Don’ts:

1. Don’t get upset when the interviewer doesn’t ask the questions you want them to ask or let you show something you want to show.

2. Don’t be monotone and boring. No one will be interested in what you are saying if you don’t sound interested in what you are talking about.

3. Don’t just answer their questions in one or two word answers, expand on their question. Make it a conversation rather than a question and answer session. The questions are only to lead the discussion.

4. Don’t be surprised or irritated when you ask for coverage and they tell you it’s going to be at 5 am with a 4:30 am arrival! That’s how morning TV goes, deal with it and be happy you are getting exposure.

5. Don’t expect the entire story to be about you. You may be one resource among others or you may only be a part of the story.

6. Don’t let an opportunity for exposure go! Rearrange your schedule, bring in extra people, or do whatever you have to do to accommodate the media or story.

7. Don’t wing it, make sure you are prepared. Know prices, facts and all details possible about the product or service you are promoting. Be the expert!

Publicity is free and gives you credibility, but it’s not always easy or the way you want it to be. The more you do the easier it gets, so be patient, open-minded and learn from your mistakes. No one expects you to be perfect. The more you do, the better you will get and the more recognizable you will become. Remember, it’s all about creating a BUZZ!