Several other important issues to consider are domain name length, use of hyphens in domain name, and name's overall "readability". The domain name length can have a direct impact on how effective that name is at driving traffic to a site. As you can probably imagine, fewer characters in a domain name, better. The use of hyphens in a domain name can have a negative impact on a name's effectiveness, so they should be avoided if offline advertising is planned. A name's readability should also be taken into consideration when planning offline promotions. Do words run together confusingly? Are letters positioned in such a way that name might be misread? If so, capitalization can be used in print to eliminate some of confusion.

So what if you've already registered a name, and you find another name that you think would work better for offline advertising? That's simple. Register new name, and get your host to set up an "alias" that will direct any traffic new address receives to your existing Web site.

I have been asked about best day of week to send out a news release. There isn't one. I have seen plenty of debates on this. From personal experience, only difference I ever noticed is when I could pick a slow news day. For instance, if in your city daily newspaper can be reached on Sunday and not too much tends to happen that day in your subject area, you may find it easier to get into Monday's newspaper than if you try later in week. But on average, there is not much difference.

Best time of month, year, etc? Again, there is no single best time. There is one golden rule. Do not send out a release when world is wrapped up in some all-consuming event like death of Princess Diana or attack on World Trade Center. Remember how much TV airtime and newspaper print space were devoted to those events? The media and its audiences had other things on their minds than your news. You can't control events, but you can control timing of your release (most of time).

How far in advance should you send out your release? Some book reviewers usually need several months. Others don't want to see your release until book is on store shelves. Many consumer magazines have a six-month editorial preview. Features editors often run several weeks ahead of time, but sometimes squeeze things in on short notice. News departments want only breaking news. Yesterday's news is ... well, yesterday's news. Your release is already forgotten.

Does all this sound confusing. It is. The bottom line in any marketing is to know your target market and give it what it wants. Same with media. The guidelines above give a very abbreviated list of what you need to consider. If you are still unsure, a media coach might be a good investment. But be forewarned – find someone with enough experience and success to coach you in right direction.