Public Relations: Your Key to Business Growth in the New Year – or Any Time of YearWritten by Shannon Cherry, APR
The New Year is here and we all are making our resolutions. What about yours? What’s your business resolution for upcoming year? Taking stock of where a company is and where it's headed is always good to do a couple of times a year. Businesses that want a leg up on their competition need to focus on boosting their public relations (PR) efforts. This keeps them from going under when economy is weak, and gets them ahead of their competitors when sales start picking up. With economy emerging from recession, now is perfect time to get a fresh start on your PR strategies. So what exactly is public relations? It's a strategic form of communication that’s used to obtain positive exposure for your company and keep key publics informed. It's news releases, feature stories, interviews, analyst meetings, application stories, speaking engagements, newsletters, websites, product launches and events. It's also developing a key message that differentiates you from your competition and selecting mix of tactics that will get your message to marketplace with most impact. PR is different from advertising. Advertising and promotion are about salesmanship. Consumers know it and are on defense against being sold something they don't want or need – especially when money’s tight. Public relations is about conveying information. By providing information to consumers directly or through trusted third parties, PR is a cost-effective marketing effort that has a big-payoff: credibility and visibility. That's why PR should play a key role in your business plans in upcoming year. So what are best ways to use PR to kick-start your business into high gear? Think of more than just a press release. Media coverage can be an excellent way to influence public opinion, but today's media includes more than newspapers and television. Think outside box to find right medium for your message and your target audience. For example, handing out small gifts bearing your logo, maintaining a presence at trade shows or getting more links to your website are all wonderful ways to generate public relations.
| | Secrets Of A PublisherWritten by Steven Boaze
The information listed here is worth more than gold. if you apply these simple list building plans and techniques, we guarantee you will see results. you may not get results as fast as you want to, but don't worry. all list building strategies take time and when properly used correctly, will be more rewarding than you can possibly imagine. ONLINE Make your website an "attention grabber". With almost 4 million websites to choose from, fact that someone found yours is something you shouldn't take for granted. With so much choice, how can you expect them to remember to come back tomorrow, and next day? If you don't have an opt-in/sign-up form on your website, you are literally throwing opportunities away. This is single most important thing you can do to build your database. But don't just put it on your home page - put it on every page, or make it part of your main navigation tool. Checkbox your forms. Every form on your website should ask for permission to send future emails. If someone makes an online purchase, include a check box on order form to get on your mailing list. If they download something from your site, make same offer. Get on other websites. Find a site whose product or service is complementary to yours and call them up. Ask if they'd add your newsletter to their opt-in form. Trade offers - add an additional check box to your sign up form so people can subscribe to your contact database and your partner's at same time. Instead of advertising your product or service directly, consider placing banner ads (or do a banner exchange) for your newsletter on sites your target audience is likely to visit. Team up with other email marketers. You may be just starting to build, but there are thousands of marketers who already own a contact list and are sending email campaigns every day. Advertise your newsletter or website (with its prominent sign-up offer) in their newsletters or promotions (or do a banner exchange). Use viral marketing. Even if you only send emails to a handful of people, make sure you include a "forward to a friend" link in each one - and equally important, a sign-up link for new readers. You'd be amazed at how often I get an interesting newsletter or promo from a friend, but can't figure out how to start getting my own copy. Don't forget to promote your sign-up offer at bottom of your everyday email. Even if you're sending email to a friend or co-worker, include a link to your sign-up form to keep up momentum. Remember, your email may get forwarded, so cover all your bases. Get listed in ezine directories and search engines. There's a ton of free directories out there that categorize email newsletters.Go online and submit your listing to as many as you can - but make sure you read their privacy policy first! OFFLINE Make it a part of your brand identity. Every piece of paper that leaves your office should have a link to your website and/or your email subscription information. Period. Equip your lobby or reception area. Post subscription information at your front desk - a little self-standing sign gets noticed. Place a fishbowl for business cards next to it, or better yet, let people sign up right then and there using a computer that's logged on to opt-in form on your website. Equip your trade show booth. Do same as above in your exhibit's reception area. If you rent a lead retrieval machine from show vendor, be sure to customize it so you can capture email and permission information. Piggyback in-store purchases. When you ring up a customer, ask them if they'd like to receive email mailers from you. Be sure to let them know what they'll be getting and when. Ask people you meet. Even if you don't sponsor or exhibit at events, try to attend them. Talk to people face-to-face and let
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