Years ago, when I worked in the advertising and promotion business, I learned something valuable. That is, newspapers and magazines (of all sorts) are always looking for a story. Let's face it, they've got to have something for the next issue. And if you make their job easy, by writing the story for them, you can get an awful lot of exposure for whatever it is that you want to share with the world.
Say, for example, that you want to promote your Global Domains Inernational (GDI) affiliate program. Your Press Release can be a story with a title such as "The Phenomenon of Internet Marketing" or " .ws, the other .com". In other words, you are creating a new story that speaks to a subject and gives you an author credit at the end that contains your referral link.
Now this is commonly done online with article marketing via article directories, submission services and so on. But those aren't Press Releases for print media publications. You 'story' printed in a small local paper, trade magazine etc. can give you tremendous exposure. And one of the secrets for promoting GDI is to do it -OFF-line.
There are lots of free resources out there those interested in this type of promotion. Learning how to write and submit a Press Release is not difficult. Many publications even have their own kit that they'd prefer you use. But anyway, here are three basic tips:
1) It should sound like a news story and not an ad.
2) The headline and first few sentences are VERY important as they must capture the reader's attention.
3) Proof-read it multiple times and get others to proof-read it also.
If you don't have any idea what to write about, here are a few suggestions:
~ New products or services that you're rolling out on your website
~ The results of an online poll that you've conducted
~ A virtual trade show or seminar that you're hosting
~ A free chat-room class that you're teaching
~ Your opening of a new website
~ A famous person that has used or endorses your business
~ An ebook review or the story behind one that you authored
~ A fund-raising event that you are running
The list goes on and on. It's really not that much work once you sit down and commit to doing it and the results just might surprise you!
