How A Press Release Can Benefit A Home Based Business

Many home based business owners are focusing too much on becoming familiar with the latest technologies that allow them utilize trendy marketing tools and less on the importance of traditional methods of marketing their services to customers. One of the simplest tools, the press release, can have quite an impact on consumers and, until Internet marketing strategies took over the business world, used to be one of the most popular methods of advertising.

An announcement that highlights a business, service, event or sale, a press release can be written up as though it is a news story and printed wherever content is accepted. Though many consumers do not realize it, there are several press releases printed in daily newspapers and many magazines run releases disguised as feature stories. As the Internet gains popularity, press releases are being sent out in email format, posted in blogs and featured on websites.
What are the main benefits of creating a press release?

1. Free Publicity Unlike print advertisements, it rarely costs a cent to run a press release in a newspaper, magazine or on the web. Most publications or websites, when lacking content, are more than happy to run releases that they think are newsworthy. Though there arent nearly as many businesses utilizing press releases as there used to be, its important to make sure your release contains as much news as possible so that yours will be weeded from the rest.

2. Search Engine Rankings By submitting your press release online, youre creating another link to your website. The more links you have scattered throughout the Internet, the higher your business with rank on a search engine. Internet surfers are more likely to visit sites listed on the first few pages of a search engine, so youll generate a lot more web traffic.

3. News If something new and exciting is going on at your business, such as a special event or new service, you can write a press release to alert your customers. Running the release on your website or pasting it into a mass email will access a lot more people than if you were to try and contact each person individually.

4. Keeping Your Name Fresh Press releases are a great way to remind your customers that you are still around and running strong. Written well, a press release seems a lot more personal than a quick email with a few bulleted highlights of new services you may be offering.

Since a press release should be written in article format, its important to hire a professional writer in order make sure that your business is represented properly. You should also pay attention to the responses you generate from your press releases so you can learn about what information seems to interests customers the most for the future. As you learn about your customers and what theyre interested in, youll be able to offer them services theyll be more likely to spend money on.

Effective Marketing Tools: The Press Release

Used for communicating directly with consumers, press releases have become effective marketing tools that can be found throughout the Internet on websites, search engine listings or in emails. In the past, press releases have been strictly used to communicate between public relations firms and the media in order to promote their products, celebrities or events. Similarly, businesses are now creating their own press release to promote their services.

When a press release is distributed online, it can gain as many as five hundred additional links. The trick to getting more links and listings is using popular keywords in your press release and in the name of the website where it is originally published. News agencies access press releases by using wire websites and, if you are release is search engine optimized, they could come across yours and print it in their newspaper, magazine or on their website.

The full benefits of press releases are often not recognized by business owners or marketers, but its important to make sure that your press release generates as much recognition as possible in order to be syndicated throughout the web. Some tips for achieving this are

Make sure your release is newsworthy because, even if you have a hundred keywords scattered throughout the content, the media will not republish it if it is not interesting and useful content. Be as specific as possible and provided detailed information that is unique and cannot be found elsewhere.

Phrases that contain the most keywords should be located in the title, subheading or towards the beginning of the release in order to be sure the website featuring your press release is ranked higher on search engines.

Press releases should offer more than just information and should include contact information and how a reader can learn more about the business and services. The release should offer links to a businesses website as well as to a place where potential customers can download other informational material such as newsletters, reports, free trials, special offers and white paper downloads.

When sending the release to media outlets, you should also provide a brief summary detailing the content in your press release. You should provide a summary of your business, the services you provide and information about the writer of the release.

Offer your press release to bloggers who write about your industry. When writing about different topics within the field, bloggers will often include a summary or excerpt from company press releases and then credit that business, including their name and website.

When distributed throughout the Internet, a press release can get a lot of exposure and generate traffic for a website, leading to higher sales of products and services. Posted not only on websites, in blogs and in emails, press releases can be printed in traditional forms of media as well, such as magazines and newspapers, but will be viewed much less than it would be if it were posted on the web. The more places your press release is posted, the more links to your website there will be floating throughout the Internet.