My Buy Essay

Archive for October, 2008

Are you the owner of an online business and eager to promote your website and your services without spending a single dollar? Press release writing could well be one of the ways to advertising your products online.

Technically speaking, press releases are news item which you can transform to cater to your marketing goals by writing ads that have the features of general news. This could be very advantageous in your publicity campaign since many people are bored of reading ad copies that only boast about themselves and want to read news which contains solid information and hard facts. One of the most essential internet marketing schemes, this could effectively attract the eyeballs from targeted groups.

Given below are three ideas to effectual press release writing that can give a boost to your advertising and marketing campaign programs:

1. Write your copy in the third person to create press releases that sound objective. Avoid the use of personalized phrases and words. Try to express what you want to say in as much as a concise and brief manner as possible. Straightforward description is the key here – lay out your press release in using the 4 Ws and 1H of news writing – who, what, when, where and how.

2. Try to steer clear from hype words. This is a definite no-no in press releases. Editors are extremely impatient of such texts and will discard them in no time. And on the other hand readers will find it too clich

Press releases have the potential  to create incredible exposure. Looking beyond the linking benefits, a well written press release may land you in newspapers, TV, and radio.  I write quick content daily  for websites.  When a good subject doesn’t come to mind, I turn to a news search engine for inspiration.  Quite often the top results are press releases or  news articles feeding from those press releases.   Some of these releases inspire me; others are empty promotion with nothing of interest to me or my site visitors.  Here are some tips on the making of a great press release.

Know your reader.

Balance between writing for the target audience (newspaper reader, radio listener, web surfer) and writing for an editor, reporter or journalist who may take up your subject or even reprint the story.  Hooking both the media and the end consumer will result in a snowball of PR.  Remember, a journalist scanning a PR source will make decisions based on the first few words of each article.   Pack the opening with the hot topic points.

Style

A strong headline and intro is critical.  It absolutely must capture the eye of someone skimming press releases and inspire further reading.  Hit them with the news first.  You can explain how and where it comes from later.

Keep it brief, accurate and readable.  The media isn’t looking for full blown articles to copy, but may have use of some filler content or extra information within a report, column or website.  Don’t exaggerate. If your PR is a success you will be getting phone calls and emails asking questions.  It is possible to build or destroy credibility based on your accuracy.  You may become a source for different reporters as you build on your record of knowledge and accuracy.  If you use outside stats and facts, include the source.  The press release should create confidence.

Grammar and spelling should be checked and rechecked.  Read it; edit and re-read; print it out; read again; email to friends for corrections; give yourself many chances to catch mistakes.  Then don’t rush to publish.  Reading something again after a nights sleep is always an eye opener for me.  Something about my focus during the writing process tunes out errors that jump off the page the next day.  This is why an extra set of eyes, or waiting till your eyes are taking a fresh look can make a big difference in the writing quality.  Printing a copy to read also helps you see it differently.

Attach images if the PR publisher allows it.  If you have image rights or public domain images to publish then this is one more way to make your content usable by others.  Permission regarding quotes is important as well within a press release since the exposure can be significant.

Anatomy of a Typical Press Release

Headline

Headlines should have a hook.  Make people wonder where they stand or curious about an outcome.  For example, "Are you a lunatic?  Research may surprise you!"

Summary

Some PR publishers allow a summary after the Headline.  This is a second chance to grab attention.  Make it strong and to the point.

Date Instructions – capitals are often used


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


FOR RELEASE BEFORE __/__/__


FOR RELEASE AFTER __/__/__

Contact Information

Make it as easy as possible to be contacted.  You don’t want to even appear to be hiding.  Reporters may work odd hours, so use a phone number you can answer day and night.

Body


Resist the temptation to tell it all.

Hit the high points in a few paragraphs under 350 words.

Make the reader want to visit your site or call your company for more details.

Pack the best parts in the beginning, inverted pyramid style.  This makes for it easy if an editor needs to shorten it. 

About Us

If you feel the need to include a couple sentences about the company, this is a good place to tag it on.  "In business since___, a member of____, awards include___" or a brief company mission statement will work here as extra information.

End of Press Release

### is often used to signal the end of the press release.  Anything after the ### is not published.

Be Newsworthy

Don’t kid yourself.  You either have a great story or you don’t.  Generic name spreading press releases are a waste of a reporters time.  Don’t write something that reads like an advertisement. And don’t keep re-submitting the same press release. Surely something interesting happens with your company every month?  If you don’t have a great story ready to tell the editors and journalists, then wait for one or develop a story.

Do all this well and you may be talking live on a local radio show, or answering the questions of a  national journalist.  The power of a great press release, when capitalized on, can rocket an enterprise to success.

There are many ways available on net to publicize and market your business, but one of the cheapest methods is to use online press release websites, as many of these offers free of cost or low-cost PR options.

With online press release one can simply reach the significant online community. PR web-sites offers article submission database of free content and reprint articles. Publishers, who are in quest of free reprint articles and the business community who wants to shoot their business, can make the best use of this significant resource to enhance their marketing weapon.

Online PR is a unique way for your content to reach huge mass of people without spending too much money. Actually, many online PR sites allow submitting press release free of cost.

Another form of online press release is internal PR, or PR on web-site. Posting press release on a separate web page helps to hike profit ratio. One can easily step further by using keywords in each page these releases appear on and then registering them individually in search engines.

The writing and distribution of feature articles is another way to take advantage of the efficiencies of online PR because web publishers, editors, journalists and website are always in search of good contents. Feature article writing is one of the best online or offline marketing techniques.

One of the key benefits to posting articles online is that it lets one the opportunity to include a biography/contact/resource box at the bottom of the article. This box should include contact information for your business and company background information. This resource box just might bring you more response than most paid advertisements, and it’s completely free of cost.

Other cost-effective online PR strategies that work well include online kit, e-mail marketing, announcements, posting on forums, online bulletin boards, newsgroups and online radio, which is just getting popularized.

PR on the internet is so expanding rapidly because of its vast distribution network, the broad potential of contacts and, of course, its cost-effectiveness.

THE CONTENT – There are many types of “Adsense Ready Websites” out there and it may seem hard to figure out which ones are worth it and which ones are not. With prices ranging from $9 for 100 sites upwards of hundreds even thousands of dollars just for one. You might think to yourself, “wow what a good deal I’ll buy the 100 sites for $9″. Not really the wisest choice… As the old saying goes, “You get what you pay for”. Those packs are usually comprised of the same exact content sold to every customer. (Static Content – never changing) Resulting in search engines to completely blow off your website instantly. There are already thousands of the exact same websites you are trying to submit. To avoid this situation you need to find a website that automatically updates their articles (Dynamic Content – constantly changing by itself) and the even better even rarer no duplicate content sites.

THE LOOKS – Some “Adsense Ready Websites” are very dry with plain text and no images in hopes of better ranking but this will actually hurt rankings a bit. There is no chance to name your image one of your target keywords.

Some make the sites look ok and few make them look really good. However, pre-made designs tend to be duplicated a lot. While humans notice this, the search engines do not. All search engines see is the image name and the alt tag. So if two sites have the exact same look but different content the search engines see two completely different websites.

THE CONTROL – Surprisingly the majority of “Adsense Ready Websites” make it difficult to insert your affiliate codes and make changes to the site if you aren’t proficient with HTML. Some may offer software that will change the websites code on your PC so you can upload it to your server. There are a few that all you need to do is enter your domain name and the website is automatically created and hosted. The better of them also provide a web accessible control panel to manage aspects of your website in real time.

UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS – Although some are better than others you can get results with what you are given. While some make it less work and less time there is no magic bullet. Do not purchase an “Adsense Ready Website” and just expect the money to start rolling in. (Unless you get a good expired domain). For starters Google places new websites in their sandbox for a good 3 months. (Can be avoided completely by getting a good expired domain) No matter how great the website is it ALWAYS takes a bit of marketing elbow grease to get them moving along to big profits.

One of the most effective and popular ways to get traffic to the websites is Online PPC advertising. PPC advertising, is also known as pay-per-click advertising and it is the way through which website owners can get targeted visitor traffic to their websites without having to stretch their budgets too far.

The benefit of using PPC advertising is that you only pay your bid on a key word or key phrase if customers click on the link to your ad in the search engine results. The more your ad is clicked on, the more you pay. The overall goal with any PPC advertising campaign is to get website traffic and if you are paying more, you are getting more visitors to your website.

There are some important things about pay-per-click advertising campaign. First, it is very important that you choose the keywords that are best suited to your particular web site. PPC advertising can be a very successful marketing tool when used correctly, but you must maximize the efficiency of your ads in order for it to work well for your business. Pay-per-click advertising can be used as your only method of online advertising, or it can be used in conjunction with various other forms of advertising.

There are basically two forms of PPC advertising. These are:

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First, ads spread throughout the entire Internet. These may be obvious or can be more effectively merged into the site construction – they offer a short blurb describing your business and a link to your website.

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Second, paid search engine rankings. This strategy allows customers searching for your particular keywords to find you at the top of the search engine listing, even if your site ranking wouldn’t normally place you there otherwise.

There are many ways to get your web site seen online. This type of advertising makes sense to people who want to make sure that they are only paying for results, and not pre-paying for something that may or may not prove beneficial. This is where pay-per-click advertising works best for website owners; you only pay when someone clicks on your website through the search engine.

The great thing about PPC advertising is that you only pay a certain amount when someone clicks on your ad link when it comes up in the search engine. PPC advertising is a win-win situation!

If you are trying to get more exposure for your website you really should take a serious look at PPC advertising. It has proven over the last couple of years to be one of the most effective marketing tools in the business. It has been estimated that millions of dollars are paid out per year for PPC advertising, proving that it really has a place in online advertising. PPC advertising works because people respond to it.

Pay-per-click advertising is simply genius, no matter what side of the business you are on. It works because if people don’t find all of the info they need in one particular place they will then click on the links on that page. Also, people trust web pages that provide good content, so they assume that the links on the page are worth clicking. All around PPC advertising works because it is set up to work! This is a truly flawless advertising plan.

If you’re looking to increase your online presence, find new customers, sell more products or simply make your brand known, PPC advertising may be right for you. With careful thought, pay-per-click advertising can be both profitable and beneficial for your online business.

Viral Marketing is all about giving away your own free product or service along with your ad copy (contact information, link, email, etc.). In turn, recipients of your free product are allowed to pass it along to their own clients, prospects, visitors and others as a freebie. This is a quick way to multiple your marketing at no extra expense and without extra effort on your part.

Here are some popular viral marketing techniques to follow:

1. Ebooks &ndash Share your no cost ebook with your website visitors. Include a nice full-color ad for your most popular product line with links to your website and email. Tell recipients to share copies of the ebook with their own site visitors and other contacts.

2. Software – Share a trial or “lite” version of your software with your website visitors as a freebie. Don’t forget to include that ad for your most popular product line with links to your website and email. And tell recipients to share copies of the software with their own site visitors and other contacts. For help creating software, hire help from online bid sites like Elance.com.

3. Web Host &ndash Offer to host small business web sites on your server at no charge. In exchange, place your own banner ad at the top of the site for viral marketing. You can setup a fold for their site and they can choose their own domain name and have it redirected to that folder.

4. Templates &ndash Design your own website or other templates, include your own marketing information on them and give them away as free downloads or as an electronic package. Grant permission for recipients to pass them along.

5. Articles &ndash Write articles about your industry. Include your website and contact information in the byline and grant permission for others to publish as long as they keep the byline in tact. Then people can use your contact on websites, in ezines, newsletters and other places where once again, viral marketing will speed the spread of information about your business.

6. Discussion Board – Set up a Discussion Board on your website with your banner ad attached at the top. And invite others to link to it and use it for their own sites.

In summary, by using viral marketing strategies, you can reach out all over the Internet with much less effort. See which methods work best for you and repeat them as often as needed.

A few years ago it seemed that every time one opened a web page one would be bombarded with offers for this or that. Pop Windows had arrived with a vengeance.

As time elapsed the point was reached where surfing the Internet was almost like playing a video game; when the ad appeared one would try to close it before another one arose. This annoyance factor is precisely why we have seen the decline in the use of pop-up windows on today’s Internet; surfers simply do not even look at pop-ups anymore. They close the window out before even reading the ad. Very often, a surfer will even leave your site if there are too many pop-up ads. It is simply not worth the hassle of closing those windows while trying to obtain the information that your site has to offer. This information, while valuable, is not as valuable as the surfer’s time.

Studies have shown however, that even with these setbacks, pop-up windows are still an effective method of Internet marketing. Is there some way that pop-up windows can be less irritating and still be effective? Yes! What if the pop-up ad were seen upon exiting your site instead of entering? This would allow the surfer to obtain the information needed from your site, feeling that they were able to come and go quickly without being hassled by other ads and offers, all the while making the surfer happy. You have left the surfer with a positive attitude and he or she are therefore more likely to respond to the pop advertisement.

This is being accomplished more and more by using what is being called pop-under windows. When the surfer comes to your site, the ad is opened discretely behind your web page. Then, upon leaving your site, after obtaining all the information needed, the ad will be seen and is therefore more likely to initiate a response. Since the surfer has the information initially required, he has achieved his objective and is now open to do other things; ideally respond to the pop under advertisement.

Not all pop-windows are created equal however. There are some things that you can do to make your pop-windows, whether pop-up or pop-under more effective. The pop-window should be easy to “escape” from. If the surfer does not want to see the ad, but has a hard time closing it out, they will likely become frustrated and could leave your site all together. You should either use a button that will allow the surfers to close the window. Make sure that the “x” is easily visible. Another good idea is to use a script that utilizes cookies. Cookies will prevent pop-windows from overloading the surfer since you can decide the frequency of the pop-windows, rather than each time a page is opened. Also be sure that there is no more than one pop-window per page.

When creating a pop-window, you will be asked to fill out a short information form, select the length of cookies, and choose the layout of the pop-window. When choosing the design of the pop-window, you can increase the effectiveness by creating a large headline that includes benefits that will be most appealing to the customer. You should also consider using incentives, and lastly do not ask the customer to read a long and drawn out advertisement. Keep the message simple yet powerful and your pop-ads will be sure to generate profits for your site.

Everyone who uses the web knows that advertising is a huge part of the entire experience. The internet is full of advertising for every possible company and product you can imagine. Although many complain about the forms of advertising, there is not much difference in internet advertising and telemarketing phone calls to your home. The interesting thing is however that web users prefer to be annoyed by internet ads over unexpected phone calls. This acceptance of ads has created a breeding ground for millions of pop-ups and banner ads on the internet. Sites use them individually or together, but some still wonder which is better for increased website traffic. Consumers have offered a response, perhaps not verbally, but with statistics of effectiveness.

Pop-ups are typically seen as annoying advertisements. Those that include blinking lights can even be hazardous to some users with certain medical conditions. They have been considered the most hated form of web advertising available. With pop-ups being so annoying however, consumers may wonder why they are still being used so frequently. The truth is that pop-ups are terribly aggravating, but they are indeed effective overall. For some crazy reason, there are millions of people who actually utilize them when they appear on their screen. This is partially due to many sites using pop-up ads as an excuse and reason for offering free services to site users. They will state that they must use these forms of ads in order to offer the site for free. Users, who don’t want to pay, but still want to use the site, will likely accept the excuse without question.

The trouble with pop-up ads these days are that there are many programs to install on a computer that will not allow pop-ups through. This means that when a pop-up is meant to appear on your screen, your installed “pop-up blocker” program does not allow it to happen and instead blocks the advertisement from reaching you, the user. These programs are very effective most of the time and can cost advertisers a great deal of money if the ad is not reaching the intended target. Advertisers are now coming up with newly programmed pop-ups however that can bypass these “blocker” programs and still deliver the ads to your screen, whether you like it or not.

Banner ads began to appear on websites in response to the annoyance consumers felt from pop-ups. Advertisers thought that if banner ads were not as bothersome, they may offer even better results than the pop-up ads. Sites began sticking banner ads in every free area of their site. Upon doing so, they soon realized that although banner ads are not typically as bothersome as pop-ups, they are also not as effective. Users were less likely to utilize banner ads for their purpose. Many of the banner ads were perhaps not as noticeable as an aggressive pop-up ad right in the user’s line of vision. Some are off to the side of the screen and out of the direct eye contact.

Many users prefer banner ads when asked, because they claim they are easier on the eye and they are often unnoticeable. This may mean more comfortable use for the user, but it means something completely different to the advertiser. An advertiser wants their ad to be noticed, even at the user’s expense. They would rather annoy the user and get the ads noticed than the ads simply sit being unnoticed. In whole, advertisers were not seeing a large turnout with banner ads, and therefore many sites no longer use them for advertising purposes.

The answer to whether or not pop-ups or banner ads are best really lies with who you speak with. Consumers will likely tell you banner ads are much better than troublesome pop-ups. Advertisers however would tell you the exact opposite. They both have a place on the internet and their own group of “fans”. The conclusion is however that unless users completely boycott pop-ups in an extremely dramatic way, they will likely continue to replace banner ads. The power of the choice lies in the hands of the advertisers at this time and until users want to force them to change their ways, the advertisers will continue to support pop-ups over banner ads.

Imagine surfing through the Internet, looking for information, or maybe just sauntering along, clicking upon whatever comes your way, not really paying attention to the content, when your eye is caught by a link to a site that claims to have content that really appeals to you at that very moment. You hopefully click upon the link, curious about what awaits you when suddenly you’re hit with one, two, three, four, five pop-up ads and they keep jumping up and hitting you from every corner of the screen. How many times have one of us been attacked by pop-up ads that don’t interest us? How many times have the efforts of the advertisers to sell their products ended up in completely ruining the happy and receptive state of mind the user in a stampede of information, hitting too soon, too suddenly and too forcefully for the user to have any favorable impression of the product.

In fact, in many cases it is observed that the content of the pop-up ads isn’t even the issue at hand. Pop-up ads by their very nature are irritating and annoying to most users of the Internet. People are not happy at being interrupted while they surf or hunt around for information. However, many site owners and web masters feel compelled to include pop-up ads in their advertising mix in order to generate revenue for slow moving sites.

According to a study conducted by the Bunnyfoot University, “The Efficacy of Pop-ups and the Resulting Effect on Brands” Internet users feel harangues and harassed by pop-up ads. The study revealed that pop-up ads precipitated dislike and annoyance with the pop-up ads and for this reason, with the web site and the site owner as well. Most users do not even wait to see the entire ad; they do not even wait till the entire ad is loaded or till the company or brand logo is displayed. More than half the pop-up ads displayed to the sample group were ignored. There were negative comments about the adverts because the users felt that the ads insulted their intelligence by assuming that they could not locate a certain item on their own. Annoyance at the appearance of the adverts also reflected that the users found them to be irrelevant and obstructive to the content of the site. These viewpoints are the opinions of the sample group selected by Bunnyfoot University to conduct their research however, considering the responses garnered from a multitude of Internet users, these opinions are shared by many users of the Internet who want to be able to view content-rich sites without being disturbed by pop-up ads.

The reasons given by the web masters for using pop-up ads is that they are not quite as repulsive and disagreeable to their users as they are portrayed. Another reason many web masters are not willing to dismiss pop-up ads is because they offer the example of Web giants like Yahoo! and Google Inc. who also offer their users pop-up ads. The site owners cite this precedent as justification for using pop-up ads on their sites. Pop-up ads are a good way to earn revenue on sites that offer quality content. The web site owners believe that they are justified in their bid to earn revenue since most of the information featured on the Internet is free for the user, and most users do not want to pay for the information offered by the content-rich sites. The site owners contest that if the users are allowed to view the content on their sites for free, the least they can do is tolerate a couple a pop-up ads that after all, help to pay for the site’ running. Even though most site owners feels justified in displaying pop-up ads on their sites, many other webmasters are resorting to pop-under ads that do not obstruct the user but wait till the user is finished with viewing the information on site. Pop-under ads are not so zealously opposed, they are far more likely to be tolerated and viewed with patience by the user, which is why increasingly more and more web masters are opting for pop-under ads to fund their sites.

In the not too distant past, pop-up windows were all the rage for marketing on the internet. Every time we opened a web page, we were bombarded with various offers of goods or services. It had gotten to the point where surfing the internet was like playing a video game&ndashKill the Pop-ups or Die Trying. When the ads popped-up, we had to try and close them out before another one popped up. It seemed we spent more time shutting down pop-ups then we did actually surfing.

That is precisely why we have seen a decline in the use of pop-up windows on the internet today. Surfers simply disregard the pop-ups and usually just close the window without even bothering to read the ad. Too many pop-up ads can also cause the user to leave your site. You have valuable information to offer, but nobody will see it. Their time is valuable and they are not about to waste it closing out numerous pop-up ads.

Despite these setbacks, studies have shown that pop-up windows remain an effective method of internet marketing.

Is there a way that pop-up windows can be less annoying, yet still be an effective marketing tool?

Yes! Consider placing the pop-up where it can be seen upon exiting your site instead of entering. This allows the surfer to obtain the information they came for without being hassled by frequent advertisements and offers. The surfer leaves your site with a positive attitude and is more likely to respond to the pop advertisement.

This type of ad is known as the pop-under window. Here is how the pop-under works. When the surfer comes to your site, the ad is opened up discretely behind your web page. The person visiting your site obtains the information they came for. Upon exiting, they will see the ad. Now, they are more likely to respond because you have taken care of their needs first. Since the surfer is satisfied that he has achieved his objective, he is now open to other ideas; namely responding to your pop-under advertisement.

Let’s talk about some ways that you can make your pop-windows, whether pop-ups or pop-unders, more effective. Here are 6 ways to effective pop-windows:

First and most important, the pop-window should be easy to “escape” from. If the surfer has a hard time closing it out, she will likely become frustrated and leave your site altogether. Either use a button that allows the surfer to close the window or be sure that the “x” is easily visible. Another method of effectiveness is to use a script that utilizes cookies. Cookies will prevent pop windows from overloading the surfer, since they allow you to make a decision regarding the frequency of the pop-windows you use. Thirdly, never use more than one pop-window per page. Four, when choosing the design of the pop-window, you can increase the effectiveness by creating a large headline that addresses benefits to the customer. Also consider using incentives and lastly, do not expect the customer to read a lengthy advertisement.

Keep your message simple yet powerful and your pop-windows are sure to generate profits for your site and happy repeat customers.