Increase online traffic with a press release

Press releases done correctly, can be a very effective way to generate traffic to your website. Imagine a news article about your business and yourself in the local or a national newspaper, think of the interest it will create and you dont have to pay a cent for the exposure.

Before you start there are some basics you have to prepare

1. You must have some news to write about. If not, create something newsworthy and then write a press release. Now then, what is newsworthy?

• Charity event – raise funds for charity
• Contest to highlight an aspect of your field
• New product or service that can benefit others
• problem – and you came up with a solution.

2. A press release must be written in an informative manner, avoid writing a promotional like press release. Try to write your press release without any hype. Here are a couple of examples:

Wrong: “The solution to solve all of your problems!”

Right: “After dealing with her son’s chronic asthma for years, Miller wrote a book to help other moms who feel discouraged and frustrated…”

3. Your press release must be formatted correctly if you hope to have it read by an editor. The media receives thousands of press releases each day. If yours is formatted poorly or filled with typos, it will likely be tossed aside.

Benefits of a press release?

Not only does a press release give you the opportunity to have your business (and URL) mentioned in front of a large crowd, but, when it does work, it adds legitimacy to your business as well. You aren’t viewed by the readers as someone who paid to have their ad in the paper. You are considered valuable enough to be interviewed as a resource for their readers. That adds a lot of credibility.

Press Release Resources

Here a list of online resources where you can realease your news. This is just a short list of 15 sites, try the Search Engines for more media resources.

• http://www.prweb.com/
• http:///#%20www.prnewswire.com
• http://www.betanews.com/
• http://www.free-press-release.com/
• http://www.looselycoupled.com/
• http://www.bizeurope.com/
• http://www.pressreleasespider.com/
• http://www.npr.org/
• http://www.prfree.com/
• http://www.ap.org/
• http://www.greatpossibilities.com/
• http://www.dime-co.com/
• http://www.thehostingnews.com/
• http://www.prurgent.com/
• http://www.theopenpress.com/

Start a Media page

Once you have been interviewed or highlighted in any media (online or offline), start a “Media Page” on your website to showcase your exposure. This will prove to any interested press that you are worth looking into. Include links to any online interviews, pdf copies of print interviews, and audio clips of recorded interviews.
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Bjorn is an online Marketer and author. Visit Internet SEO Marketing for SEO input and resources or Website Article Content for article marketing and reprint articles.

Branding & Trademark benefits

It seems like a lot of work to trademark a business or a product, doesn’t it? For many people it can be somewhat of a challenge. For others, especially large companies, the process is simply handed over to their attorneys to go through.

Even though it may take some time to develop the perfect trademark and to put it in place, the benefits of having one are quite amazing. In fact, an effective trademark can actually stand out as its own advertisement for your business!

Just think of those arches. Think about the Wendy’s girl. You can even picture your favorite Staples logo, can’t you? Just seeing those symbols triggers an instant thought about visiting those locations. You don’t have to be hungry and you definitely don’t have to need staples and pens to want to visit those locations.

In effect, you want to create this same type of trademark for your business so that you can benefit from increased advertisement and name recognition just through your trademark.

More info about this topic can be found at Website Article Content : Branding and drop by Business Promotion Blog for similar readings

Communications on the Internet

Internet communication is quite a challenge in today's information flow. Never the less, its one of the most important skills to govern if you want to win opinions, sell products or services, promote and have a successful website. To win this race you need a communication strategy based on the intention and goals of your Internet presence. The basic challenges are fierce competition, information volume and busy net surfers.

Net surfers are in a hurry and the time to communicate to them is limited. Normally a visitor will leave your website within 5 to 10 seconds if he or she don't find it interesting. So it's vital to catch the visitors attention and know how to get your message across. In case you are uncertain of how your website is doing, check your site stats. If many of your visitors leave quickly, it's a good chance that there is something wrong with your communication. Find out which pages the visitors are entering on your website. Its no use in having a great and catchy front page if the majority of the visitors are landing on a boring sub page.

You only have one shot to communicate the message to your Internet visitors. Keep in mind that those visitors, reading your message don't spend much time to find out what you have to say. Therefore, say it fast, say it precise and in a way the website visitors would like to hear. Learn the KISS rule (Keep It Simple Stupid) and how to address your messages direct and simple.

There are some basic rules that you should beware of when you're writing for the Web: Ask yourself the following questions:

What communication style do my visitors prefer and how do I catch their attention?
Find out what the visitors want to read and then write for them. Investigate and collect information from sources like blogs, forums, websites and similar. Don't just write something for the sake of filling up your web space.

What are my visitors looking for?
Identify and refine the message that you want to promote to your visitors. Pinpoint your focus, zoom in and communicate it to your visitors in a language that they can trust and relate to.

Is the website adapted to the group or market I am targeting?
Evaluate your information sources. Make sure that the information you're basing your website content on is creditable and precise. Does the information represent the values that you wish to communicate? Is the information based on facts, or is it a personal opinion? Many times the combination of fact and opinions go hand in hand. Meaning that strong personal or public opinions have inflated the visitors attitude long before they arrive at your website.

Consider all aspects and implications of your writing. Make sure that you end up with an appropriate conclusions that your readers will more or less agree with. Analyze the costs, benefits, and consequences of the content that you plan to publish on your website. Discuss SEO (Search Engine Optimization) versus targeted communication. The best decision off course, is to choose a strategy that lead your visitors into the desired actions.

:: Author Info ::
Tony Gregson is an experienced Internet Marketer and online Entrepreneur. Tony is educated in Marketing and Business Administration. He is a Manager and Co-owner of several online projects. Some of his latest sites are Internet SEO Marketing and, Website Article Content an Article Marketing directory and a place to get fresh reprint articles