As an internet marketer, you need exposure for your products or service. And publicity is like exposure put on steroids. The stampede of visitors to your site overnight can overwhelm and scare you, if done correctly.
Dr. Joe Vitale of Hypnotic Marketing talks about “Hypnotic Publicity”, and has made millions over the internet using it.
The quickest way to gain massive public exposure for your online business is to write a powerful press release. They’re short, to the point, and work like magic.
Unfortunately, 99% of press releases used for internet marketing are just lousy. The main reason why is because people don’t know how to write one properly, and they also don’t have a good news story to tie into their business somehow.
Follow these 5 steps, and you’ll be well on your way to having an unstoppable amount of free traffic to your site.
1. Write a compelling, “story-worthy” headline
This is absolutely key. If you’ve spent any time marketing online, than you know that without a powerful headline, none of your ads, press releases, or articles will ever get opened.
When it comes to creating a headline for your press release, you have to hit it out of the ball park. Otherwise you can forget anyone will ever learn about your product or service. However, it’s not anything to worry about because you can get the hang of it fairly quickly. Follow these tips, and you’ll be ok:
-Write your headline that’s fascinating, not something boring and useless. For example, I’d much rather read a news story that says “Entrepreneur Reveals A Breakthrough 4-Step Formula That’s Rescuing Business Owners From Current Recession”, rather than “Online Business Owner Finds New Opportunity”.
-Make sure your headline does NOT use the word “You”. Most press release distribution services avoid that at all costs and will reject your release. The reason why is because it indicates that you may be trying to “sell” something in the press release, instead of giving valuable content and telling a news story.
-Make your headline sound like “something just happened”. It’s got to sound current and eventful!
2. Have a sub-headline that summarizes your story, and make it in italicized font.
The sub-headline is written directly below the main headline and it gives an overall picture of what your news story is about. Also, make this fascinating and follow the formula for writing the headline above.
The only difference is that the sub-headline is considerably longer than the headline. The sub-headline can be 2 to 4 lines long, instead of just one line long like your headline.
3. Start your main body of content with a location, date, and another summary of your story.
Once you write a city, state, and the exact date of your press release, you want to begin your main body of content very much like the sub-headline. Restate the story, and then go a little further into the details.
You can word it slightly differently, and you should definitely make it longer than the sub-headline. State the facts, throw out names, places, and companies involved, and sprinkle in a little bit of a benefit for the reader without trying to sound like an ad (this is key).
Remember, don’t use the word “YOU”!
4. Create at least 2 quotes.
This is very important in a press release. Quotes add tons of credibility to your news story, and they can free you from the danger of sounding like an advertisement.
The idea is that if you’re simply quoting someone, than you’re not the one making any claims that may sound like a sale pitch, or sound like an opinion instead of a fact.
Always keep in mind that a press release is a story based on facts, and not opinions of how great or awesome something is. You have to give the reader details of what is going on, what happened, and what the product, service, or solution contains.
Tell the reader what the owner or user of the product or service said by putting it in quotes, and you can throw in benefits more freely. Remember, you’re in less of a danger of sounding like an ad inside a quote.
After the opening paragraph, put in at least one more quote a few paragraphs down that elaborates more on the details on your product or service.
5. Fill in the factual details in between and after the quotes.
After you have your quotes written, fill in more details with paragraphs in between the quotes. This strategy makes it easier because you can simply write a “transition” in between the quotes. It’s just like connecting the dots.
However, focus on giving more details that will fascinate the reader even further. Keep the story focused on being very interesting to the reader, and imagine it being featured inside a major newspaper or on T.V.
Once you have these 5 components of a powerful press release, simply place a link to your site at the bottom, and tell the reader that if he or she wants to learn more about your product or service simply go “here”. http://www.hypnoticmarketing.com