More Publicity with Online Media Rooms

IN THIS ISSUE

1.    When a Journalist Comes to Visit
2 .   Quote of the Week
3 .   Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers
4 .   A Little Fun
5 .   Smell the Coffee

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
1. When a Journalist Comes to Visit

If a reporter was writing a story about you and your company and she visited your website, could she find anything useful and interesting about you to use in her story? And could she find it quickly? Or would she immediately abandon your site and look for one of your competitors to write about?

Every website today should have a "Media Room" (also known as an online press room) with everything a reporter needs to write a story quickly. Not only should you include information about your company history, the management team and owners, your products and services, and so on, but today you should also provide links to industry trade groups, information about industry trends, and maybe even a list of your competitors.

Why would you include your competitors, you ask?

Because just like you, a reporter is very busy and often overwhelmed. If you were the reporter and you visited a website that handed you the perfect story and all the sources to write an objective article about widgets (which just happened to be something your publication's readers, and more importantly your boss, would love to read), wouldn't you be thrilled? Of course you would. And so would I.

Besides, every time a prospect searches for your competitors' products and services, YOUR website will come up in the search, too. Maybe the prospect will click on your website link instead of your competitor's.

So let's consider what you should include in your new website Media Room. Here's a list to get you started; each of these would be a separate "sublink" within your media room:

• Owners and management team bios (one short and one long bio for each person)
  
• Photos: downloadable, scalable, in 300 dpi (suitable for print publications) and 72 dpi (for online outlets), named/labeled, one for each member of the management team and any products you promote
  
• Company description and history, including dates, facts and sales figures (or percentage of growth by year)
  
• A list of products or services and brief descriptions of each one
  
• Customer demographics
  
• List and description of any awards you or your company have won
  
• List of story ideas with 4 to 6 talking points for each one
  
• Audio and video clips with sound bytes about important issues
  
• List of media experience for key company players
  
• Issues and opinions page, including position papers, articles you have written, White Papers, quotes, links to industry resources for both sides of the opinions (all opening in a new browser window, of course)
  
• Industry trends and news
  
• Calendar of relevant trade shows and industry events
  
• List and web links of your key competitors and links to outside sites that may contain opposing or even negative views (opening in new browser windows, of course!)
  
• Company and product news (with all your releases listed/summarized and linking to the full story)
  
• In the news (links to actual published articles, opening in new browser windows)
  
• Contact information for key company players: day, night, cell phone, pager, fax, email (make it easy for the reporter to get in touch with you!)
  
• Email alert service to notify reporters of news
  
• Forms for reporters to order videos, photos, samples
  
• Ability to search the site for information, keywords, topics, etc.
  
  
  And don't forget to put an obvious link to your Media Room, right on your home page ... and every page. Don't worry if you can't do all of this immediately. Just keep chipping away at it, and soon you'll have a terrific Media Room. Then watch how your publicity grows.
  
  
  To learn more about why a media room is important for great publicity, the essential elements of a media room, pet peeves that drive the media crazy, along with examples of the best media rooms on the web, pick up a copy of Joan Stewart's "Special Report #22: How to Create an Online Media Room - and Keep the Media Coming Back." You can read more about it or download it and be reading it in minutes here.
  
  
  AND...
  
  Sit back and listen to how to create an outstanding Online Media Room with this tape, "Electronic Media Kits: How to Create Them, Deliver Them and See INSTANT Results," a recorded teleseminar where Joan Stewart, a.k.a. The Publicity Hound, interviews publicist Bev Harris. This one-hour tape will tell you what you must include in your media kit to lend credibility to your statistics; what dailies, weeklies and radio bookers want to find in your media kit; why you MUST offer the media sources other than yourself; the 7 major items in a media kit, how to lure the media to the electronic media kit at your website; the most difficult task you face when emailing reporters, and much more. Read all about it or order it here.
  
  
  
  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
  2.  Quote of the Week
  
  "My definition of success: Working at a job that aligns with the basic purpose for your life (that you most likely identified as a child, but might have lost sight of), in an environment of your choosing, with harmonious people. Feeling successful would include adequate financial prosperity to provide a sense of security against unexpected events."
  
  
  Rosalie Hamilton
  Expert Communications
  
  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
  
  AND NOW, A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSORS...
  
  
  What's your definition of success?
  Email your comments to me.
  
  
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
  3.  Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers
  

• Intellectual Property Seminar, Washington, D.C., June 23, 6-9 PM
  
  National Women's Business Center Training Facility, 1001 Conn. Ave., NW ~ $65 nonmembers, $50 members. Located at Farragut Square, on the red, blue, and orange lines. Travel by Metro strongly encouraged due to downtown congestion at rush hour; a list of $5 parking lots open until 10 pm will be provided with registration. Register here or call 202-785-4922.
  
  
• Thanks to Christine Michaels at the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce for this tip.
  
  The U. S. Department of Labor has issued its long-awaited final regulation for the most common "exemptions" from the federal overtime and minimum wage requirements. The changes take effect in August and will impact most employers. Learn more here.
  
  
• Thanks to Kim Komando for this resource.
  
  Do you need to record and edit audio files? You can get audio recorder/editor software F~REE from Audacity. Go here to download it.
  
  
• Upfrontational Selling
  
  Perhaps you're an auditory learner. Here's a great 2-CD set, Upfrontational Selling, by Jim Wilson of Selling Strategies that can really help you avoid giving away your knowledge and get paid before you do that proposal. Learn how to close more sales and make more money. Buy the set here for just $37 plus $4.50 shipping:
  
  .
• Looking for a great shopping cart system? How to Pick a Shopping Cart System that Makes You Money is an ebook that explains all the important features. You can get it here, free!
  
  
• Do you like these resources? There are plenty more like these in my ebook, BUSINESS SUCCESS SECRETS: HARD-WORKING TACTICS & RESOURCES.
  37 pages, packed with ideas you can use immediately... to get more business, generate more traffic to your website and make improve your bottom line. Over 135 hyperlinks that can take you directly to a marketing resource or idea you can use right now...so you can save time and money. Beginning and advanced tactics to really make a difference in your marketing results...and you can make more sales with much less effort. Learn to save money on your advertising. Get a list of websites that would LOVE to post your articles. Get a list of websites that would LOVE to post your articles. Buy it for just $19.95 here.
  
  Read more about it or order it here.
  
  
  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
  
  4. A Little Fun
  

Thanks to Dick Cook at Norfolk Wholesale Floral for these funnies, continuing from last week's edition:

#8-20 of 20 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level of Insanity:

• Dont use any punctuation
• As often as possible, skip rather than walk.
• Ask people what s*e*x they are. Laugh hysterically after they answer.
• Specify that your drive-through order is "to go."
• Sing along at the opera.
• Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don't rhyme
• Put mosquito netting around your work area and play tropical sounds all day.
• Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood.
• Have your coworkers address you by your wrestling name, "Rock Hard."
• When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot, yelling, "Run for your lives, they're loose!"
• Tell your children over dinner. "Due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go."
• When the money comes out the ATM, scream "I won! I won!" (My personal favorite.)
• And, the final way to keep a healthy level of insanity? Send this newsletter to someone to make them smile. It's called therapy.
  

Help keep the smiles coming...please send me your marketing, PR or sales jokes. I'll be happy to give you credit and list your website! Email me.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

5. Smell the Coffee...

Thank you, Brainy Readers, for your words of sympathy and ideas for solving my neighbor's aggressive dog problem. Unfortunately, this was not the only time the dog had misbehaved and my neighbor decided not to take any more chances with her. She was an older dog with several problems, so he had her put to sleep last Wednesday.

And, of course, that means the deer are back, chomping on all of our flowers since they don't have to worry about a big bear of a Newfoundland chasing them.

I also told you awhile ago that my teenagers were going to repaint and decorate their rooms this summer. Well, the painting is done except for the doors. With a lot of supervision and assistance from my trusty paintbrush, we survived the experience and the rooms look great. Now if we can just get the shoes, clothes, toys, photos, posters, books, CDs, stereos, hair things, mirrors, makeup, artwork, and on and on, back in the rooms in some sort of order ...

Lois


Back to Top

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Published by:
Lois Carter Fay, APR
Marketing Guru, Marketing Idea Shop
411 Rainier Road, Massanutten, VA USA 22840
Voice 540.289.3840 or 800.203.8660
lcf@marketingideashop.com
http://www.marketingideashop.com

© 2004 Marketing Idea Shop. All rights reserved.

Yes! You can reprint our articles, but you need permission.
For permission to reprint articles, click here.

Please tell your friends and associates about this newsletter. It is written for anyone who wants to attract more customers, close more sales, earn more revenue, boost their bottom line, and drive their competitors crazy.

We value your privacy; we keep your email and info private.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

You can receive Brainy Tidbits each Tuesday in your email box.
Sign up in the box on the left.