SEO Hosting Blog

Press releases still serve a very important PR and marketing purpose. Whether you distribute them online or email them to reporters and bloggers, the goal is the same—to get your news read by as many people as possible.

In order to achieve this goal, you need to write better press releases, because the sad truth is most press releases just suck. Here are 4 ways you can write better press releases.

1. Find a unique angle—The average reporter is bombarded with press releases all day long. They’re probably receiving press releases from your competitors too. That means it’s crucial that you do something to make your press release stand out from the crowd. The same old, tired, straightforward press release about a bland topic no one outside of your company cares about just won’t cut it. You need to find a fresh approach to your stories to make them more relevant and more compelling.
2. Don’t write to the template—Nearly every press release looks the exact same. The headlines are the same, the opening paragraphs are the same, the buzzwords are the same, and the dull, lifeless quotes are the same. If you want to distribute a press release that gets noticed, you have to steer clear of the paint-by-numbers style of press release writing.
3. Know thy audience—Who is going to be reading your press release? Reporters? Buyers? Investors? Affiliates? Customers? Know your audience, and write your news in a way that appeals to their main interests.
4. Edit. Edit. Edit.—Too many press releases are filled with fluff. That is, they contain irrelevant, useless information that does nothing but boost the word count. Your readers, no matter who they are, are pressed for time. They just need the main points of your story quickly and clearly. Anything that doesn’t need to be in the press release should be cut out. Get rid of the buzzwords and industry jargon while you’re at it.

What press release writing tips would you add to this list? Share them by leaving a comment below.

Thanks to the SEO press release, a lot of people seem to have forgotten that press releases can actually be sent to reporters with the hope of getting media coverage for your company. For those of us who actually still send press releases to the media, it’s inevitable to run into situations where no one bites on your story. Understanding why your press releases are unsuccessful is important for helping you write better ones in the future.

Here are 4 possible reasons that a press release might not get picked up.

1. The headline failed to grab attention—Journalists are bombarded with press releases on a daily basis. The dirty little secret is that most press releases don’t even get read—they end up in the trash bin (virtual or real). Why is that? It’s because a lot of journalists glance at the headline to decide whether or not to continue reading. If the headline isn’t compelling, your story probably won’t get read. You really need to focus your efforts on writing clear, powerful headlines that grab the reader’s interest and force them to check out the rest of your press release.
2. It reads like an advertisement—You’re supposed to be sharing actual news, not just a thinly-veiled advertisement of your products and services. Unfortunately, the number of press releases that read like advertisements only seems to have increased thanks to shady online press release distribution websites.
3. Nobody outside of your company cares about the news—Most of the stuff that companies try to pass off as news is so trivial and boring that I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at how pointless the press release is. For the most part, no one cares if you just launched a new blog, hired a new employee, or updated something minor on your website. Be honest with yourself when writing your press releases, asking “Who really cares?” If you don’t see anyone outside of your company giving a hoot about the story, best to bury it.
4. You sent it to the wrong people—Just like in all other aspects of marketing, the quality of your contact list matters quite a bit. If you don’t send your press releases to the reporters who would actually be interested in covering your story, you’re just wasting your time. Build a list of highly targeted reporters, and make sure you keep it updated as reporters are constantly being shifted in their assignments.

What are some other common reasons for ineffective press releases? Share your thoughts below by leaving a comment.

Savvy marketers are now using ebooks for an array of purposes—from building their email lists by offering a free ebook in exchange for a signup to making money by selling the ebook straight up. Not surprisingly, many have taken notice and have tried writing their own ebooks. Maybe you’re thinking about publishing an ebook.

Before you get started on this big project, you should know that not all ebooks are successful. Those stories you hear about people raking in the big bucks from their ebooks are more of the exception rather than the rule.

Here are 4 reasons that you might want to reconsider writing an ebook.

1. You don’t have a unique approach—If your ebook doesn’t offer people something different that they can’t get anywhere else, how can you expect people to want it? It’s just like anything else. You have to be different and give people something they haven’t seen before.
2. You’re not an expert on the subject—This should go without saying, but you need to write your ebook on a topic you’ve been studying for years. You should have an impressive understanding of the topic, and you should present your own ideas rather than just mimicking what everyone else has already said.
3. You don’t have a plan for it—What are you going to do with your ebook? Just because you publish it doesn’t mean people will be lining up to download it. What’s your goal? To make money? To build your email list? To gain notoriety? Figure out your goals, and create a strategy for promoting your ebook that will help you achieve them.
4. You’re not willing to put in the time to do it right—Writing an ebook is going to take time, that is, if you do it properly. There’s a lot of researching, outlining, writing, editing, proofreading, formatting, designing, and promoting that goes into launching a successful ebook. If you don’t want to put in the time and effort into doing it right, don’t do it at all. You’ll just end up publishing a useless ebook that only serves to tarnish your reputation.

Have you ever written an ebook? Did it produce the results you’d hoped for?

Over the past several years as a copywriter, I’ve come across a few prospects who wanted to hire me to write fake testimonials for their marketing materials. I refused, but I’ve now seen plenty of forged testimonials written by others, so I’ve gotten pretty good at sniffing out phony testimonials.

Here are 4 ways to spot a fake testimonial.

1. There isn’t a last name—In most cases, fake testimonials are attributed to names like “Joe G. from TX” or “Tina S. from NY.” No last names are used, presumably to prevent anyone from trying to verify the legitimacy of the testimonials. You’ll also notice that fake testimonials often don’t have a city, just a state.
2. There isn’t a website link—If the company sells products or services to businesses, the testimonials should have links back to the individual’s business website. All of the testimonials on my website include a link to the client’s company website. It shows customers that my testimonials are in fact real.
3. No accompanying photo or video—You should always be wary of testimonials that don’t have a photo or video of the individual leaving the remarks. Written testimonials without picture or video are the least trustworthy of all testimonials.
4. It sounds like marketing speak—Obviously, testimonials will say positive things about the company. But there’s a fine line between glowing remarks from a customer and obvious marketing speak you find in a fake testimonial. If the testimonial contains phrases the company uses in its marketing or just feels like a written advertisement, it very well could be a fake.

Have you ever seen any fake testimonials?

Getting coverage on blogs has become an essential part of PR strategy for businesses of all sizes. From getting bloggers to review your products to landing a guest posting opportunity, there are all sorts of ways you can leverage other blogs to increase brand exposure.

But before you can get the coverage you desire, you have to pitch the blogger. You need to email the blogger and have your pitch stand out from all the others he or she is surely receiving on a daily basis. And doing that means avoiding these 5 common mistakes for pitching bloggers.

1. Sending them a generic email—Not personalizing your pitch is an almost surefire way to get your email deleted instantly. Why would any blogger want to respond to an email that you’re obviously sending out to every other blogger in the industry? You need to make the blogger feel special. Make them feel like you’re offering them a really good opportunity. Call the blogger by name. Mention some tidbits about their blog, letting them know you’re familiar with their work. This can go a long way to getting your pitch noticed.
2. Not researching their blog—Spend a little time learning about the blog before pitching the blogger. You need to make sure your story or guest blogging pitch is actually a good fit for the blog and is something the audience will respond to.
3. Giving too much information—The goal of your pitch is to get the blogger to respond and write you back. You don’t have to share every detail with them in your opening email. Keep your pitch short and to the point. If you can’t get your pitch across in about 2 paragraphs, you’re doing it wrong.
4. Sending the same pitch over and over—Following up on your pitch is one thing. It’s okay to email the blogger a few days later to make sure they received your email, but emailing the same pitch over and over is a huge no-no. Doing so is annoying and the quickest way to get on a blogger’s blacklist.
5. Pitching before creating a relationship—Who would you be likelier to listen to: someone you’ve never heard of or someone who you have a relationship with? Obviously, the latter. Before sending your pitch and asking for a favor, spend time connecting with the blogger. You can do this by interacting in the comments, talking to them on Twitter and Facebook, linking to their posts from your blog, etc.

Are there any other mistakes to avoid when pitching bloggers? Leave a comment and let us know!