Press releases are the most frequently overlooked marketing tactic available to the small business owner.  Press releases are easy to write, free to distribute and get picked up by Google faster than the average blog.  They carry a certain amount of legitimacy because they are written to inform rather than persuade.  They are the perfect vehicle for announcing something special about your business; an acquisition or partnership, a new process that improves clients satisfaction or an upcoming event that ties into some other seasonal or holiday celebration. 

Much has been distributed about the format and structure of a well written press release, so I will leave that to the PR experts.  The rest of this article is devoted to using press releases as part of your marketing strategy.  Here are some things you should think about: 

What innovation do you want to use a press release for? 

Press releases are for newsworthy events that inform people about compelling enhancements that you now offer.  Think about something that your current clients just rave about.  Whatever you want people to know about that would get them to contact you quickly is what you use a press release for.  The key is to promote a real benefit, not a feature.  A benefit is something that provides value to the customer.  An innovation is something that changes how consumers do things.  An example of this is wireless communications.  If you now have a website that makes booking restaurant reservations online easier, that’s news! 

How do you distribute your press release? 

There are several very good, free, sites that distribute press releases.  A few that I use are www.PRLog.com, www.PRWeb.com, www.PRurgent.com, or www.Free-Press-Release.com.  Each of these sites provides articles on how to write press releases and offers templates to construct your release.  Find your business category and read a few releases to get the flavor of what’s out there.  Remember, not everyone is good at this, so be critical of what you read.  If you find one you like, copy the URL and paste it into Google’s search box to see how fast it got picked up.  This is a real eye-opener! 

What’s the best time to submit a press release? 

The best time to publish a release is during a period when something in the general news on a similar subject is getting airtime.  Articles that highlight issues with large businesses can be very useful.  If you own a computer business and you plan to expand your repair service, you might have used the recent closure of bigger computer stores like CompUSA or Circuit City to promote services that these big guys no longer provide.  Conversely, try not to launch your release during a major national or world event.  The news wires will flock to the major news events and your submission may get missed. 

What’s the best way to write content for a press release? 

Remember, a press release is a news item.  It needs to be objective.  It should inform and relate to newsworthy subjects.  You are writing this for news people, not your customers.  Releases that are filled with sales speak will get rejected.  Try to find an objective or unbiased authority to quote, that supports the focus of your release.  A good way to do this is to check local and national newspapers for relevant articles or any number of online article feed sources. Two sites that offer great business article content are www.smallbusinessdelivered.com and www.smallbusinessbrief.com. 

How much contact information should go in a press release? 

Once you’ve educated the public on your innovation or major news event, make sure you give them as many ways to contact you.  Main office numbers, websites, emails and social links are all appropriate.  If your release is written well and you attach your news to a timely market-wide event, you will get calls.  The second release I wrote on my ‘Ask Steve’ Q&A service got 364 hits to my website! 

How frequently should you submit press releases? 

Unlike blogs which get posted daily, a press release is for special announcements.    If you only publish once a year or when you opened your business, you are not getting the benefit of this mass publication tool.  Most businesses don’t use them enough but be careful not to use them top frequently.  Unless your business changes monthly, you will run out of meaningful, newsworthy topics to submit.  

A general rule of thumb is to consider press releases once a quarter.  This frequency will keep the news sources from looking at you with less importance.  One press release every 2-3 months is aggressive but doable. Too many press releases will dilute your credibility.  You can, of course, use these releases in others ways!  You can mail hard copies to your existing clients; you can post them on your own website on a ‘news page’, and you can put them in the main body of your upcoming newsletter.  Don’t forget, you can also fax your press release to local papers.  Unless there’s tons of AP content coming through, you’ll probably get picked up. 

Focus on quality and repurposing rather than quantity. 

Don’t expect press release sites to do your work- Proof, Proof, Proof! 

Don’t submit anything until you proof your work.  Many free PR sites offer templates you can fill in.  Some have spell check and others don’t.  I recommend writing it in Word and doing the spell and grammar checking before you paste it into the site template.  You might event consider writing your release and putting it aside for a day.  Go back and read it the next day to see if it still sounds good before you publish it.  If you reference another published news article to support your release, make sure you give credit to the source.  If another news source has to check your work, they will probably pass on your article..

Don’t let a major development in your business go unnoticed!  Write a press release today.  You’ll be glad you did!

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If you need help applying this or any other growth strategy to your business, I offer a free coaching session so you can learn what to focus on and where to begin building a better business.  Click on http://www.growthsourcecoaching.com/Business-Growth-Discovery-Session.html and request this complementary session.  You’ll be glad you did!

Originally posted 2011-10-17 11:43:17. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Ever thought about why you started your business?  Was it a family operation and you were the next in line to take the helm?  Or maybe the idea that starting your empire was burning inside you as a young person and you were encouraged to follow your dreams?  Maybe it started as a hobby and some well meaning family member talked you into turning ‘your spare time love’ into a going concern.  Whatever the reason, you now have the ultimate responsibility for producing your own paycheck, possibly a payroll and hopefully the profit needed to develop your business into something that will help you achieve your future financial goals. 

So was it a good business decision?  All you wanted was the opportunity to do it your way, right?  Just a little slice of that American dream you heard so much about.  No one told you about all the things you would have to know and do? (government regulations, IRS rules, accounting details and employee problems to say nothing of competition and market changes).  It’s enough to make you want to go back to work for someone else- well maybe not! 

Seventy percent of all jobs in this country are created by small businesses.  And yet, over 60% of small businesses go out of business within 4 years of operation.  By year 5, the closure rate has climbed to 85%!  Can you image what it’s like now after 3 years of recessionary cloud cover!

 The fact is the reason most people start or own their own businesses is contrary to what it takes to run a successful business.  Want to see how this works?  Ask yourself 3 questions:  I call it the ‘Why’ factor.

1.  Why did you decide to start this business?

2.  Why do you run this business the way you do?

3.  Why should customers buy what you have to sell?

Answers could vary widely but should fall into 2 groups; inside answers and outside answers.

Inside answers are responses directed towards your internal needs; your income, your idea, your business, your way, etc.  Answers like these suggest that your main reason for having a business is largely self-serving.  As long as you’re happy, the rest of the world can take it or leave it.  I was going to say ‘eat cake’ but that expression may not be recognizable to most people today.

Outside answers suggest your motives are directed towards something larger and more important than yourself; filling a consumer need, providing for an under-served segment of the population or following a passion to make other’s lives easier or more convenient.  Having a desire to support something greater than you can be a powerful motivator and commitment to succeed.

Take a look at some examples:

 Question #1:  Why did you decide to start this business?

Inside answer:  I couldn’t find a job and I needed to make some money.

Outside answer:  My friends and acquaintances keep asking me to provide (X) because they say they can’t find anyone who can do this.

Observation:  There is certainly more to evaluating the long term success of a business idea or your own personal skill at doing what others can’t find anywhere else.  If you charged your friends the going rate for your service, would they still ask?  Is the market viable; meaning is there enough of a market to build a business on?  Finally, do you like providing this thing you do to such an extent that you could do it all the time, everyday, all year long?

Question #2:   Why do you run this business the way you do?

Inside answer:  It’s convenient for me to operate this way and it doesn’t get in the way of my daily routine.

Outside answer:  I started quite differently but I kept listening to my customers and they told me what was best for them.

Observation:  As a small business owner, your number 1 role is to grow your new found business until it meets or exceeds all the goals you have for it- revenue, income, size, staff, facility, client count, equity value so you can eventually sell it.  Unless you want part time results, you’ll need to think about how to make your routine work with your business.  Good customers will be patient but not if they think you are not committed to their needs.

Question #3:  Why should customers buy what you have to sell?

Inside answer:  Everyone needs this.  I should have no trouble getting everyone I know to buy this!

Outside answer:  I’ve looked at how my competition delivers this service and I can add lots of value to my service so people will see the difference.

Observation:  This is the big question many new business owners never think about.  If you doubt me, ask someone at your next networking function why their product is different than other providers and see what response you get.  Consulmers have more choices about where they get products and services from than ever before so you must be able to demonstrate (and communicate) your value to prospective customers immediately.

Now try this yourself.  See what your responses are to these questions.  The answers will tell you allot about your motives and your eventual success.  To be sure, there are always exceptions to every trend, rule or best practice.  Are you the rare exception or are you one of the 60%+ who will be working for someone else within 4 years of your new venture’s birth?

Here’s my point.  Find a very successful business owner and you’re sure to find out that the thing that drove their success was the passion, the desire or the need to serve someone else.  If you keep this thought in mind and go back and ask yourself the three questions above, how different would the answers be?

Food for thought.  Cake, if you’re feeling nostalgic!

Additional resources to help you with this topic:

If you are on your way in your business but are concerned about what might be missing in your approach and want to find out from a professional coach who can give you some objective, candid feedback about what to do, visit my site at http://www.growthsourcecoaching.com/Need-Answers-Ask-Steve.html and ask your question.  I’ll give you some insights and ideas that will help you make better decisions and be able to move forward.

Originally posted 2011-10-03 09:04:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

If you own a small business, networking should be a key component of your overall marketing strategy. Networking is the best way to build relationships with people in your community at a personal level. It’s the only way to convey who you are in real life; something that will earn a tremendous amount of trust, confidence and credibility if done properly.

Networking can be very intimidating for some business owners. It requires being able to walk into rooms full of people you don’t know and feel comfort approaching these folks with a welcoming smile and an engaging hand shake. It also takes time and some money to participate in the myriad of events, socials, grand-openings, workshops, presentations and lunches that are available each week to business owners who are already working long hours just to run the businesses they have.

Whether you are a networking maven, someone who doesn’t think it will generate business or someone who is terrified of the prospect of going to these functions, it’s important to recognize that marketing strategies have shifted from traditional media and relentless advertising to more social interaction. For the majority of businesses trying to create a brand or a market presence, social interaction is the fastest way to get the word out about `who’ you are and `what’ you do.

As a small business advisor, the most common complaint I hear about networking is the low payout for the time and money invested. Make no mistake, networking can be a time-consuming endeavor and if not approached with a plan, can be reduced to eating too much fatty food and having coffee with people you’ll never see again. So how do you make the most from your networking efforts?

If you’ve had hit-and-miss results with networking, here are some tips you can use to create a strategy to get greater results from your networking efforts:

1. Decide what you want from networking:
Expectations play a huge role in the results you get from working the room. Decide whether you are looking for customers or wanting to make connections with potential referral partners. Referral partners are business owners who focus on similar customer targets.

Originally posted 2009-09-18 11:15:00. Republished by Blog Post Promoter