Monthly Archives: August 2011

Are You Missing Out on the Power of Press Releases for Your Online Business?

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You are on the web because you want more visibility and more sales for your business, right? Well, what better way to get more visibility than notifying the media and the search engines about a new development or event related to your business? That’s what you accomplish when you write and distribute a press release.

Writing and submitting press releases has more far reaching benefits than just the exposure that you could get for your business if a reporter picks it up and does a news story on you. Press releases can really help to boost your website’s search engine rankings from all of the relevant, high page-rank websites that your release will be published on.

Each time you submit a press or media release you’ll get a ton of fresh back links pointing at your site, which makes it look more important to the search engines. In this article we’ll take a look at two different approaches to writing and submitting press releases for your business, the benefits of each approach, and you’ll get some cool resources that will help you improve the quality of your press releases.
Resources for writing your press release:
The first thing you must keep in mind when you are writing your press release is that the language can not be ‘salesy’ or promotional. A press release is not an ad for your business. Your goal is to get a reporter to find what you are writing about interesting enough to their readers or viewers that they want to do a story on your business.

There is a standard format for a press release that you must follow. You can download a press release template and use that as a framework for adding your content. Keep your target audience in mind when you are writing and keep the language spare and absolutely hype-free.

Here’s a fabulous website that has lots of resources for you if you are going to try to write your own press release:
http://www.press-release-writing.com/press-release-writing-tips-sample-press-release/

These next two resources I got from Nancy Juetten, who is an absolute publicity passionista:

This, ‘Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer,’ is a free tool that will analyze your headline and given a score according to its emotional marketing value.

http://www.aminstitute.com/headline/index.htm

HubSpot’s Press Release Grader evaluates your press release and provides a marketing effectiveness score.

http://www.pressreleasegrader.com/

Submitting a press release for media exposure for a major event or new development
If you are hosting a major event and you are looking to get media coverage, submitting a press release is the best way to accomplish tat goal. However, while the PR submission service can guarantee that your press release gets delivered, they cannot guarantee that reporters will do a story about your event.

When you are trying to get exposure for your event, submitting your press release to a well-known, reputable pr service gives your release a better chance of being picked up by reporters. The better known services have established a reputation, and reporters are more likely to run with something from prweb.com, or prnewswire.com than from one of the thousands of free press release submission websites online.

Here’s a list of specialty press release distribution resources:
http://www.yudkin.com/resources.htm

Submitting a press release for SEO purposes
If your goal is to get lots of relevant backlinks for your website, gain more exposure online and boost your website’s SEO,  then you should be submitting press releases to the free press release distribution sites on a regular basis.

These are just a few of the hundreds of free press release distribution websites:

  • prlog.com
  • freepressindex.com
  • free-press-release.com

Would you like to see how your website is currently measuring up to your competition? Type your site’s primary keyword into a search engine. Are you are the top of the search engine results page, or is your competitor there above you?

Writing and distributing press releases is a powerful way to help build a ton of high page rank back links to your site, while generating massive exposure and traffic.

Can you see now what an effective tool press releases can be? Whether you are looking for media attention for an event or if you just want a SEO boost for your website, submitting press releases can accomplish either task for you.

If after reading all about how press releases can help your business, you understand what a great benefit they could be, but you’re thinking about how many other things you have to do and how much you dislike writing, I’ve got a solution for that too–Hire me to write it for you. Shoot me an email at ebb567 {AT} gmail {DOT} com and I will send you all the details.

Do you have a success story related to media coverage that you got from submitting a press release? Please leave a comment and share your story.

 

How Productive Are You?

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One thing that you will learn as you are growing your online business is that it is important to have mentors. I consider the best mentors to be those people who you admire who have achieved the goals that you are seeking to achieve. You watch what they do and model their success. One of the people that I have watched and admired is Connie Ragen Green. I have been on her email list for awhile and she is one who likes to teach others how to do what she does so that they can get good results.

Today, Connie sent out an email inviting her subscribers to visit her blog and take her 21 Day Productivity Challenge. You know that I’m all about challenging yourself to achieve more than you thought possible. I read her post and I liked it so much and thought it so useful that I’m sharing a link with you.  I’ve already started a 30 day challenge for August, so I won’t be taking this on right now, but I will keep this in mind for later on in the year when I need to kick-start things around here.

Go take a look and give her challenge a go:

http://www.hugeprofitstinylist.com/21-day-productivity-challenge/

Even if you don’t do all 21 days, you will learn some valuable information. Already I’m going to borrow her idea and come up with a challenge of my own to help those who want to get started with online freelance writing.

Who are your mentors? What kinds of challenges are you taking on to stretch yourself? Share the details in the comments.

Book Review: Conscious Language: The Logos of Now –The Discovery, Code, and Upgrade to Our New Conscious Human Operating System

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Book Review: Conscious Language: The Logos of Now –The Discovery, Code, and Upgrade to Our New Conscious Human Operating System

By Robert Tennyson Stevens

Mastery Systems, LLC, 2007

Each of us uses words to communicate with each other to describe how we think and how we feel. We use words to make sense of our world and our place in it. In Conscious Language, Robert Tennyson Stevens explores how becoming aware of how our language—the words we choose and use in every interaction and those we speak to ourselves—shapes our thoughts, which in turn shapes our life situations. By bringing awareness to the ineffective ways that we have been using language, and learning subtle “upgrades,” we can transform our lives from living the mundane status quo to living up to our dreams, goals and desires.

Using the metaphor of a computer operating system, (our Human Operating System) Stevens teaches readers how upgrading to utilizing a more conscious language can eliminate those limiting belief systems that we have concocted with our thinking.

While the subject matter of Conscious Language is nothing less than mind blowing, it is written in a clear, easily understood style. At times I found myself laughing out loud and other times my world was rocked by the profound nature of what Stevens shares in this book.

Based on 37 years of research, study, teaching workshops and coaching groups and individuals, Conscious Language is a guide for those who understand the power of language to transform experience.

On page 71, Stevens writes:

“Language is the medium of thought. Thought is the medium of our reality. Changing our language medium “can” change our thought which, “potentially” changes our reality.”

I enjoy how Stevens bases his work on the language code of Biblical scripture without preaching or making his work unappealing to non-religious readers. While he was writing this book he was guided to this particular scripture in the book of Job 22:28,

“Thou shalt decree a thing and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.”

Conscious Language is one of several books and home study courses on conscious language that is offered by Stevens’ company called, Mastery Systems, including Sacred Body Language Translations.

I recommend this book for those on a spiritual path who are looking for clarity in the what they communicate with themselves and with others. This book will expand your awareness of how, “. . . our language will expand with our consciousness and how our consciousness will expand with our language.”

 

Stretching Yourself

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No, I have not switched this to a fitness blog. What I mean by stretching yourself is reaching beyond your comfort zone just a bit to step up to your next level of greatness. We are entering a new month and nearing the end of the third quarter of the year. It’s time once again to consult your goals and see where you can take your achievement to a higher level.

On my personal blog, evelynbourne.com, I wrote a post today about doing 30 day challenges as a way to kick your goal achievement into a higher gear. I want to invite you to read that post and then visit my Facebook page and leave a comment if you are ready to take on your own personal 30 day challenge, or if you just want to put in a supportive word for those of us who are doing our own personal challenges.

Stretching yourself is about letting go of your old routines and trying something new. If fear is rearing its head and keeping you in your place, remember that everything you want is on the other side of what you fear. One of the pre-eminent philosophers of the 19th century, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Do the thing and you will have the power.” You can’t sit back and wait until you feel more confident. It’s in the doing of what makes you quiver a bit that gives you the confidence you need.

You want me to go first? OK. This summer I slayed a personal demon by walking over a bridge. No big deal, you might say, but I have had a phobia about even driving over bridges. But this summer I was forced to just get over it, and with the help of two supportive friends I eliminated that fear from my life.

Tonight I am preparing to give my fifth speech at my Toastmasters club. I have set the goal to achieve my Competent Communicator designation this year, and this presentation marks the halfway point to that goal. Public speaking is one of those things that some people fear more than death. I am determined to hone my skills so that I can eventually add public speaking to my list of skills. I hope to speak at events and lead workshops. Each time I do a speech I can feel my confidence growing and my skills improving.

So, as this year whizzes by us all, I invite you to stretch yourself. Try something small at first to build your confidence and then start going for your big goals.  The time will pass regardless. Do you want to get to the end of another year full of regrets, or feeling flush with excitement about how much progress you have been able to make because you simply refused to quite moving forward?

Please feel free to share how you have been stretching yourself lately in the comments.