PR or not PR: There is NO question!

I know...I have broken the unwritten rule of blogging. I have missed updating my blog. I can hear the blog gods rumbling disapproval in the distance of the internet. I hear the teller at the bank and the clerk at the grocery chastising me for my lack of respect of my blogging duties. Or...maybe not. I mean, all of those people cant really know about my blog right? I am sure they are not sitting by their computer every night just waiting for me to log my blog! And that is just the point that I want to discuss. PR is vital to the success of any marketing strategy. That is not the “giving out your business card” or “placing an ad” approach to marketing. PR is a whole different and often confused hybrid animal. It’s a zebra with spots instead of stripes and very few people know how to properly work the PR machine.

But the point is not whether to promote using PR as a part of your marketing arsenal. The point is not even where to promote because there are tons of free PR sites. Later in the blog, I will give you my top 10 list of free PR listing sites! (See...you have to keep reading for that.) PRweb and MassMediaDistribution have both gotten good paid results for me personally. The point is that you should promote using PR and that you have to do it correctly to achieve results.

Big Question: What is the wrong way?
Well, I am glad you asked! Remember, PR is geared toward media exposure. So, trying to sell yourself or your services will not work. The media can smell a sell job a mile away and will not touch anything you send. Instead, try writing about:

a success story,
place you have broken into the market,
a service that you provide that no one else does,
a new way you are influencing your market,
a break through in society because of your product.

In short, if you can show them the news, they will find you! There are many templates on the web to show you have to write a great press release. But, remember....the key is that it HAS to be press worthy! Sure, you promote yourself and show them it was your press release, but you are not selling the press. Their job is not to be sold. You are selling them a story. To do that, you must excite their news sense and allow them to spread the news of your existence like it is there idea!

Ok.... Top 10 Free PR sites (in no order):

I-Newswire
PR.com
ClickPress
PR Buzz
USPRwire
UKPRwire
PressBox
PRLeap
24/7press
The Open Press


Next Blog: Link Building! (Probably....I get to change my mind!).

Quote of the Blog: “I mean look at Madonna, there's a poster of her all over the world when she has a new album and I don't think they're any good. But there's a lot of PR.” ----Victoria Jackson

Now....if you are trying to figure out who Victoria Jackson is, then I have one more link for you....www.google.com!

If you have questions, comments, or emotional outburst....well, that is why I am here!

Diana, Marketing Goddess

The Recipe of Marketing

Welcome from the Marketing Goddess!

In the course of a week, I meet so many people who fall into either one of two categories: desperate or disillusioned. Those desperate for help are seeking the one saving grace that will save their business or bring them much needed attention from potential customers. On the other side, those who are disillusioned have tried marketing, by their own hand or inexperienced professional, and believe marketing is all smoke and mirrors. I can assure you that good marketing can bring a business into the light and great marketing can catapult it into success. As sure as I am there is not a successful business on the face of the planet that can survive without good marketing (this opinion is starting to bare fruit by the number of Fortune companies that are making CEOs of Marketing professionals), I am equally as sure of one other thing. Marketing is a carefully applied, well structured science with built in tweak times that allow for adjustment based on your audience and product reaction.

Let me be more clear…a company that puts a marketing plan into effect and leaves it to function without guidance or careful supervision is doomed. Even the best marketing strategy should be adjusted for competition analysis, market fluctuations, audience reaction, and business partnerships. If this is starting to sound like a pain that would make a toothache fun, then you are missing the point. By all mean, Marketing should be where the party is at! It is where all the crazy “what ifs” and magic “Ah Ha!” moment take place. But, those moments can not supersede the planning, execution, and revision of a strong marketing strategy. Enter stage left your marketing consultant. This is the person who should guide you through the process. They should make you a partner and make sure that you understand and agree with the approach. I have on many occasions had to make a strong case to a customer about why we are approaching a market from a certain viewpoint, but any good marketing consultant will be ready with answers to these questions and willing to hear your ideas.

Ok…so what questions do you ask a marketing consultant before you hire them? Here’s a starter list:

• What has provided the best results in your portfolio? What has provided the worst results? What did you learn from each?
• Considering the scope of the project, where would they suggest your marketing start?
• Describe a time when your marketing opinion conflicted with your customers marketing opinion? What did you do?
• What marketing theories guide you the most? (Hint: Mine is always to use details. Old marketing theorem says: “Lie with generalities, tell the truth with details!”)
• At what point do you consider a marketing initiative completed? (Review answer above!)
• What type of marketing do you consider yourself best? (web, email, PR, direct mail…on and on)
• References past work with results

While I am not suggesting that you contact the FBI and get blood tests to make sure the person you hire is a competent marketer, I am suggesting that you get involved in their thought processes and understand their approach to marketing. After all, you are trusting the growth of your company to this person. You must be willing to believe that they know what they are talking about, have the ability to plan and execute a strong market approach, and know when it is absolutely correct to go back and reevaluate the plan. The only way to know for sure is to look behind the smoke and mirrors for the science of the master plan.


Quote of the Post: “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.”—Red Adair

If you want answers, then please ask the questions!~~Diana

The Dynamic Duo: SEO and Sales Copywriting

Hello All,

My first official blog! Its all so liberating. Alright…on with business.
Whenever someone contacts me about writing sales copy for their website, I always ask the same question: why don’t you want SEO copy too? After a painful silence, I start to explain my question because so few people understand the true nature of strong SEO writing. People fall into two very distinct categories. Those who want SEO writing without strong sales copy and those who want strong sales copy without a SEO focus. The question that I ponder so often is WHY?

All SEO experts (of which I can claim a moderate amount of knowledge and experience) and web designers worth the air they breath will tell you that getting picked up by search engines and increasing ranking is the name of the game. But marketers across the world will unite in screaming the value of sales text that provides a high ROI rate. Who is right? Please trust the Goddess on this one (after all, have I ever lied to you before??)…….you have to have BOTH!
While it is true that getting people to your website is important, this is really the childhood argument about “the chicken or the egg!” Don’t get caught in that circular logic. If a professional tells you that only one form of writing is important for your website, then they are likely revealing to you their own beliefs and abilities. Although I strongly advocate listening to the professional that you hire to help you create your marketing strategy and on-line presence, never do so blindly! Ask questions. Find reasons. Compare it with what you know….see…..hear….understand.

Things to Remember to Help you Find the Best Writer:

• A good SEO writer should be able to provide you with rankings for keywords to use in the writing of your text.
• When searching for a Sales Copywriter, look for someone with examples of their work. They wont be offended. They are used to being asked to supply proof. You should walk away from their writing thinking…..”I want to buy that!”
• Realize that Sales Copywriting for the web is WAY different than marketing sales copywriting! I mean…TONS of difference.
• Now…the important part…look for someone for your website that can do both of these things. They should have URLs with results that they can show you.

Wow…time flies when you are having fun! Plus, I am a Gemini…so I am ALL ABOUT THE COMMUNICATION!

Quote for today: “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”–Henry David Thoreau

Ask questions if you want answers!~~Diana