Using Article Submission To Create Publicity - Part One

Article submission is a great way to create publicity and to attract traffic to your website. If you can write (and write well, as will be assumed here) this is one of the more popular 'free' marketing techniques that might just work for you.

The General Idea

Here is how article submission works. You write an article covering a specific area of a broader general interest category. You then submit your article to any number of the hundreds of websites that accept these articles. The goal here is two-fold:

a. to create backlinks to your website, raising your 'popularity ranking' in the eyes of the search engine robots AND

b. to position yourself as an expert in your field of expertise.

Let's look briefly at each . . .

Site Ranking

Your website will be ranked by a number of ever-changing factors in relationship to a search term entered by an Internet surfer. Search engine optimization is a subject that will be covered in later posts. However, article submission can have some effect on your search engine ranking. I have been working with a number of life coaches for some time so I will use this as our example.

Typing in the word 'coach' as the search term on Google brings 10,500,000 hits. Yahoo does one better on this one, bringing in 173,000,000 hits. That is one hundred seventy three MILLION hits. In neither case does either engine bring up a life coach at all on that all-important first page.

Now think about it. When YOU surf the Internet, do you look much farther than maybe the first page or two? Most likely not. There are many life coaches who use this article submission as a component of their marketing strategy. So, why aren't any life coaches appearing on that first page? Over and over I hear comments like "Gee, I spent hours and hours posting articles and nothing has happened." Why is this so?

Let's change the search term. Type in the words "life coach". Google now brings 21,800,000 hits. No life coaches on the first page. Type in the search term life coach on Yahoo and you will get 55,600,000 hits. One life coach's website will appear. One single site on the first page. Now, do you know why this ONE person's website appears on this all-important first page? The answer is simple. And it may surprise you . . .

The Article Submission Process

To submit articles you must first find the article submission sites. You then register with the individual article sites. You will be required to fill out a form for each site. Most sites will then send you back a confirmation link, which you must visit to activate your account. After this has been accomplished, you may submit articles, subject to the submission guidelines of the particular site. Depending on the number of sites you register with, this can take from several hours to several days.

Once registered, you will need to visit each site and submit your article. This is where it gets really time intensive, as you will need to fill out a form for each article, paste the article, provide keywords, author information and bio, links and submit the article.

This is AS time consuming, if not MORE time consuming than registering for these sites.

Once the article is submitted it is 'up for review'. Most sites review each and every article submitted. Depending on the relative size of the site, getting your article approved can take from a day to months or even longer.

The Advantages

Submitting articles, as mentioned, has two advantages; it creates back-links to your site and helps to position you as an expert in your field.

The back-link is one of the criteria in determining how well your web site is ranked in relation to all the other sites out there. You will be competing with, in the example above, perhaps 10's of millions of other sites for that coveted high ranking. But of course back-links are not the only criteria in ranking your site. There are many other factors, (again, far too many to list here) which will contribute to the optimization of your site for the search engines.

Time constraints notwithstanding, you will most likely want to use the article submission idea, but don't expect too much in the way of quick results. The article submission process is a bit like dropping pebbles into a bucket of water. At first, it seems as though nothing is happening. After a time though, the pebbles begin to replace the water in the bucket. Eventually, the bucket will be filled with pebbles and no water will remain. Think of this as a process, but it is certainly not as the be-all and end all to search engine Nirvana. Time and effort not withstanding, it is an extremely effective tool in the free marketing arsenal.

Positioning yourself as an expert in your field should be the PRIMARY goal here. Article sites go to great lengths to get the top rankings and keep abreast of changes in search engine criteria. Rely on them to get the ranking for your ARTICLES. You should concentrate on constant submission and on the content of the articles submitted.

The Content

I could write a book on this subject. Someday I may.

Let us use websites to illustrate my next point regarding content. Take a few moments and sit down and just look at your competitor's websites. Get a feel for the content. Notice anything?

Too much information! Plain and simple. I preach and preach and continually preach this to my clients. If you get nothing from these words, please understand this: Every single word, every single sentence, every single paragraph gives your potential customer or client the opportunity to say "No". Every single word, every single sentence and every single paragraph should be carefully designed to do just one thing:

Create curiosity. For it is curiosity that will lead to ACTION.

Yes, yes I know. We want to tell our potential customers all about ourselves. We want them to know what our business, practice or book can do for them. We want them to fully understand why they should consider us as opposed to the competition. And so we give them everything. And when we give them everything, they make a decision BASED on that information. No, no, no. . . WRONG!

Web site designers are not marketers. They are web site designers. They are wonderful people and many of my personal friends design websites for a living. But they are not marketers.

An effective site or article will create curiosity. Period.

This curiosity will lead to action on the part of the potential buyer, client or editor who may be looking at your article or web site. The action should be to request more information or to sign up for a newsletter or any other action you desire. In this case, the article links to your web site. The 'closing' should be done in person. Unless you are marketing a $9.95 booklet or a very low priced product or service, don't try to get potential buyers to take action immediately based on the information on the site or in your article! A $9.95 booklet is an impulse buy. It is an impulsive, hedonic response. If you are marketing a larger ticket item it will not be an impulse buy. The action component of the sales process should always be accomplished IN CYBERSPACE-PERSON!

A Quick Word About Pictures

Please, please be careful with this! Believe it or not, a picture is one of the primary reasons people will make the dreaded snap NO decision.

Real estate agents, for example, especially insist on using a picture in their marketing materials. But if you happen to look like Aunt Bessie who used to smother the client with unwanted kisses years ago, you could lose a potential buyer solely for this reason. You may look too professional. You may look too homespun. The older client may perceive you to be too inexperienced. The younger client may see you as an old fogy. You have no control over this but, either way, you COULD lose. When in doubt, do not use a picture, unless you have a very good reason for doing so.

I could go on and on about this, but I will stop before I get carried away. I am getting off topic.

Information

Your article should provide great information. This is how you position yourself as an expert. But it should not give ALL the information in regards to the topic. Again, it should be carefully crafted to create enough curiosity to get them to click on the link to your site. The article must contain SUBTLE prompts to action. But, remember this: The article may be perfectly written to cause that person to follow up and click through to your site.

The site provides further information. However, again, your site MUST also 'leave them hanging'. This creates further curious ACTION. That action should be to pick up the phone. Sign up for a class. Buy a product or service.

The Viral Factor

There is another factor here that must be considered. When you submit an article to an article site, you must agree to allow others to pick the article from the site and use YOUR article in THEIR publications. This is another primary purpose of these types of sites - to provide content.

This end user might be someone’s website. It could be someone’s newsletter. It may end up in an ezine or magazine. Now, anyone who uses your article (theoretically) CANNOT edit it and must also PRINT YOUR BIO AND THE LINK BACK TO YOUR WEBSITE. This means that the end user is effectively advertising for YOU!

If your article appears in a large company newsletter, ezine or magazine, think of all the free press you will gain! If your article ends up on another entity's website, and that website is highly ranked and gets tons of traffic, you will ride along on THEIR coattails!

Be aware of this when penning your articles. You are potentially writing for many different markets when submitting articles to Internet sites. This presents a wonderful opportunity that, until recent years, has never existed before in history. In years gone by, you would need to seek out a newspaper or a magazine or a publisher of some physical product if you wished to present your articles to the world. This is no longer necessary, as the Internet can now serve as your publishing platform.

The Specifics

There is a tremendous amount of misinformation floating around out there in regards to using article submission as a marketing tool. How many sites? How many articles? Keyword optimization - duplication penalties - categories - site ranking - submission software - timing, on and on and on. Rather than attempt to answer all these questions in a this single post, (which is getting quite long) I will provide the specific answers to all these questions in the next installment of this series.

Leia Mais…

Using Internet Press Releases To Create Free Publicity

Last week we covered getting free publicity through press releases to traditional media (newspaper, magazines, radio, tv). This system is headed up by 'gatekeepers' whose responsibility it is to filter out all releases not meeting their very strict criteria. I also demonstrated how to meet the guidelines, resulting in (hopefully) getting your release in front of that media's audience. However there is another form of release that can create a massive amount of free publicity. This system is potentially much more powerful and can result in your message going directly to the public, bypassing the gatekeepers totally.

Internet Press Releases

Man, what a wonderful idea! This IS the ticket. It is one of my favorite tools for generating publicity. I love this, love this, love this. Why?

It CAN be free or at the very least low cost.

But the real advantage lies in the fact that there are few gatekeepers. Sending a press release to an editor means that you will have to jump through many hoops to get that release past the gatekeeper. It will have to be (remember?) current, newsworthy, geared to the reader, etc etc. It will have to be well written and timely. Even assuming it meets these criteria, it will still most likely end up in the trashcan.

In the web-based version of a press release, many of these hurdles disappear! Or at the very least, they are relaxed. Real bona fide news is defined a little differently out there in cyberspace. However, keep in mind that the goal here is not simply to put out a press release – the goal is to put out a press release that people will want to read. ‘Bob Jones Stubs Big Toe’ will not be read. Make your release worthy of the reader’s time.

The Internet press release is a fantastic way to potentially deliver your press release to hundreds of thousands of industry professionals and to millions upon millions of individual consumers DIRECTLY. In this version of the press release, you may be a bit more ‘sales-y’. A little looser. Brag a little even, if so inclined and if it helps position you.

Most importantly, search engines WILL pick up on these releases, if placed on the correct sites. Several will put you right on the first page of Google, if structured properly. For all the above reasons, the Internet press release is an entirely different ballgame.

A Word About Keywords

When posting anything to any form of Internet site, be it a press release, an article, a blog entry or whatever, you simply must use the correct keywords. Keywords are what get your release, article or blog entry indexed properly on the search engines. Keyword research is absolutely vital and basic to all else you do in this regard.

Remember the rules for traditional press releases? There are some simple rules here also. Keep these three rules firmly in mind:

(A). It is the headline of your release that will cause the reader (or the editor) to read further.

(B). It is the body of the piece that will position you.

(C). It is in your contact information block or signature line that the reader will be shown how to reach you.

Your keyword(s) must be in the title at least once. Your keyword(s) must be in the body in a ratio approaching 2%. The keyword need not be in your signature, but certainly your email and website address need to be here.

So, which keywords do you want to use for your piece?

The first step is to determine what your piece is all about. Let us say you are writing a press release about your new book of cream puff recipes. Here three keywords are glaringly evident: cream puff, recipes, and cookbook. However, this is not always so evident. There are two resources I suggest you use to determine your strategy.

The first resource you might consider using is ‘Google Suggests’. The address is: http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&complete=1

Type in each of your three keywords. Google will provide you some recommendations here on what others may be using and how many times these keywords are being used.

The second resource is ‘Google Adwords’. The address is: https://adwords.google.com. You will need a Google account to access this page.

Here Google will reveal to you how many searches were done on that keyword or keyword phrase during a specific period of time. Google will also show you what the competition for that word might be; in other words, how many other sites are using that word to drive potential readers to THEIR sites. This will give you an idea regarding 'interest level' for that particular word.

Step By Step

Now again, I continue to stress that this blog is a down and dirty set of instructions. That being said, I could write an entire book on the subject of Internet press releases alone. We don’t have time for that, so here is the down and dirty, get-right-to-the-point version. . .

1. Avoid most of the free press release sites. Some are out to convert you to being a paid customer. Some of them are most likely generating a list. Some – not all. Some, as mentioned, will get you right to the first page of Internet search engines in a matter of hours for your particular keyword phrase. I provide a list of what I consider to be valid Internet press release sites to members of the Free Publicity Focus Group upon request.

2. Consider using PRWeb as your PRIMARY paid press release resource, if you are going to use any paid site. Their plans are very inexpensive (by comparison) and they have great distribution (No, I am in no way associated with PRWeb). They are simply one of the best out there.

3. Be aware of keywords. If you are not, get familiar with keyword strategy, get familiar with the concept immediately, do it now, do it right now. Keyword relevance when writing an Internet press release cannot be stressed strongly enough.

4. In this version of the release, use the word ‘cream puff’ (your keywords) many more times than you do in the newspaper, radio or tv version of your release, but DON’T try to trick the search engines by using it in every sentence. This will get you penalized and you will create the opposite effect. 2% - 3% density should work well. (count the total words in the release and then count the number of times you use the word ‘cream puff’. Divide the smaller number by the larger number to get the percentage).

5. Again, remember: Anybody can read the release now. You are speaking both to the gatekeepers of traditional media outlets who search the web for releases, and you are speaking directly to consumers. Brag a little, but don’t over-do it. The rules are a little looser here, but this is not a free-for-all.

I have a little joke I relate to my clients. I tell them that the editor of the newspaper will most likely find your release on PRWeb, while the other copy of your release is lying crumpled up in the editor’s trashcan. This is because a release site can sometimes be searched far more easily than the email inbox.

Is one method better than another? This depends upon your particular situation and your marketing plan (you DO have a marketing plan, don’t you? If not, don’t even bother attempting to write a press release at this point. Stop here and spend the time to develop a realistic and workable marketing plan before considering even one more step. This cannot be overemphasized).

And Finally . . .

Press releases are a component of the publicity leg of your marketing plan. They will create awareness - that is the function. They will not produce sales. However they can drive traffic to your website or cause someone to call you. This is where the 'selling' is done. Press releases are to a marketing plan what a single tire is to a car. It is but one part among hundreds, but it is a vital part.

Finally, press releases are a great way to get the word out and to create free publicity. The only downside to this is in the number of releases you will need to send out to traditional media. Assuming a national campaign, you will need to send hundreds if not thousands of releases. You will need to find out WHERE the release goes in that organization and you will need to find this person or department's email address, mailing address or perhaps fax number. Expect to spend several weeks, if not months in this process. You can buy directories containing this information. However a good one will run nearly $1000.

Spend the time necessary to thoroughly educate yourself regarding press release submission. In regards to this topic, there are hundred of resource sites on the Internet, but only a few good ones. Set aside a few hours and start your research.

Next week I intend to kick it up a notch . . . .

Leia Mais…

Creating Free Publicity Through Media Resources - Press Releases

Last week we covered trust and credibility. These are not free publicity tools but rather form the base upon which all other marketing and publicity must be built. For the next few weeks we will discuss using press releases to create free publicity.

A press release is a great way to get 'free' exposure in newspapers, radio, tv, magazines and on the Internet. Common sense will tell you that this offers you and your business the opportunity to reach literally millions of people for no money whatsoever. Those who have not used press releases in the past get very excited at the prospect of being able to accomplish this. And it IS a fantastic tool. But anything this good has to have a catch attached, does it not? Well, yes. Several catches, in fact.

Press releases are a magnificent tool. In a perfect world we would simply send a release and the media would run the thing. However, we do not live in a perfect world.

The press release is very highly regarded as a marketing tool. Small wonder! If a newspaper or magazine runs the thing it's like getting free advertising. You can certainly see the value in this. Unfortunately so can a zillion other people. That's catch one.

Catch two is even more important. The press release was never designed to be a marketing tool. It was designed to be a tool to be utilized to inform the media of news happenings.

I spent years as an editor. I have a unique perspective. I also write reviews and receive tons of these things every day. From my side of the desk, the picture is not so pretty. And so I will take you on a little journey through the mind of the receiver. This will give you a bit of an unfair advantage when competing with those zillions who are also attempting to create free publicity.

Spam

Though press releases are a fantastic source of gaining free publicity, you must understand that the gatekeepers have a tendency to treat press releases the same way we treat spam. Their mailboxes are flooded with them!

I never cease to be amazed by the number of people I speak with who believe that all one need do is send out the release and it is printed! Nothing could be further from the truth.

Forget this fairy tale now. When I send out a press release to targeted media for either myself or my clients, I expect a good return. But I am nothing if not realistic. When EMAILING a press release, the return will be just about the same return as using a targeted direct mail program. Somewhere between 1/2 to 2 %.

But let's suppose for the purposes of example that a quarter page ad in my local paper costs $200. I send this emailed release to my local paper and the press release runs.

I have just gained $200.00 in free exposure.

Now suppose that I, using my list, send this to say, 300 newspapers in my state. A modest 2% decide to run the release.

I have just gained $1,200.00 in free exposure.

Now suppose that I send this email to perhaps 1000 newspapers all across the country. Again, a very modest 2% make the decision to run the release.

I have just gained $4,000.00 in free exposure.

Those 2% (20 newspapers) may each have 50,000 readers. That is one million people.

(This of course assumes you have a list of contact info for 1000 media contacts and that their preferred method is email. Some prefer fax, others snail mail). The ratio of releases actually read goes up with faxed or mailed releases and can be greatly increased if you can create a relationship with the gatekeeper.

Now there are two categories of press releases you may use. First, there is the traditional press release that is sent to print media (newspapers, magazines etc) radio and tv. The other is electronic release media (Internet). The method used for each is decidedly different. I will start by covering traditional resources.

Traditional Resources

You begin by writing the press release. You then send this release to the proper department of the media. The release is received and then is acted upon. When sending any form of release please, at all times, remember the following 3 simple rules:

1. The gatekeeper does not know you.

2. The gatekeeper does not care about the success of your business, book or practice.

3. The gatekeeper cares about one thing, and one thing only in regards to press releases. The gatekeeper cares about . . .

The reader. The listener. Or the watcher. Period.

Above all else, every press release must meet three criteria in the mind of the gatekeeper. The release must be newsworthy. It must be tied to the local coverage area. And it must be of value to the local reader, listener or watcher.

I will use a book for our example. The same holds true for a business, a practice or a product.

Suppose you have written a book about how to bake creampuffs. You send a nice press release to the editor of the XYZ Times. The heading of your press release says:

Author Releases Book Of Creampuff Recipes

Unless the editor is your cousin, I can nearly guarantee you won’t get far with this. There are wars going on in the world. There is unemployment in the world. There is re-zoning of districts going on in the newspaper’s hometown. Who cares about creampuffs? Not the editor.

But suppose you live in a town where there is a creampuff factory. Now your headline reads:

LOCAL Author Releases Book Of Creampuff Recipes

Now you might get a little attention. This would certainly be of value to local readers, would it not?

Now suppose that, in this little town, there is a Creampuff Festival held every year. Now our headline reads:

Local Author Releases Book Of Creampuff Recipes
Just In Time For Annual Creampuff Festival

Now we are getting somewhere.

And finally, lets imagine that one spring day there is an explosion at the local creampuff factory. Now our most perfect headline reads:

Local Author Releases Book Of Creampuff Recipes
Learn to Avoid The Dangers of Improperly Baked Creampuffs

Now, at last, we are there, man!

I know, I know. Seems hopeless to try to get a press release printed for a book of creampuff recipes, does it not? But think for a moment -

How can this be tied in locally and become of value to the editor’s readers?

* Everyone it seems is trying to lose weight. Do you have low-calorie creampuff recipes in the book, thereby offering the opportunity to eat a creampuff without guilt?

* Are people bored with the same old creampuffs? Do you have cutting-edge, modern innovative recipes in your book that would be of value to those who might be bored?

* Can you figure out a way to show others how to give out creampuffs as a gift? As a reward?

* Is there a National Creampuff Day?

* Is there a local Creampuff Club? A baking club?

* Did creampuffs somehow play a role in Martha Stewart going to jail?

You get the idea. Be creative.

'Cookie Cutter' Releases

The body of the press release should be completely in your own words. There are many books available and all types and styles of pre-packaged ideas you might use to develop your release, but I would quite simply advise against using them for two reasons.

a. If you use them, your press release will end up sounding like all the other press releases the editor receives. He will know what you have done. And

b. YOU are completely PASSIONATE about your subject matter. You can bring this passion to the release you write. I firmly believe everyone should write their own releases in their own words, for it is this PASSION you wish to convey to the editor and to the reader.

I have sat and read through hundreds of releases for new books, being on the receiving end. Release after release starts in precisely the same way:

‘Brilliant new book reveals . . . ‘

‘Stunning new novel details . . .’

‘Gripping new fiction tells the story of . . . ‘

As an editor, I simply trash them without so much as a glance at the content. They are cookie cutter. Boring. Unimaginative. If the writer is so unimaginative with the press release, what must the book be like?

Now certainly you will want to use some of these fine resources to help you develop your own, especially if you have not written a press release in the past. Just don’t copy any of them or resort to using a formula or anything of the kind. I remember receiving one that began:

‘I have written a book . . .’

That one caught my attention. I actually ended up buying the thing. It has since become one of my favorite books.

I have spent 30 long years learning to market effectively. You might expect me to have seen nearly everything but I still learn something nearly every day. I am one of the smoothest (this is known as a shameless plug in the industry), most polished and well-spoken technologically advanced marketers you’ve ever met. But, guess what I have discovered. . .?

Too much ‘smooth’ makes one appear ‘slick’. These days I have begun to shy away from appearing too polished. Believe it or not, I now hand-write thank you notes, something no self-respecting marketer will even consider these days. I buckle down and do this because this methodology has the distinct advantage of setting me apart from my competition.

I also never use auto-responders on any web site, as I insist that each and every email be handled and answered individually. Why do I go to all that trouble, effectively taking a technological step backwards?

Here We Go Again

People Do Business With People They Trust. Inherent in that statement is the fact that I must appear to be a real person. People will recognize an auto-response and will know that I am simply collecting names. I am not collecting names. I am building personal relationships. Editors especially will spot a pre-formulated press release from several miles away. They get literally thousands of them.

Sorry. Got off track again...

Formatting

You must also understand that editors and those who work in media have developed their own rules and regulations in regards to what is considered ‘acceptable’ communication. This holds true within any type of closed organization. You must learn not only WHAT these people want to hear – you must also learn HOW they wish to hear it.

You do not have to be precise. You must be close. Believe it or not, a few mistakes in your release CAN build some trust. That being said, there are some general and very simple rules for creating a press release that will be noticed.

1. A good headline – This is, above all things, the most important part of the release, for it is the headline that will get your release noticed or simply canned. Avoid sensationalism (GREAT NEW! – FANTASTIC – EXCITING! This will surely get your release forwarded to media Siberia.

2. Keep it short – don’t send 5 pages. Don't ramble. Try to keep it to 1 or 2 pages at most.

3. Keep it readable – Use Times New Roman and double space.

4. Use the proper format – Not all editors wish to receive a press release by email. As a matter of fact, only the smaller percentage prefers this. Some prefer a faxed release, others snail mail. Call first and talk to the assistant. Do not ask to talk to the editor or reviewer or director. He or she is quite busy.

5. Include the six key elements – Who, what, where, when, why, how. Miss any of these and your release will most likely be canned.

6. Send it to the right contact person – Not all releases should be sent to the editor or director. There may be a managing editor, news editor, city desk or news desk contact who is responsible for releases. Call first and be certain to get it to the right person the first time or it will certainly be lost forever.

7. When emailing a release, always put the release in the body of the email – NEVER send it as an attachment. Most gatekeepers will not open an attachment. Attachment equates to potential virus.

8. When emailing a release, put the primary message in the subject line of the email. This allows the receiver to know immediately what information this release contains. You will also want to identify this as a release. The format I use is ‘Free Training Class For Local Widget Developers – Press Release'

9. NEVER USE ALL CAPS OR EXCLAMATION POINTS!!! This is equivalent to screaming in computerese. You want to avoid this.

10. Send your release 4 weeks before the hoped for release date. This is especially important when announcing an event.

In closing this lesson I will say this again – and I urge you to listen. The purpose of a press release is to release news – not to obtain free advertising. Do not put out a release that starts with ‘XYZ To Hold Giant Widget Sale!’ This is advertising. Save your paper and ink.

‘Bob Jones Takes The Helm At XYZ Widgets’ is acceptable news.

HOT TIP:

Simply google ‘press release format’ to further explore acceptable formats for media press releases.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or requests for clarification or additional information.

Next week we will discuss an even more lucrative opportunity - Internet press releases.

Leia Mais…

Creating Publicity That Sells

Before I begin I would like to offer my apologies. Much like the 'how-to' books I write, this 'how-to' blog will be short, sweet and very much to the point. My goal here is to give you as much as possible, using as few words as possible. I am not here to sell you anything. I am here to give you the facts.

There is an entire economy and culture that has sprung up built upon 'those who know' selling 'information' and 'informational products' to 'those who don't know'. This is sad. For it takes but a moment of reading through the first few pages of this information to come to the conclusion that a great many of these people have never once actually done what they profess to know so much about. This is a terrible way to begin this blog and I did agonize over it, but I felt it necessary to say. I am saddened by the fact that this is sold as the 'truth' and is bought by those who innocently believe it.

And so I intend to simply give the facts away here. I will start at the most basic of levels and build as we go along. Some of this may be perceived as being a bit simplistic. However a firm foundation will be necessary to your ultimate success. This first post is an attempt to lay that foundation.

Once we have built this foundation, I will attempt to offer you some of the most creative, relatively unknown techniques out there regarding how to use these concepts in ways used by some extremely successful, 'out of the box' thinkers. In every case these will be people who actually DO this every day.

I would like to start by defining the word 'publicity'.

Publicity creates awareness about you and or your company. Publicity is not necessarily ALWAYS purposely created (look at Britney Spears), though this is what we are going to attempt to learn here. It goes without saying that publicity can be positive or negative. Publicity, as a general rule, is therefore not completely controllable. However from this point onward, we will define publicity as:

Your attempt to create, through various means, a positive impression in the minds of your prospective clients or customers.

Publicity is, in a word, awareness. Publicity is not marketing. Publicity is not advertising, Publicity and advertising are but two legs of the beast known as marketing.

As mentioned, publicity is not completely controllable. However, unlike publicity, advertising IS controllable. You create an advertising message and then place the message in the proper media. All aspects of an advertisement are completely controllable by you. However you control only the message, not the response TO the message.

The First 'Rule' Of Marketing

I have stated over and over again that you must completely and thoroughly understand the first rule of marketing. That rule is this:

People Only Do Business With People They Trust.

Ultimately, in every message you send to your potential client, whether publicity or advertising, your first and foremost goal must be to create that all important trust.

You can take classes in publicity. You can take classes in advertising. You cannot take classes in trust building.

Wnen I am asked to offer an opinion on a client's press release or ad or letter, my first reading of the piece is to look for the number of trust building statements. I then analyze the overall feel and positioning of the piece from the trust building perspective.

Now the other side of this coin is that you must not SUBTRACT FROM any trust those clients might already hold in you. Therefore, the third step in this process is to look for those trust destroyers. Only then do I look at the actual mechanics being used.

This is so vital, so basic that it should not need to be verbalized. However, I am somewhat appalled at the messages being put forth by well meaning people in both their publicity and advertising campaigns.

Take a moment today to look at what you are using in your campaigns from this perspective. Are you creating trust? Or are you potentially destroying trust?

Trust can be built or destroyed consciously or unconsciously. Though this goes to the very heart of the matter, I simply do not have the space to cover this completely here, so I will simply recommend you read my recent article 'Creating Trust - Using Words That Sell' located here

http://www.freepublicitygroup.com/articlecreatingtrust.html

Anyone can buy an ad and control the content. This does not create mistrust, but Joe Public knows anyone can do this. Very few can create positive publicity. If Joe Public sees someone on the front page of his local newspaper, he believes that person has EARNED the right to be there.

Therefore, publicity creates trust far more effectively than advertising.

All that being said, we shall start at the very beginning by asking the most basic of questions:

How does one create publicity that creates trust?

This is accomplished quite simply by creating a trust building message - a brand - and using that brand consistently. This brand, this message, is the core of the message you wish to present to the world. This is at the very center of everything else you will produce in your marketing and publicity campaigns, from press releases to advertisements, from radio interviews to brochures and everything in between. Each and every single sentence or paragraph you produce, from sell sheet to website must contain, contribute to or relate to this branding message in some way.

Please do not go off half-cocked without accomplishing this most basic of steps. Learning to do this can mean the difference between your success or your failure. Any person, from interviewer to web site visitor should be able to perceive this message in the first three seconds of exposure to you and your material. This is precisely how long you have to get that message across. About three seconds.

This is often a subconscious process. In that three seconds you must catch the eye or ear and create enough curiousity to keep that person interested enough to continue listening to your message. How do you know if you have accomplished this? By your response rate. Response rates can be difficult to track in some cases, easy in others.

A good example of an easy method is Google Analytics. This is a free tool anyone can use to get great information on the response rate of a particular page or pages on a website. On my sites for example, it will tell me how many people hit the index page - how long they stayed there - and whether they moved to another page on my site or simply clicked away. How can this information be used? Is this important?

You bet it is. Initially I had a rather high 'bounce' rate i.e. people who hit the page, stayed for a few seconds, and then clicked away. This told me my message was not giving them what they wanted. What they wanted was trust. And so I then rewrote, rewrote and again rewrote that page until I now have a situation where X% of people hit the page, X% stay for X minutes, then click through to read an article or two, then move to the purchase page, tell their friends about the site or leave the site.

Eventually we began to test by changing just specific WORDS only. In one case, we changed a single word and increased our ongoing click thru rate by 9%. I use this same theory with press release headings and ad taglines. Sometimes one word has the power to increase your trust factor dramatically. This past week has been spent developing a branding statement for a good friend and life coach. A full week of phone conversations and emails, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth to find those all important 4 or 5 words that will say it all in just a few seconds.

Always remember: Marketing your product, be it a business, a book or a practice is not about you. It is about your response. What you believe may be creating trust may actually be destroying that trust in the minds of your BUYERS. Response rates will tell you how you are faring in the minds of those clients, regardless of your own personal preferences.

Response ratios allow you to fine tune your message for the greatest response. Other forms of publicity and advertising are somewhat harder to track, but it can be done to a degree.

Over the next three weeks I will tear apart the press release creation process and will demonstrate using the branding statement and the words that will get that editors attention in the header of your release. I am starting with press releases in that nowhere is the 'lack of trust factor' more clearly illustrated than in the fine art of getting a press release printed. In the meantime, here is your 'homework'. . .

Develop a statement that you will use the next time someone asks you:

'What is your (business, book, practice) all about?"

This statement must be less than 3 seconds long.

For instance, in my case, my answer is 'I show people how to build massive marketing campaigns for little or no money'.

Yours should be much the same.

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