Public Relations and Reporters
As a reporter I always get a kick out of hearing about the secrets of success used by pirates of the public relations world, all the special methods and techniques implemented by these crafty folks to get their press releases published and the story about their clients into the promised land of print or television media.
What stills surprises me the most, speaking as a professional who has worked on both sides of the fence -- yes, I have a lot of experience in the land of public relations, too -- are the tactics these people use and the promises they make to their clients, offering them the moon and stars if they sign with them.
Let's face it, press coverage is golden. There's nothing more valuable than a member of the media taking you and your story and presenting it to thousands of potential clients and customers. The very fact that a reporter takes the time to put your story in print means you are respected, are offering something no one else can and that you are doing something so absolutely right that it can't be passed up -- or at least that's what the reader of said piece will believe.
Reporters can be a special breed (yes, I'm referring to myself here). We love it when someone comes to us with a great story, with all the ducks in a row, all the facts ready to go. We want the simple answer to a complicated question and we want it now. We want interesting stories about people, communities, businesses, everything and in our hectic lives, want them now, before deadline and we want people who are going to help us find those stories -- today. Plus, if someone wants my time for an interview, I want to know they're prepared to take my time.
And they have to give me respect. I'll give them that time if they give me their respect. If not, they get a lot less of my attention. It's pretty well understood in my world that people in public relations use us as their tools, devices in which to help them make more money and bring their clients a respect from the general public. Honestly, though, sometimes people have to come to me more than once before I find the importance of their story and hit me over the head a couple times and establish a relationship with me, and over time, I, as a reporter, will have your back.
But when I'm used as a tool, as is the case far too often, mostly by public relations professionals offering their clients the world, I give them very little of my time, if any, simple as that.
That said, press releases, and public relations professionals who are honest and passionate about you and your business and its story should certainly work with you to try and get you coverage. But, by no means can they guarantee you coverage. It's impossible. If someone tells you they can, walk away and buy yourself a cup of coffee with the money you saved by not going with them.
Also, press releases and press materials do not have to cost a lot of money to produce. In my opinion, people should not be getting charged $25, $50, $75, $100, $150 an hour or any other grossly over-priced amount to create a press release and send it out for you. Sure, they have the contacts, but they're not working six or eight hours on your release. It might take an hour to create, perhaps two.
Instead, go with a public relations company that charges a flat fee; a company that's going to do the same for a lot less, one that's not going to treat you or the press like tools at their disposal.
Actually, because of everything I've already explained here, it's one of the reasons I created PublicityParadise.com.
We charge a flat fee to write a press release no matter how long it takes to write, another flat fee to distribute the release online and another flat fee to distribute it manually to print, radio and television outlets. Each flat fee is only $50. At a $150 total for all three options, that price is unbeatable anywhere in the country.
Plus, I understand what reporters and members of the media want, what they're looking for and how to give it to them in their language and I work to build relationships with members of the media in your market so that over time, they will always be receptive to your needs and maybe, they'll start calling you directly for a news story like I do now with some of my sources.
To learn more, simply click on www.PublicityParadise.com.
Scott E. Rupp has more than 10 years of experience working in the media as a reporter and editor and working as the director of public relations and marketing for several companies in the United States. Based in Las Vegas, NV, www.PublicityParadise.com helps to fuel businesses growth by working with the media to spread the word about businesses, people, products and services.
How to Increase Web Traffic
To succeed on the Internet, you must learn how to increase web traffic. Without getting targeted visitors to your website, you don't stand a chance of selling your products or services to any large degree. There are a variety of tactics, tools, and resources you can use to increase web traffic. In this article, I'll share with you the specific resources I've used to increase my website traffic and generate a large annual income online. More specifically, I'll tell you some of the secret tools I've used to drive targeted web traffic.
Google Adwords
If you want to know how to increase web traffic instantly, then learn about Google Adwords. This is the most targeted form of marking on the Internet. However, it requires that you have a marketing budget and can realize a positive return on your investment. Google Adwords allow you to drive traffic to your website using a specific keyword or phrase. Your ad appears across the Internet on websites displaying relative content. When users click on your ad, they are redirected to your web site. You must pay each time a user clicks on your ad which can get expensive, especially because a click does not guarantee a sale. Therefore, before using Google Adwords, you must fully understand how to increase web traffic using online marketing techniques such as cost per click and generating a positive ROI.
Optimizing your Webpages
A much simpler method to increasing web traffic is to optimize your homepage using on-page and off-page optimization techniques. The best part of this method is that it costs nothing! Learn to employ on-page optimization techniques such as using your selected keyword phrase in your meta tags (page title, description, etc.), as the title of your page using h1 tags, and sprinkling your keyword phrase throughout your text. Lastly, you want your keyword phrase to appear as the last thing on the page. These techniques alone are sure to increase your web traffic by improving search engine results.
Off-page optimization techniques are quite simple, yet more difficult to achieve. If you want to improve your search engine results and therefore increase your web traffic, then you must build links to your web page. This can be done through a link exchange program, directory submissions, or purchasing one-way links to your website. Don't forget how to increase web traffic by combining on-page and off-page optimization techniques.
Low Budget Online Marketing Techniques
If you don't have a budget to throw at online marketing, you may want to use some tried and true marketing techniques that require little or no investment other than your time and some basic HTML programming knowledge:1. Build an opt-in list that you can market to over and over again by offering something of value in exchange for an email list.
2. Use viral marketing (referrals) to have your website visitors generate links to your website such as "email a friend".
3. Generate compelling "one-time-offers" to get users to take action and optimize these offers on their own web page so that the search engines can pick them up.
4. Focus your website copy using the WIIFM concept (what's in it for me?). By doing so, users will find your site engaging a recommend others to visit your site.
5. Develop an affiliate program and get others to generate traffic to your website by offering a commission when selling your products or giving you referrals.
6. Use testimonials one your site and see your on-site purchase rates skyrocket! Using this technique alone to increase web traffic has generated thousands of conversion that I otherwise would not have had.
These are just a few of the marketing techniques I've used over the past few years to generate serious online income. I learned these techniques and a number of others from a report I read online about web marketing techniques. I usually don't recommend someone else's products, but if you're serious about generating an online income, you should check out the Butterfly Marketing Report. It really helped me understand basic marketing techniques and apply them quickly to generate a steady monthly income. If you want to check it out, just Click Here or serch on Google for traffic generating strategies in your specific market niche.
Increasing Web Traffic by submitting your site to Web Directories
I couldn't believe how many websites offer free directories for those seeking specific information on the web. After doing a number of Google searches, I quickly found one powerful way to answer the question of how to increase web traffic - Search Directories. You can submit to a lot of web directories, but the most popular is DMOZ. Dmoz is the Internet's largest human edited directory. The drawback is that it takes a long time to get your website listed. So if you haven't already submitted your site, go to DMOZ.org to find a relevant category and submit your site.Using these techniques and a number of others, I have learned how to increase website traffic. What's great is that I do so without spending a large sum of money. The best investment you can make is to read all you can about online marketing techniques that show you how to increase web traffic and apply them.
Save Time & Money with a Web Conference Call
Technical developments in the field of communication facilitate users with multi-functional options, and among them, web based techniques are quite unique in their features. These techniques are used in almost every field including big corporate houses, distance learning programs, and medical field, etc. Web conference calls play a significant role in today's computer age, as they offer crunch solution to many problems that organizations face. The process of web conference calling involves creation of a link between the computers of participants, and thus, a virtual meeting is organized. Web conference calling offer great benefits to companies and corporate world, and these can't be ignored due to their salient features. Some of the benefits of web conference calls are discussed below:
The most significant benefit of web conference calls is that the participants can share their screens with each other for sharing various applications. By this, they are able to use the similar application as the conductor of the conference is using, and are able to transfer files and data through this. There is no extra hardware required to make web conference calls, as it just involves connectivity through Internet, and is simple to operate in using on the computer. Participants of web conference calling are connected via Internet, which enables them to transfer information, files, and conduct discussions.
Conducting a meeting or conference imparts a burden on the business as it involves a lot of expenditures including travel, infrastructure, and hotel, etc. While via web conference calls, all these expenses can be eliminated and a virtual meeting can be conducted without any travel or loss of work. It involves costs even lesser than audio conferencing, as in that case, service provider is generally charging per minute. The web conference calls provide an opportunity to each and every participant to present his or her views, slides, information, etc., while others can listen and see the presentation through their own computers. It is not limited to only one presenter; rather, multiple presenters can participate in the presentation at the same time.
The process is highly quality oriented, as there is no chances of misrepresentation of facts, for, screens are shared through the presentation. The results are very good as participants can see, listen, and share the presentation simultaneously, i.e., it can also be considered equivalent to a meeting or presentation in person. With the help of broadband services, the conference can be conducted without any interruption. Presentations, most commonly using PowerPoint, can be conducted while staying on one's own place. It is the fastest option for doing so, as the feedback can also be made immediately so that if any change is required, it could be made and the report can be finalized.
We can easily gauge that web conference calling provides the opportunity to do what the business needs in minimal time, involving minimal cost, and engaging minimal of work-force.
For more information on Conference Calling, please visit http://www.call-conference-services.com