The importance of putting news releases on your website

No Pun does a weekly analytic report every tuesday. Where I check and document all kinds of great information. Such as page visits unique visitors, which keywords are beginning to show up in search engines, where traffic is coming from and where do the visitors go.

Each week I take note of new things I have tweaked so I can try and zero in on what makes my website "sticky".

For the most part I think I have found a pretty good strategy. But just as quickly as "yesterday" I started my very first press release campaign. You can read more about this campaign here but what I have found to be interesting is that today tuesday the very next day. One of the most popular pages to my website was this first press release. I didn't even think it was all that great, besides, having this release on my site was an afterthought the main reason for the press release campaign was to submit them to online publications to help with SEO and drive traffic.

But what I have found is by adding the link "In The News" and adding even just "one" release, it became one of the most looked at pages on my site. 54 unique people looked at this release, with only 4 people exited out of the site on this page. While my most desired page "Get Started" page was viewed 19 times. My ultimate page I want to see is my thank you page, because that meant they took the time to tell me about their project they wanted to get started. At least 19 people saw my "pitch".

What I find exciting is all of the activity that simply adding this release does to the traffic on the site. There are many benefits to writing press releases, it gives your visitors something to read and experience about your company, it can ad SEO relevance and exposure through online distributions, and can even generate interest in your company by this distribution. I guess what I was waiting for a reason to say that writting a press release was a waste of time, but the out come is that there is no reason saying that, even the most minute benefit is worth the effort.

So if you do not have a press release strategy in place start one, I would like to say hire no pun and we can help you but unfortunately we do not want to offer this as a service to our clients but I feel its important that you start it for your self. If you do have any design needs or help with promoting your business with graphic design please look us up, and fill out that get started form so we can increase that top page contact on our analytics...

PLease feel free to comment and share your thoughts and experiences

No Pun In The News

Today was a good day.

I just completed a major hurdle I have been struggling with for a while. I have always been convinced that one of the most major aspects to marketing your own business is through press releases. But ever since the first time I was told I should try it I have been intimidated.

I am an artist a designer a graphic designer extraordinaire, not a journalist nor a copy writer. I am so bad at writing I often misspelled graphite as a kid. I chuck it up to my attention is solely devoted to the aesthetics of what I am doing instead of what it is I am doing.

Since the recession hit the studio and my workload was diminished to nothing I realized that I needed to do for my business what all my past clients did for theirs. Ie:

Website "check"

Google Ads "check"

Eblast Campaign "check"

Blogging and Social Media "check"

Press Release Now I am proud to say "check"

Once I get momentum back again I will then move into

Banner Ads

Print Ads

TV spots

Tradeshows

But I have to admit this press release concept was the most difficult to struggle with.

I can't say I have it in the bag, but I have at least an idea of how I can try and start it and keep up with it.

I created a "In The News" section to the website where all the articles will be published first.

Then I submit the articles to five online pr publication

Free

http://www.articlemaniac.com

http://www.theopenpress.com

http://www.pr-inside.com

Was free for the first time but don't know about future ones

http://www.newswiretoday.com

$6

http://www.onlineprnews.com/

The good once I will use prnewswire.com

What I found interesting is that as I was building this section and trying to finalize my first press release I kept thinking oh I need to design this better or I need to incorporate that to make this better, so much that I was beginning to get overwhelmed and was seeing that I was stopping myself from pushing through.

I don't even think that the first release I did was all that "hot" I have tons of more ideas of more that I think could be better, in fact I think this one could be done even better, But I realized I was suffering from analysis paralysis. SO I just put my blinders on and pushed through.

I realized now after doing it that once you submit a release you have to wait until it gets "approved" and I am not sure if my release will get approved, But I hope I will learn what it will take to get them approved in the process.

The key lesson learned through this process, is to be diligent with writing the releases then submitting them. It needs to be apart of my everyday operations and I hope now that I have journeyed through the process from concept to completion the hard part is over and it will all be down hill from here...

If you would like to see my in the news section and or the first article please visit

http://www.nopun.com/news/

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Viola just like that pr-inside has included my release

1 hours, 24 minutes and 20 seconds.. form the moment it was submitted

http://www.pr-inside.com/no-pun-intended-a-website-design-studio-helps-small-organizations-achieve-a-large-scale-look-r1500053.htm

and just 20 minutes later it was added to Online PR Newswire which was the $6 one

http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/7292-1254072936-no-pun-intended-a-website-design-studio-helps-small-organizations-achieve-a-large-scale-look.html

I did a search for "website design" which is my most desired key phrase for my company, and at this moment of about 2 hours after submitting my posting is 4th from the top on the google "news" results page complete with my companies logo and link to the article wo hoo!

I took the plunge!

I rewrote my press release to a much better level, a level I believe was good enough to put some money into.

So I submitted my article through PR newswire for Around $500.

Pr Newswire service was able to distribute my release to every "physical" newsroom and magazine in the NY metro area, and about 40 something specific people I was able to target based on demographic information and types of publications they where. with in minutes I am beginning to see the article show up in google alerts from online publications that appear to get their news feeds directly from PR newswire, So I am beginning to see this coverage immediately without the need of approval. Now I am keeping my fingers crossed to be contacted by a major publication or to be published by a major publication. My fingers are crossed but I am not holding my breathe.

In addition, I am told that PR newswire will give me some cool visibility reports which I can't wait to see.

Also I just got a "pitch list" of the contact information and publications for all the people that where in my "custom" list so I can follow up in a day or two to see if they would be interested in having me as an expert they could quote for a future article.

cool

I hope that the benefits of this service prove to be worth the money to do again...

--

3 days after the release was published with PR newswire.

I got the report on how many places the release was published, which was a lot, over 200 online publications published it.

The only thing I noticed which was weird was the locations of these articles I paid for the NY metro area and not one of them where from the NY Metro Area, they where nationally and mostly small towns.

I did get traffic from these releases. about 40 a day. which is about average for my site, so no real improvement there, I didn't receive any leads or calls based in the release. Which in this economy I guess there is no real surprise there...

One thing I did notice that was a great improvement was my "Alexa" rating I went from a rating of 1,370,415 to 1,364,339 which has been the most dramatic increase and change I have ever seen.

I have a google alert email sent for the search term website design and never one saw this release come up through this alert, which was personally frustrating, because I really wanted to see that happen.

But the search term for website design in Googles News section, the article stayed at the top for 2 days and now on the 3rd day is starting to fall in rankings.

So unless I get a lead that brings in enough to cover this cost I don't think I will be doing the PR newswire approach again. But at least now I know. The other concept of writing the releases and submitting to the cheap 5 will be the better route. That route is easier on the budget and packs almost as much SEO and traffic building as this $500 solution has.

--

4 or 5 days after pr newswire launch

I keep checking the positioning on a google search in the news section and I feel to the 6 position but I have now gone back up to the 4th position.

Which is interesting I was suspecting I would have fallen off the first page by now.

Still no leads or increase in web traffic though...

Like always I encourage you to share your experiences and comments to this post...

Thanks for reading.

How to write a Press release for when you get a new client project

I am gearing up for launching a press release campaign, and one of my biggest struggles is once I start I want to keep a consistent flow of articles going out into the world about nopun.com.

With that goal comes the challenge of what do you write about.

The previous blog describes how to write them, how to distribute them and gives some basic ideas on what to write about http://noel4nopun.blogspot.com/2009/08/writing-your-press-release-for-seo.html

But I recently read a press release about a design firm who was hired by a moving company to do their website.

Which I found exciting being that nopun.com designs for any industry but we seem to have some momentum in designing professional websites for moving and storage companies.

As I was reading I was getting a bit jealous that we weren't hired for such a project, but as soon as I got over my jealousy I realized this was a great example of a press release for the design company and (the client) the moving and storage company.

you can read the article here

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-20-2009/0005080934&EDATE=

But now lets try and analyize the structure so we might be able to apply this press release structure to how next client we sign on that can be beneficial to both us and the new client.

First off they announce that the design firm is a new member of the team, which I have often thought about, your graphic design firm you hire is not a typical vendor similar to your copy guy, printer or web hosting company.

We are more like the PR professional, copy writer and your executive advertising directors.

As graphic designers learn about your business and start developing assets, we learn so much about what makes your business work we often feel like we could sell your products and service. So seeing us as a new member of the team is a "must have" ingredient in writing this announcing new client type of press release.

Next we have the part that is beneficial to the design firm, announce who they are and what their primary purpose is making sure you spell out the keyword that would help in your search engine ranking.

Next have a positive quote from the "new client" describing how pumped they are to be working with the firm and hopefully the reason why they chose this firm.

I recall a new moving company that hired us who simply said, I went with you guys because you have experience in the industry and I don't have to bring you up to snuff!

Up to snuff!?

What a great quote I have wanted to use that in ads and direct mail pieces since it was said.

Now its back to the deisgn firm who can expand either on their concept of how they approach doing this type of project or other projects that they do as well.

Then the benefits of the new client, by doing this project the "new client" will be able to do this then that and even this which they haven't been able to do before.

Then go into detail about the new client

This press release is about the design firm but why not use this platform to cross promote the new client, they hired you, so why not give them a little something back in return.

For example when nopun was hired to do a motion graphics project for a new product offering from pr newswire.

http://noel4nopun.blogspot.com/2009/08/social-media-metrics.html

I plastered this all over the place, or every place I could.

This blog, Twitter, facebook, linked in, and basically talked about it to everyone I came in contact with.

So expand on the client and what they offer.

But what I like best about this press release is the cross promoting they do for the client, they don't simply link to their corporate site, they created a separate link for their charities page, a wikipedia page, careers, how to book (the clients most desired call to action), reviews, and supplies.

So where as I am still jealous that nopun.com wasn't hired for this gig, I admire who they have hired and see that they will be in good hands.

And gives me a great example of how I can write a genuinely well written press release for any new client we may get that will benefit both us and the new client.

Blogs, PR Campaigns, Eblast Social Media Networking, oh yeah and the work. Got a minute?

I first started this blogging campaign with a little concept and a determination to maintain a writing schedule that is consistent.

I didn't want to start blogging articles then forget about it for a few months then come back.

It was and still is important to me to keep the blog schedule going.

I feel that I am on the right path, and have really enjoyed doing them.

Its a way for me to stay on top of the industry and stay abreast of any developments or news as a web developer I should be aware of.

Now that I have a system in place to handle this blog campaign I am looking forward to fixing up my email campaigns, which aren't as consistent as the blog campaign. Then I hope to start a PR campaign, along with podcast and video cast and social media updates...

It sounds like a lot of work, and seems like there is a full time job for more than one person to handle these campaigns. But I am hoping to mechanize the whole process into one steady flow that addresses each campaign.

I feel that this work is vital to the future success of nopun.com

My catch phrase since the recession has been do for ourselves what we do for our clients.

And this campaign is definitely an example of what is needed.

I often acknowledge that this is a difficult thing to manage and maintain while doing actual client work, and its true but its no different than any of the challenges my clients face. Along with their day to day operations (the work) they have to think about and sign off and supply content and feedback on all of these marketing campaigns.

Lets face it having your own business is no easy task. But hopefully the more we do it the easier it will be and hope that the success from these efforts pave the way for a brighter more fruitful future.

Website for your home business

The recession has forced many people to financial refuge by launching that pet project or "muze" project. The type of business that won't make you quit your job, but will bring in some revenue if it takes off.

The first place launch your home based business is through launching a website.

Websites come in many shapes and sizes. you could first start by launching a blog similar to this one use the templates that are available and go for it. You can then step it up a bit with customizing a word press theme/blog to appear more custom.

Even with custom websites you can get a fully branded concept for a low price if you trust the designer you hire and let them do their work, the cost go up with the multiple rounds of revisions and tweaks. But if you let the designer have creative freedom you will usually get work you or the designer never expected...

Aside from the first option you will need to consider maintenance. At no pun we try and tie web maintenance in with a weekly session with google analytics we look at the traffic and other key data and make suggestions to try and increase this data. This type of weekly maintenance helps keep your site fresh. By hiring an outside firm to do this maintenance enables you to focus on the logistical side of your business, instead of wasting your time trying to learn HTMl and CSS

Leave it to the pro's!

Next you need to get a hosting account, this is different from registering your domain name, once you register your domain name you need to point that name to a space on the internet. For most if not all sites don't spend more than $10 bucks a month.

Be sure that even if you hire a designer to do the work for you, you personally should set the domain name and the ftp yourself so you have ownership of this vital information, Its ok to entrust your information with your designer so they can hook up the connections for you.

Graphics, This is the most fun part designing a website for your home business, this is where you will put a face to your concept. Do not this is the most important aspect of the project being this is the first impressions your customers will have on your company, so make sure you do it right. But try not to get to "personal" with what the designer shows you, trust their instinct and launch the site, if something isn't working it will show in your analytic. I personally believe, I want a site that performs well, more than personal preference of how I want something to look.

The last element "aside from promoting your website" is content, content is king, and is usually the needed asset that prevents many great website design projects from launching. This content has to come from you, its your business its your passion, designers like nopun.com offer copy writing services as a way to earn more money on a website design project, but even when we get the opportunity to do the writing, we usually need something to start with. So bite the bullet and pull it together, don't simply push it off or say just grab content from your competitors (that' not even legal).

Once you have all of your elements and assets in order you will be in a better position to hire a designer or even attempt to setting your site up yourself.

Google luck and we hope to see you on the other side of this recession!

For more reading on the pros and cons on using templates check this article out

innovative web design development

What makes a website design innovative?

How about a site that not only ranks well in google but speaks to your customers as well.

A stunning website that is chock-full O desired keywords, without seeming to be hitting the website reader over the head, making it obvious that the content they are ready was written more for search engines instead of the reader.

Also a website design that not only looks outstanding but is w3.org compliant and looks the same no matter which browser or operating system the visitor is using.

Adding the "wow" factor to your site is apart of making your website innovative but so is the download time, making sure that the content loads first and parts of the "wow" factor is loaded before the visitor leaves, remember the average time anyone will ever spend on your site is about 2 minutes!

And lastly don't look like everyone else, be innovative and try and break away from the norm, at the same time keeping familiarity, if users are used to seeing elements in a certain way don't innovate there, innovate with your design not on the usability...

Writing your press release for SEO

It is no surprise that I have a Company Crush on Creare Group from the UK

Specifically because of their PR campaign and their focus on promoting their studio.

One of their secret weapons is the fact that they consistently launch a press release through http://www.officialwire.com practically every other day, that gets indexed by Google every time.

I have been trying to add a press release project to my marketing campaign for No Pun for a while now, but wasn't too sure where to start or on how to do it.

But Wouldn't you know it, the Creare Group has adding a two part series to their YouTube Channel further proving how cool these guys are...

You can check it out here

Now its time for action and try and get this project going.

First step in writing Press Release is to develop Topics

http://www.newzapp.co.uk/resource-hub/article-WritingEnewsletters.html

be an expert

feature guest writers

summarise or re-visit old content

feature case studies

discuss hot topics

want to know more?

Which can be Company Related or Industry Related

Secondly is "Newsworthy"

Current Events Related to Your company's

ie:Promotions, Products and Services

or

Current Affairs,

Industry Relevant News

And explain how you could provide solutions to these situations

following these points you can write or research

including what you want to achieve

--

First thing to develop is the title and your headline

1) attention grabbing and concise (Short and snappy)

2) Keep it relevant (If you promise something in your title, deliver it in the body)

3) Then keep it key word rich (Especially in the title, and the main body)

--

Structure the press release with the 5w's

1w) Who 2w) What 3w) Where 4w) When & 5w) Why

Then give an overview of your product and services and how it can be beneficial to your customers

Make sure it is punchy and avoid technical jargon that people outside your industry wouldn't understand with out sounding patronizing

--

Quotes and Statistics (Be sure that the statistics are from relevant sources not opinions from blogs)

Create a human element to the release that people can relate to

Quotes taken from specialist in the industry

--

Incorporating SEO

Take your two most desired Keywords

title = 1x

headline = if fits

lead in paragraph = 1x preferably at the beginning of the sentence

body = 5x for about 3 paragraphs with about 2 to 5 sentences per paragraph

second key phrase at least 2x in the

Be sure to add tags to the key words (make sure the places you submit your releases to allow tags)

Distributing your press releases

How to distribute your press releases online to help your SEO listings

Now that you have written your press releases with SEO in mind

Be sure that the sites you submit your site to have these 3 elements.

1) A high page rank

2) Relevant Categories

3) The ability to include links

first you should distribute to Google News

Then submit to Digg

Here is a list I (nopun.com) have been gathering to help get a start with online sites to submit to.

This first one is a paid service but is kinda the authority in press release submissions.

What I like about this is that they cover print in addition to online. It cost but if it pays off then why not?

Next are a few that I want to look into but don't have any details as of yet...

http://www.articlemaniac.com

http://www.prnewswire.com/

http://www.marketwire.com/

prurgent.com

http://www.pr-inside.com/

http://www.onlineprnews.com/

http://www.newswiretoday.com/

http://bx.businessweek.com/

http://www.officialwire.com/

http://www.prminds.com/

http://www.theopenpress.com/

http://www.live-pr.com/en/

http://taragana.com/

http://www.marketwire.com

www.prnine.com

here is a list of over 70 sites !

http://naldzgraphics.net/resources/70-recommended-sites-to-promote-your-design-related-articles/

Then update your facebook, linked in and twitter status with links to these articles

Thanks Creare Group this should give me some time to start writing my releases