Dan Janal | Publicity and PR Leads Blog

Is Old Media still relevant in today’s social media world in terms of getting publicity that helps you make sales?

You bet.

While it is great to get mentioned on blogs and social media sites, Old Media or Mainstream Media is still the place to be to get results.
Here are 5 reasons to include Old Media in your publicity and marketing campaigns:

1.     Credibility. If the New York Times likes your product or service, you get instant credibility. I could name 100 other mainstream publications that you’d love to get into so your product, book or service gets the ringing endorsement of a trusted source.
2.     Visibility. Newspapers, TV and radio still reach millions of people every day. While we all like to get some of our news online, you can’t ignore the impact of traditional media sites and their incredible reach into mainstream America.
3.     Reprintability. Let’s face it. Nothing stands out in marketing kit or sales kit like a reprint from a newspaper or magazine. It demands to be great and it smacks of credibility. I’m seeing more and more websites feature logos of old media companies that have written about those authors and small businesses. That should tell you something: people are influenced and impressed by Old Media.
4.     Links to your site. Nearly all content from nearly all Old Media is printed on the web. Oftentimes, those articles have links to your websites, or are otherwise indexed by Google and other search engines. So if someone is searching for your type of business, they very well may learn about your from a reference in the Old Media on their web site. That’s a great introduction. In fact, I had one client who was named one of the top 20 entrepreneurs of the year by Entrepreneur magazine. When you search her name, the first listing is the link to Entrepreneur, not her own website. Can you imagine how much confidence and credibility she just received? Anyone searching for her can see that she has the implied endorsement of a top magazine! That’s a great way to start a conversation.
5.     Ego. Would you rather say that someone Tweeted about you or that the Boston Globe printed a review of your book and included a picture of the cover? I rest my case.

None of this discussion even hints that new media is not worthwhile. It truly is. However, the torch has not been passed from one generation of news hounds to the next – at least not yet. Good publicity practices should include Old Media as well as New Media so you and your clients get the most publicity possible.

One tactic that I’ve found to be indispensible in getting my clients links from media sites is to distribute press releases. Many top media sites will print press releases word-for-word so you control the message. The benefits of doing this include getting links to your site, creating screen shots of your press release on famous sites to build your credibility and the visibility of reaching the audiences of those publications.

For a free report on how to get your message printed in top tier media websites, go to
http://www.prleadsplus.com/toptiermedia/
The Los Angeles Times called Dan Janal “an Internet marketing expert” who helps professionals build their businesses with publicity and Internet marketing tactics. To learn more about Dan’s coaching and consulting services, go to www.PRLEADSPLUS.com.

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This month, we had a large number of alumni clients re-start their PR LEADS subscriptions. While we’ve always gotten new clients during this recession, and we  always had a few alumni resume, this month clearly showed a great trend.

Why? Many reasons, internal and external, with lessons that will help you grow your businesses:

1. This newsletter. I started this a few weeks ago after no having any consistent communication with my clients. Why did I stop writing the newsletter several years ago? Maybe I got lazy. Maybe I got complacent. Both are not good attributes. Perhaps just putting my name in front of people reminded people that they should get back on board. Maybe you should do some kind of communication with your clients.
2. The economy is improving. Stock market is up. Consumer confidence is up. GM is repaying loans faster than anyone thought possible. Home buying is up. Sure there are rough spots out there and the new economy has changed some business models, but things are definitely looking up.
3. Market consistently. There’s always a new gimmick and people grab at it. But 100 years of research has shown that doing the right things consistently always works if you keep on doing them, day after day, month after month. So do your PR, write articles, do webinars, teleseminars and speeches; and stay in touch with your  clients, prospects and alums, and get referrals. It all works.
4. Competition. Sure, we’ve all had competitors enter our space in the past two years. Looks like people have tried the rest and are coming back to the best. Remember that quality always wins in the end. Continue to offer great service to your clients and they’ll stick with you.
5. Marketing. I’ve started writing more articles, appearing on more teleseminars, webinars and Internet radio shows as well as offering helpful advice on Linked In, Facebook and Twitter. The result is that many people who sign up for PR LEADS put “web” or “Google” or “Internet” as the referral source. Online marketing actually works. Try it.
6. Listening to great advice from Alan Weiss, Mark LeBlanc and Christian Mickelsen. When you pay for great coaching, you are investing in yourself.
7. Law of Attraction. ‘Nuff said.

I’m sure the answer lies in all these factors and probably a few more that I’m too blind to see. So hang in there. Good times are coming!

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Many consultants and entrepreneurs spend hours asking “How can I improve my search engine optimization” with Google and other search engines. Then they spend countless hours optimizing their pages with keywords and content in the hopes that Google will notice their site and rank it higher than competitors.

Did you know that press releases can help you improve your SEO rankings?

It’s true, but most small businesses fail to realize that press releases can help improve a  web site’s ranking on major search engines.

Three Ways to Improve Your Web Site’s SEO with Press Releases

Use keyword analysis find out what people are looking for when they search and write a press release about that term. For example, they might look for “how do I hire a consultant?” You could write a press release that announces you have a white paper or special report on the five steps to make sure you hire the right consultant.
Put keywords in the subject line. Search engines look for relevant info that their searchers are looking for. Think of the terms and words your prospects would use to find your site and put those words in the headline. Since headlines have a very limited amount of space, you might focus on the keyword that describes your market, like “chiropractors” or “financial planners.” Or you could focus on the benefit that your service offers like “make more money,” “reduce stress,” or “have a healthier body.” If you can combine the target audience with the main benefit, you’d be in great shape! For example “New study shows how financial planners can reduce stress.”
When using keywords in headlines or in the press release, be careful to make sure that proper grammar and logic are applied. If you use a keyword too many times, or use variations of the keywords in illogical syntax, it will read poorly to prospects and the search engines will figure out you are trying to game the system.

If you follow these tips, you’ll get better rankings on search engines and more people will learn about you.

Do you want your press release picked up in major media? Read my special report “How to Get Your Business-Oriented Press Release Printed on Top Tier Media Sites – Guaranteed,” by visiting http://www.prleadsplus.com/toptiermedia/

Publicity thought leader Dan Janal is Founder and President of PR LEADS PLUS which offers a variety of do-it-yourself tools to help small businesses get publicity, including media lists, press release writing and targeted article marketing services and press release distribution. Dan Janal also offers coaching and consulting services to small businesses and professional service providers.

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