Help Me Prove My Mate Wrong!!!!!

8 replies
Hi all

Recently ive been helping out a good mate with his new shopping cart site...

Its going OK, but nothing special...

I recommended going the press release route and he began arguing with me saying its all BS and it will only work for you if you are a company with a never ending marketing budget.

My argument was that if you can come up with some good 'news' or cheeky press release that the the story will get picked up and could either go viral or at least get re-distributed around the net.

We argued for some time with no clear winner.

Id like to prove him wrong and at the same time help him But without forking too much out myself.

Any suggestions?:confused:
#mate #prove #wrong
  • Profile picture of the author petevamp
    You do not have to send to paid press release sites to start with. SEO your articles in to pr format and submit them to a number of the free sites. If anyone picks them you you will know. For I actually had a flat out article I wrote promoting my site picked up by prudent press agency and the article pretty much went viral becaue of it. I think ppa is about 90 or so a year it would be a good one to test the waters. Just make sure you seo the press release so that your main keywords are in the title/description once or twice. If they do not allow you to add a description make sure it is in the first 2-3 sentences. Then about 2-3% on the page. Thats how my article got picked up.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3245597].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    For press releases to be effective, you need to always find a newsworthy angle to make the press release useful.

    But realize what you consider news may not be newsworthy to others... So there is a fine line that you will have to walk.

    Press releases can work for your mate, if you can always find that newsworthy angle that will attract attention to your release.

    Articles are the flip-side of the coin.

    With articles you want to use evergreen information.

    Regardless of the vehicle you use, if you can provide readers information they consider interesting, you have overcome the biggest hurdle to make it work for you.
    Signature
    Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
    Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3245606].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Originally Posted by tpw View Post

      But realize what you consider news may not be newsworthy to others... So there is a fine line that you will have to walk.
      Read that line above very carefully. Unless you have some good NEWS WORTHY story to share then a press release will not do you any good. Your friend starting a new shopping cart site, although exciting for him, is not news anyone else is interested in. Unless you have some clever angle or can piggy back off some other popular news at the time, you won't get very far.

      By your own admission:

      "Its going OK, but nothing special..."

      I think you've answered your question right there.

      Your friend (1) You (0)
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3245641].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author goindeep
        Cool.

        Ok, i have an angle i want to try.

        Ive found something truly news worthy. But i got it from the australian bureau of statistics. Can i re-produce the info in an article or press release and then use the info as the main discussion point and mix something like this in: "Todd Smith - site owner and operator of xxxx.com.au has been in the business of xxxx for over 10 years, hear is what he has to say on the subject of xxxx and how it will effect some Australians..."

        ?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3245695].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author tpw
          Originally Posted by Andrei Rotariu View Post

          Cool.

          Ok, i have an angle i want to try.

          Ive found something truly news worthy. But i got it from the australian bureau of statistics. Can i re-produce the info in an article or press release and then use the info as the main discussion point and mix something like this in: "Todd Smith - site owner and operator of xxxx.com.au has been in the business of xxxx for over 10 years, hear is what he has to say on the subject of xxxx and how it will effect some Australians..."

          ?

          Yes, that is usually a valid approach with a press release.

          Just don't overdo it...
          Signature
          Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
          Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3245708].message }}
          • The newsworthy angle is spot on...BUT, a lot of these FREE PR sites are nothing more than article directories disguised as PR sites. It's kind of become like a traffic/backlink loophole.

            It's a good strategy, if your friend isn't willing to try a lot of promotion methods, he's not seeing the bigger picture.

            Garage Mike
            Signature



            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3245740].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Charlotte Jay
    Press releases work if you're providing something of value to your reader. From personal experience, if I find them boring withing the first few sentences I click away. However, if it's a new story that I find funny, outrageous or amusing, then you've got my attention. I figure it would be the same for readers all over.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3245757].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Charlotte Jay View Post

      Press releases work if you're providing something of value to your reader. From personal experience, if I find them boring withing the first few sentences I click away. However, if it's a new story that I find funny, outrageous or amusing, then you've got my attention. I figure it would be the same for readers all over.
      The only thing I'd add to the list is if the story is on a subject I'm interested in and looks helpful, even if the writing style isn't particularly interesting.

      To whom it may concern, another name for a press release is news release. If you want an ad, there's a whole different department for that...
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3246105].message }}

Trending Topics