Biz Tips Blog: Online Marketing, Visibility and Business Blogging Tips

Free Press Release Builder

It's a privilege to be able to share with you a little solo entrepreneur internet marketing wisdom while Denise is off teaching and vacationing! I'll dive right in with a great new resource I just found out about.

A few years ago, Solo-E.com mounted a 6-month press release campaign. Although we spent a lot of time writing what we thought were solid, non-promotional press releases, they just never achieved the results that made it worth the effort, and so we dropped it as a strategy.

But I know that properly written and promoted press releases can definitely  work -- and maybe if we'd had access to this hot new press release writing tool, we'd have done a better job and gotten the press attention we wanted!

This astounding press releasing-writing resource from EvanCarmichael.com is the most comprehensive I've seen -- and it's easy to read and understand, too. Best yet -- it's free! It features a five step process, with dozens of topic ideas to get you started and a template where you fill in the blanks and it builds your press release for you. Plus direct links to lists of media outlets and scores of additional resources. A definite recommended resource:

Free Press Release Builder

Publicity on a tiny budget

Read this article on Marketing Sherpa: How to Get Tons of Publicity on a Tiny Budget

The methods described in this case study are essentially exactly what Patsi and I advise our clients to do when they have a book, product or service to promote. The author in this case study methodically leveraged the blogosphere to generate not only publicity, but a lot of sales for her books and audio products.

Janine Bolen had a 5 prong stragegy:

• A blog and website
• email newsletter
• solicited reviews from financial bloggers
• Set up Google Alerts to track mentions/reviews
• Sent handwritten note thanking reviewers

Everytime a blogger reviews her book, sales happen.

For more about how to pitch bloggers and the do's and don'ts of getting publicity in the blogosphere, check out the 70 minute audio program we did with Joan Stewart, The Publicit Hound, on How to Pitch the Best Bloggers.

How to Be A Super Radio Guest

You know we love Internet radio and it is all the rage right now. There are more sources for you to get interviews and guest appearances than ever before. But not everybody is accustomed to being on the radio. Whether it's a live show or a podcast that gets turned into an audio MP3 file, there are certain tips for being a super guest so you get invited back. We've had to figure a lot of this stuff out ourselves as we developed our own show, Blogging and Beyond.

The following tips come from Kathleen Gage's ebook Directory of Resources for Internet Radio Interview Opportunities.

Be a STAR Radio Guest

1. Great guests are more difficult to find than most people realize. If you are a star guest, chances are you will be invited back again and again. Additionally, you may get referred to other show hosts.

2. Treat a radio interview as a great opportunity because it is. Here are some simple tips to help you shine.

New Rules for Press Releases: Audio is posted

The audio from today's Blogging and Beyond show, featuring guest expert Joan Stewart is now posted. Joan gave run down on the "new rules" for writing press releases and how much more liberal the rules have become.  No longer are releases written just for the media, but also for consumers.  Check out the show; Joan was terrific, as always.

Earlier this week Patsi posted her 10 Steps for Writing a Press Release. If you're stuck, this is a great place to begin.

We use PRWeb.com to distribute our releases.

RSS Feeds: New Poll

I just set up a new poll over on Build a Better Blog. We want to know if you prefer getting a full feed or a partial feed when you subscribe to get blog update.  Take the poll and let us know!