Marketing Ideas for Small Business: Online Press Release Campaigns

It’s no surprise that small business owners are frequently at a loss for effective marketing ideas, and many may not even know about online press release campaigns. After all, owners are usually so busy focusing on their products or services that marketing is often an afterthought relegated to the bottom of the to-do list until ‘things slow down a bit’. But the problem with that approach is that once things slow down, the momentum also slows, and it’s hard to pick up the pace again.

Small business marketing strategy

A better strategy is to maintain a steady stream of marketing that doesn’t take time away from delivering those products and services during busy times. And one of the best ways to do that is with an online news release campaign. If that sounds too complicated or expensive, you’ll be surprised to find out how easy and affordable it can be.

SEO press releases

First, let’s clear up any lingering myths about press releases being complicated or expensive. Those things used to be true when press releases were in the exclusive domains of public relations professionals and journalists — before the internet changed how we communicate.

But now almost anyone can write and distribute an online news release. And by using keywords that are relevant to your audience, along with some simple search engine optimization techniques (like using those keyword in the title and in the first paragraph), you can reach potential prospects in your town or around the globe.

Marketing calendar

Next, spend a few minutes looking at a 12-month calendar and make a note of any holidays or seasons that influence your sales cycle, and also the times when business is slowest. For example, if you remodel kitchens, business may be slow between Thanksgiving and New Years, but busy during the summer and fall; if you plan weddings, June may be your busiest month, and January your slowest; if you provide landscaping services, your calendar may be most heavily booked for summer lawn care and winter tree trimming, with slow periods during spring and fall.

Marketing campaign plan

Even though you’ll be distributing online news releases throughout the year, your market highs and lows will help you decide on their focus. During your busy seasons, focus on creating publicity. Keep your name in people’s minds by providing expert advice, commenting on current events or announcing your charitable contributions.

Slow seasons are the time to reap the rewards of your publicity and generate additional income. Announce special time-limited discounts and promotions that drum up extra business from fence-sitters or people who are budget-minded. Choose one topic of focus for each month, and you’ll quickly have a year’s worth of news releases planned.

Online press release campaign

Now that you have 12 topics for your news releases, you can write one each month, or you can write them all in a batch and have them ready for distribution. And there’s also the option of paying someone to write them for you. Just be sure to remember to optimize them for keywords and include some links to your website during the process.

Press release distribution sites

Depending on your budget and time commitments, you can distribute your news releases using free or paid distribution sites, or a combination of both. Take a look at the content that’s currently published on the distribution sites, and stay away from any that accept pieces that read like gibberish. They’re little more than spam farms, and you don’t want your press release associated with those sites. As long as you choose distribution sites that have some standards and require competent writing, your news release will be in good company.

PRLog.org is free; WebWire.com, PRNine.com are paid but affordable, and all are good sites to use if your goal is primarily to have your press release syndicated to other websites and create backlinks to your main website. PRWeb.com is a higher-priced paid distribution site and a good choice if you want your news release to have a shot at being picked up by national or international news media outlets.

Promote your business

By taking a few minutes to look at the big picture on a 12-month calendar, and planning your topics ahead of time, you can create a press release campaign that will help even out those revenue peaks and troughs that most small business owners struggle with.

If you like to write and want to try your hand at a do-it-yourself press release campaign, the SEO Press Release Kit provides step-by-step guidance, including a list of free and paid distribution sites. If you would rather have someone else do the writing for you, contact me about the SEO Press Release Campaign Package for small business owners, which includes a private strategy planning session.

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