Why?

The first thing to do is to ask yourself why you have set up the website. Are you trying to sell a product or provide information or something else? What do you want to happen when a visitor lands on your pages? “For a man without a destination no wind is favourable” (An old saying attributed to many). If you do not know exactly what you want to happen, how can you expect the visitors to your website to know and do it? You are the one who ought to have the site set up to direct people to their destination. If you don’t know what that is, then all is lost.

Your visitors probably know why they visited your site. You too must know why they came and help them do what they came to do. If your website does not provide what they need they will move on to another one. Just because you are getting all the traffic you could hope for does not mean that your site will succeed.

Ease of Use

About the Author: Steven Collins is a web designer at Desktop Web Design.

Without search engine optimization many websites stand the chance of not being fully indexed by search spiders therefore risking not being ranked high enough (if at all) in the search engine results pages (SERPs). The resulting poor conversion rate makes the website a dead weight, demoralizes your staff and could threaten your business.
URL Rewriting
This situation is quite easy to avoid by performing some cosmetic operations to the site. One of these operations, URL rewriting, is considered by some rather difficult and a bit time-consuming but can be extremely effective and rewarding in the long run.

Why It Is Nice to Have Clean URL’s
There are two very strong reasons for you to rewrite your URLs, the first of which is related to Search Engine Optimization. Search engines are much more at ease with URLs that don’t contain long query strings.

A URL like http://www.example.com/4/basic.html can be indexed very easily whereas its dynamic form, http://www.example.com/cgi-bin/gen.pl?id=4&view=basic, can potentially confuse search engines and cause them to miss important information contained in the URL and you to miss those anticipated high rankings.

With clean URLs, the search engines can distinguish folder names and can establish real links to keywords. Query string parameters continue to be an impediment in many search engine’s attempts to fully index sites. Several SEO professionals agree that dynamic (or, dirty) URLs are not very appealing to web spiders, while static URLs have greater visibility in their electronic eyes.

The second strong reason for URL rewriting would be the increased usability for web users and “maintainability” for webmasters. Clean URLs are much easier to remember. A regular web surfer will not remember a URL full of parameters, and would obviously be discouraged by the idea of typing the entire URL. This is less prone to happen with clean URLs. Easily remembered URLs help you create a more intuitive Web site and make it easier for your visitors to anticipate where they can find information they need.
Webmasters tend to find that maintaining static URLs is a much easier task than working with dynamic ones. Static URLs are more abstract, and thus more difficult to hack. The dynamic URLs are more transparent, allowing possible hackers to see the technology used to build them and thus facilitating attacks.

Also, given the length of dynamic URLs, it is very possible for webmasters to make mistakes during maintenance sessions, resulting in broken links. Also, when static URLs are used, the links to the site’s pages will still remain valid should it be necessary to migrate a site from one programming language to another (e.g. from Perl to Java).

Dashes vs. Underscores
Websites that still use underscores for their URLs are becoming scarcer and scarcer. Some say that people who still use underscores are “old school” while dashes seem be used far more often these days.

A usability related reason for using dashes rather than underscores is the elimination of the confusion created between a space and an underscore when the URL is viewed as a link, or when printing such a URL.

More to the point, the chances that a combination of keywords contained in your Web site is included in the SERPs increase exponentially when using dashes.

For exemple: a URL that contains “seo_techniques” will be shown by the search engine only if the user searches for seo_techniques (this kind of search is rarely performed); whereas searches for “seo”, “techniques”, or “seo techniques” gives your URL containing “seo-techniques” a better chance of being displayed on the SERPs. The dash will help you more than you can imagine, by greatly improving your visibility on the Web.

How to Rewrite URLs
The principle of URL rewriting is actually setting a “system” on the host server that will allow it (the server) to know how to interpret the new URL format. What actually happens when one decides to rewrite the URLs of a website is called masking the dynamic URLs with static ones. This means that the URLs that previously contained query strings with elements such as “?”, “+”, “&”, “$”, “=”, or “%” will contain the more search engine friendly “/” (slash) element, presenting themselves in a simplified form.
To help you with cleaning your URLs here are some rewriting tools and engines, some free of charge, others fee based.

Online / Open Source Tools

• free online URL rewriting
• open Source URL Rewriter for .NET / IIS / ASP.NET
• open Source rewrite-module tuned for ASP.NET 2.0
• mod_rewrite

This is the most common non-fee-based rewriting engine. It is a module from the Apache HTTP Server that allows the easy manipulation of URLs. The use of this module requires the enabling of the RewriteEngine on your Apache server. Then, rewrite rules must be defined, (you can even set conditions for each rule), thus allowing the rewrite requests as they come in.

In terms of SEO, mod_rewrite can be helpful if you have complex URLs that contain more than 2 parameters. In other words, if one of your dynamic URLs is accessed, the mechanism behind mod_rewrite will “translate” it into a shorter, friendlier, static-looking URL.

Fee-Based Tools

• ISAPI_Rewrite
  The Internet Server Application Program Interface (ISAPI) is another URL manipulation engine that functions in a similar way to Apache’s mod_rewrite, the difference being it is designed specifically for Microsoft’s IIS (Internet Information Server).
• IISRewrite
  IISRewrite is a stripped down implementation of Apache’s mod_rewrite modules for IIS. It is a rule-based rewriting engine that allows a Webmaster to manipulate URLs on the fly in IIS.

URL Examples
Here are some examples of how URLs can look before and after rewriting:

Example 1:

• Dynamic URL: http://www.companyname.com/products/items.php?id=x&model=y&variety=z (before rewriting)
• Static URL: http://www.companyname.com/x/y/z.html (after rewriting)

Example 2:

• Dynamic URL: http://www.example.com/cgi-bin/gen.pl?id=4&view=basic (before writing)
• Static URL: http://www.example.com/4/basic.html (after writing)

Conclusions
URL rewriting can put you on the right track in the race for high organic rankings when combined with other SEO techniques. Be aware that rewritten (and, presumably, better looking and more effective in terms of search engine ranking) URLs cannot substitute or make up for a poorly designed Web site.

Don’t expect miracles. Nevertheless, when you decide that your site needs a makeover and start rewriting your URLs, make sure that:

• You keep them as short as possible (to increase usability),
• You use dashes rather than underscores (to give your site a better chance of ranking as high as possible in the SERPs),
• You use lowercase letters rather than uppercase ones (to avoid those case sensitive situations),
• The technology you have used cannot be detected in any of your URLs (to prevent possible hacker attacks).

Adriana Iordan is the Web Marketing Manager at Avangate.com She spends a great deal of her time writing articles, improving and promoting websites. Adriana manages the team offering internet marketing and usability services to Avangate clients and the online promotion of Avangate.com’s websites.

Let’s start with a look at meta tag generators. Since meta tags lost their SEO relevance several years ago, most of the freeware programs in this category are either no longer supported or haven’t been updated for several years. But, then again, not much has really changed in meta tag usage so the apps listed below should still be useful.

Meta Tag Generators

1. BHead 4.1.1 (1.0 MB) is an advanced meta tag generator that can create your entire HEAD section, including CSS style sheets. Generates the code for all popular meta tags and also has an option for custom tags. Keywords and description can be imported from files. Comes with a basic Style Sheet editor that includes a color picker. Other features include spell chëck, search replace, syntax highlighting, etc. For Windows 9x/NT/ME/2K/.

2. Metty Meta Tag Maker 1.31 (2.5 MB) is a meta tag creator with support for 33 meta tags that ensure search engines properly index your website. Easy to use and requires no knowledge of meta tags. For Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP.

3. Search Engine Buddy 1.0 (2.7 MB) analyzes web page meta tags and web page content on or offline to help you create the best possible meta tag combinations and web page content based on the requirements and algorithms of the major search engines. For Windows 9x/2000/NT.

4. MetaWizard 1.2a (617 KB) is a simple, bare bones meta tag generator that guides you through the process of creating basic tags for your web site pages.

Link Checkers

Where oh where did all the good freeware link checkers go? Well, apparently they went offline with the cos. or individuals that developed them or they went the shareware route. Of the three listed below, CheckWeb is probably the best.

1. CheckWeb 1.23 (74 KB) is a small, powerful links analyzer that can scan online/ offline HTML pages and generate a report on link, error and page size information. For Windows 95 and above.

2. Mihov Link Checker 0.5 (250 KB) can chëck multiple links on a web site or a local web page. It reports the state of each link as valid, missing, forbidden or otherwise not accessible. Links can be stored in a text file or extracted automatically from a local or internet page. For Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP.

3. SiteLinkChecker 1.0 (480 KB) is an easy-to-use link checker tool that checks websites for broken links. Easily locates broken links and links containing syntactic errors and reports the status of each link. For Windows 2000/XP/2003.

Link Popularity Tools

Another category of programs that has suffered attrition in the last few years. At least half a dozen are no longer available, no longer supported or no longer freeware. The first two are the best of the three listed.

1. Indexa 2.0 (115 KB) is a java website popularity program that reports Google Pagerank, the number of backlinks recorded on Google, Yahoo, MSN, Altavista and AlltheWeb and the number of pages indexed. Limitations: Analyses 4 urls and 2 search engines. For Windows 98/ME/XP/2000/2003/Unix/Linux/MacOS X.

2. Link Popularity Chëck 3.0.3 (941 KB) checks how many sites link to yours and your competitors in 5 major search engines. For Windows XP/Me/NT4/2000/98/95.

3. BackLinks Master 1.5 (1.3 MB) helps you find who is linking to you, whether links are direct and what keywords are in the anchor text. For Windows 98/ME/XP/2000.

General SEO Tools

Last, but not least, are tools that don’t fall into any specific category, but that are multi-featured and definitely worth a look.

1. SEO Surf 0.7 (2.6 MB) is a powerful program for SEO enthusiasts. It offers numerous features, including keyword analysis, SEO page analysis, backlink management and search engine analysis. For Windows 98 to XP and I.E. 6.0+.

2. Keyword Crawler 1.1 (424 KB) is a keyword tool that can analyze your website and provide web page reports for the top keywords used, word density, Google pagerank, internal and external backlinks and broken links. In addition, the program can also generate a sitemap file in XML format. For Windows 98/ME/NT4/2Kx/XP.

3. SEO SpyGlass v.2.0.4 (7.8 MB) is a research tool designed to show how your competitors got top search engine rankings. It reveals backlink numbers, the URL, PageRank, Alexa Rank, and IP address of each backlink, website age, link value, backlink origin, keyword density, etc. Detailed reports can be generated but not saved in the freeware version. Requires JRE and email registration. For Windows 98+ and Unix/Linux/MacOS X. The current version is generally available from the SpyGlass site, but the site was experiencing problems at the time of this writing.

That’s it folks. Feedback is welcome. If you are aware of similar freeware tools that are as good or better than those listed above, we’d like to hear from you. Just send your recommendations along to feedback@sitepronews.com and we’ll highlight them in upcoming issues of SiteProNews.

About The Author
Mel Strocen is CEO of the Jayde Online Network of websites and founder of the Independent Search Engine & Directory Network. The Jayde network is comprised of more than 20 websites, including ExactSeek.com, SiteProNews.com, SEO-News.com and GoArticles.com.

First let’s make a master list, all the usual ways we can think of to get quality, relevant links back to a website.

1. Fill out a form or email a webmaster, asking for a reciprocal link.
We’ll assume for the purpose of clarity that we mean exchanging links to post to a traditional directory page.

2. Deep linking.
You embed your partner’s link into relevant text on a page other than your directory page, and your partner does the same with your link.

3. Links from signatures.
This can be a signature you place at the end of every email you send out, or in forum posts.

4. Comments left on other websites.
This can be a blog or a comment form on any website. These will usually have your website url attached to the comment.

5. Submit your website to niche or general website directories.
These can be paid or free; I choose depending on what I need to do to get a link without having to put a link on my website. I prefer free, but it’s a personal choice.

6. Write and syndicate articles and include your url link in the resource box.
Write exclusive articles for high-traffic sites that rank highly in search engine results.

Thinking Outside the Box

7. Mix up the above 5 ways.
For example, if you’d like a link from a site with a higher page rank than your own, ask for a link on their directory page in exchange for a link on your homepage as well as in your directory. Save this idea for one or two HIGHLY relevant but non-competitive sites, and only if their search engine results are on, say, page 1 of Google.

8. Write testimonials and reviews.
Communicate personally with webmasters. Write up a short review of their website or product rather than sending them a generic request for a link trade. Don’t wait for them to ask for a testimonial, send them one anyways. For example, instead of saying “I visited your site and like it a lot, I agree with what you say about (blah blah) and thought we’d make great link partners, would you like to…” try summing up what it is about your business that relates to the other website. Promote your business in a way that’s in XYZ’s best interests to print as a testimonial- how their product benefits your business.

As a webmaster, I’d love to receive an email like that. I’d write right back and ask if I could use it on my website.

9. Write reviews where they’re asked for.
Search around. Don’t look too far The big names are the places you want to go. Take Amazon.com for example. People click over to Amazon with their credit cards ready. They are discerning shoppers and they are often repeat customers; they read reviews, they follow links to “what else purchasers of [a particular product] bought”. So write reviews of products that relate to your website topic. Book reviews are the easiest; follow your nose to the bestsellers or new books in your category at the library.

10. Communicate with whoever you represent as an affiliate.
Create a product such as a user manual or report (“10 Tips for Succeeding as an XYZ Affiliate” or “How to Increase Your Productivity Using [XYZ's Product] in your Home Office”)and imbed your url link(s) in it. Let the affiliate program manager distribute your report or manual to his affiliates. Or again, write a glowing testimonial to the program, product or owner’s customer service, etc.

By thinking about how you can offer a benefit to your link partner, you’ll not only be building relevancy and credibility in the eyes of the search engines, but you’ll be building valuable relationships with your link partners and a reputation as an innovative, creative expert in your field.

About the Author: Kathryn Beach shows you step by step how to build an easy, profitable affiliate website with no technical skills necessary. Need more help? – try SEO services that attract free search engine traffic like a magnet.

Most web hostíng companies will provide you with basic web traffíc information that you then have to interpret and make pertinent use of. However, the data you receive from your host company can be overwhelming if you don’t understand how to apply it to your particular business and website. Let’s start by examining the most basic data – the average visitors to your site on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

These figures are the most accurate measure of your website’s activity. It would appear on the surface that the more traffíc you see recorded, the better you can assume your website is doing, but this is an inaccurate perception. You must also look at the behavior of your visitors once they come to your website to accurately gauge the effectiveness of your site.

Traffíc Analysis

There is often a great misconception about what is commonly known as “hits” and what is really effective, quality traffíc to your site. Hits simply means the number of information requests received by the server. If you think about the fact that a hit can simply equate to the number of graphics per page, you will get an idea of how overblown the concept of hits can be. For example, if your homepage has 15 graphics on it, the server records this as 15 hits, when in reality we are talking about a single visitor checking out a single page on your site. As you can see, hits are not useful in analyzing your website traffíc.

The more visitors that come to your website, the more accurate your interpretation will become. The greater the traffíc is to your website, the more precise your analysis will be of overall trends in visitor behavior. The smaller the number of visitors, the more a few anomalous visitors can distort the analysis.

The aim is to use the web traffíc statistics to figure out how well or how poorly your site is working for your visitors. One way to determine this is to find out how long on average your visitors spend on your site. If the time spent is relatively brief, it usually indicates an underlying problem. Then the challenge is to figure out what that problem is

It could be that your keywords are directing the wrong type of visitors to your website, or that your graphics are confusing or intimidating, causing the visitor to exit rapidly. Use the knowledge of how much time visitors are spending on your site to pinpoint specific problems, and after you fix those problems, continue to use time spent as a gauge of how effective your fix has been.

Additionally, web traffíc stats can help you determine effective and ineffective areas of your website. If you have a page that you believe is important, but visitors are exiting it rapidly, that page needs attention. You could, for example, consider improving the link to this page by making the link more noticeable and enticing, or you could improve the look of the page or the ease that your visitors can access the necessary information on that page.

If, on the other hand, you notice that visitors are spending a lot of time on pages that you think are less important, you might consider moving some of your salës copy and marketing focus to that particular page.

As you can see, these statistics will reveal vital information about the effectiveness of individual pages, and visitor habits and motivation. This is essential information to any successful Internet marketing campaign.

Your website undoubtedly has exit pages, such as a final order or contact förm. This is a page you can expect your visitor to exit rapidly. However, not every visitor to your site is going to find exactly what he or she is looking for, so statistics may show you a number of different exit pages. This is normal unless you notice an exit trend on a particular page that is not intended as an exit page. In the case that a significant percentage of visitors are exiting your website on a page not designed for that purpose, you must closely examine that particular page to discern what the problem is. Once you pinpoint potential weaknesses on that page, minor modifications in content or graphics may have a significant impact on the keeping visitors moving through your site instead of exiting at the wrong page.

After you have analyzed your visitor statistics, it’s time to turn to your keywords and phrases. Notice if particular keywords are directing a specific type of visitor to your site. The more targeted the visitor – meaning that they find what they are looking for on your site, and even better, fill out your contact förm or make a purchase – the more valuable that keyword is.

However, if you find a large number of visitors are being directed – or should I say misdirected – to your site by a particular keyword or phrase, that keyword demands adjustment. Keywords are vital to bringing quality visitors to your site who are ready to do business with you. Close analysis of the keywords your visitors are using to find your site will give you a vital understanding of your visitor’s needs and motivations.

Finally, if you notice that users are finding your website by typing in your company name, break open the champagne! It means you have achieved a significant level of brand recognition, and this is a sure sign of burgeoning success.

About The Author
Don Resh is CEO of WebForce Inc. .

No matter who you are or what you do, you are a salesman. We are all constantly selling whether we are aware of it or not. You had to sell yourself to your ‘significant other’ and if you have children you are continuously selling them on how they should behave. At the office, even if you aren’t in sales, you are forever selling your ideas to colleagues or trying to convince staff to get the job done the way you want it done. We are all salesman, all the time.

If you have been in business as long as I have you will have written your share of business plans, mission statements and all. You present your plan to ‘The Man’ and the first thing he or she does is flip to the last page of your beautiful thirty page color laser printed document to look at the projected financial statements. Why ask for a business plan if you’re not going to read it? As far as the ubiquitous Missions Statement is concerned, for most businesses it has become nothing more than a platitude-laden piece of gobbledygook.

Because we live in such a fast paced world, our sales techniques have to be efficient, engaging, and effective. As we stated in “Website Marketing Success – The Art of Storytelling Tip #1″ business executives can learn something from successful screenwriters like Blake Snyder, author of “Save The Cat.”

Snyder talks a lot about ‘loglines’, which are short one or two sentence synopses of movie or television concepts. They appear on the surface to sound a lot like ‘mission statements’ but they may provide a slightly different perspective on what has become an exercise in b-school-jargon mumbo jumbo.

Whether you are developing a new Web-marketing campaign for your company or a complete new website, you could do worse than start with a well-defined logline and title. It will put the entire project into focus, provide a reference so you don’t get sidetracked, and it will provide a great ‘elevator pitch’ when you need to deliver the essence of your business in thirty-seconds. Believe it or not, fifty million dollar movie concepts are sold on the basis of a logline and movie title. They are in short, everything that you need to sell an idea and they are only one or two sentences long.

What’s A Logline?

A website, or marketing campaign logline is your company’s ‘high concept’ idea. It is a one or two line statement that answers specific questions. It should also be accompanied by a project title, and if you really want to get fancy, you can add what the ‘old-timers’ used to call a “One-Sheet” or movie poster style visual, or a video trailer for the campaign.

To find out what your high concept is, answer these questions, and if you can’t, then maybe it’s back to the drawing board:

1. What is your project all about: what’s the purpose?
2. Who is the audience for this presentation?
3. How will your audience be emotionally affected?
4. Have you painted a memorable mental image?
5. Does the project title capture the audience’s attention with an engaging hook?

A good campaign logline will help you maintain focus so your project will be fine-tuned to achieve its purpose. Even if the project does not meet expectations, by keeping on track, you will be able to analysis what went wrong and how to improve the next campaign.

Marketing and its little brother advertising are all about storytelling. It doesn’t matter if you are talking about a display ad for a magazine, a Web-video for your website, or your complete website, if it doesn’t tell a story then it’s not going to do the job. When people asked us what we did, we used to tell them we were a website design firm that specialized in audio and video, today we tell them we are corporate storytellers. If you aren’t telling your story you are not going to meet your marketing goals.

If you want to know how to tell your corporate story well, or even if you want to hire someone to do it for you, you at least need to know what makes a good story; and the best place to learn is the home of storytelling, Hollywood.

Over the next little while, when time permits, I’ll post a tip on how to tell your corporate story with a few ideas lifted from Blake Snyder’s book, “Save The Cat.’ Blake is a successful Hollywood screenwriter and his books provides a lot of inspiration for aspiring screenwriters, but if you are like me and see marketing as the Art of Storytelling, then you can learn a lot about how to create Web-marketing videos and complete marketing websites that effectively deliver your marketing message and help you meet your business goals.

Movies are made up of scenes or ‘beats.’ The average movie has about forty of these scenes. In order to organize these scenes, screenwriters describe each scene on a 3×5 index card with color-coded notations. The important thing for us as crass commercial business people intent on selling our products and services is that each card is a story in and of itself. Think of each card as a commercial or a specific product or service you sell. If you string a bunch of these together, one for each product or service, you have a multimedia website that tells your marketing story.

In ‘Save The Cat’ Snyder refers to colleague Robert McKee who has a technique that he uses that you may want to consider next time you are thinking of initiating a marketing campaign. McKee uses two notations (+/- and >

In order to bring your news to light with more of your targeted audience, try some of these tips for a more successful distribution:

Media List Management

Start a folder on your computer and in hard copy form for media lists in order to keep a list of contacts readily available and updated. Identify media outlets – both online and off – in your targeted industries; for example: Business and Marketing. Add local, regional, national and International channels to cover television, radio, newspapers, magazines, online publications, newswire and other services.

Submit Plus
Blog Search
Add Me.com
DesignerWiz
Web Position
Alexa Toolbar
SubmitExpress
Top SEO Tools
Website Builder
Top 10 Exposure
SiteProNews Blog
WebMaster Radio
NewWebDirectory
Website Templates
FreeWebMonitoring
Search Engine Tool
FreeWebSubmission
Connect Thru Search

Top Webmaster Headlines

*
* Why Apple Should Acquire AMD
* 45% of Europeans watch TV online
* Lycos allows users to create bespoke web toolbars
* Microsoft drops hints about Internet Explorer 8
* Yahoo Launches Browser Version of Messenger
Disney Targets Pre-Teens with New Social Networking Portal

Breaking Blog News

*
* Google Adds Email Sharing to RSS Reader
* Silverlight – Does This “Change the Web”?
* Historic Maps of Search Engine Relationships
* Yahoo Brings Mobile Search to Six New Countries
* Google To Re-examine The Page Rank Update
Yahoo Introducing Robots-Nocontent for Page Sections

SiteProNews RSS Feed – Grab the SiteProNews RSS Feed

Powerful Press
Release Distribution Tips
By Diana Barnum

While press release writing is important, press release distribution plays an equally important role in your return on investment (ROI) with this marketing / public relations tool. Because without targeted distribution, many prospects, clients and other interested parties may not even read your latest announcement or hear about it via other channels; TV, radio, print publications, etc.

In order to bring your news to light with more of your targeted audience, try some of these tips for a more successful distribution:

Media List Management

Start a folder on your computer and in hard copy form for media lists in order to keep a list of contacts readily available and updated. Identify media outlets – both online and off – in your targeted industries; for example: Business and Marketing. Add local, regional, national and International channels to cover television, radio, newspapers, magazines, online publications, newswire and other services.

Attract Them With Search – Keep Them With Email!

A targeted media list is an invaluable tool for most businesses. The best way to build your list is to carefully watch, read and listen, then track media publications and shows, and to identify reporters and producers who would be interested in your story. Contact the media outlets as needed for their most recent contact name, email address, phone and fax number, before sending your information.

Tip: Using contact management software program such as ACT! or Maximizer for this purpose can help you build and maintain relationships with the media. Even using Excel to create your own spreadsheets helps with organization.

There are several sources online that will help you build your media list; however, keep in mind that not all of these sources will have up-to-date media information.

Newswires

Newswires distribute your press release directly to editors, other media outlets like Reuters and they also publish the press releases on their website. Many journalists rely on newswire sites for information and story ideas. Wires are often used by larger companies and non-profit organizations. They have the advantage of immediately reaching a broad range of media outlets across the country. The cost is usually $275 – $600 to send a single release, with pricing based on the number of words in your release (a minimum word count will usually apply.)

Mail, Fax, or Email

You can send the news release directly to the media yourself, using the mail, fax, or email. When in doubt about the best option, ask the journalists you will be sending your release to. This can have the advantage of creating a more personal connection with the people you send the release to. It can also be a more cost-effective option if you are targeting a small list of journalists.

Database Building

Newswires offer a fast way to send your press release to a large number of editors. However, you can also build your own list of media contacts using any of a number of media databases. Most charge either a monthly, annual or per use subscription fee. Search online for “media databases” and “media lists.”

Timing

It is best to send your news release early in the day and you will have a better chance of getting your story noticed if your release is not sent on a busy news day. For example, sending a news release out as a major strike or natural disaster was taking place would not be good timing. Mondays and Tuesdays are usually busy news days and by Friday most assignments have been handed out as journalists get ready for the weekend.

Helpful Tips:

1. Don’t send email press releases with attachments – they will be deleted immediately upon receipt.

2. If sending an email release, make sure to write the release within the body of the message.

3. Don’t bug editors. Editors receive hundreds of press releases on a daily basis. Chances are you will irritate most editors by making a second contact to ask if they received your press release.

4. Know deadlines of editors. If you are sending a time-sensitive release, don’t expect a magazine editor to cover your event scheduled for next week. Find out what the appropriate “lead time” is to send your press release for possible distribution in their media.

5. If writing about a web site, make sure the site is updated before you send your release. Editors will visit the site if they have an interest in your product/service.

6. For further assistance and other helpful information visit PRWeb.com .

Resources

Here are some handy resources to help with your press releases:

- Check out Jack Humphrey’s Content Desk and Content Propulsion Lab, for “Do It Yourself” companies who would love the benefits of easy step-by-step content site building, monetizing and promoting systems for the best ROI, and high-end Public Relations firms with low-end budgets, online at ContentLabInfo.com and ContentDeskInfo.com .

- For a super profit system, head to SEO (search engine optimization) expert Keith Baxter’s Easy Net Marketing (EAN) Profit System at BPlanSite.com . The program has only about a one- to two-hour learning curve to get all set up and going. Articles, content and more -all-in-one.

- Learn how to write with good correspondence courses like those offered by the American Writers & Artists Institute; many are described here: PressSuccess.com .

So when you focus on getting your press releases out, focus on distribution, too. Try some of the tips above to increase success with your promotions, and keep a copy of the these tips around for handy reference!

About The Author
Diana Barnum, president of MovingAheadCommunications.com at: (614) 529-9459 (EST). Grab her freebies, tips and help at: http://presssuccess.com/bookstore .