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Website Design Options

By lesa Leave a Comment

2DoWebsWhen you’re creating a website there are a number of decisions to make. In addition to your budget and the creation process, there are features and functions to weight. There are so many fantastic technologies and options that the process can feel overwhelming!

#1 What’s the purpose of your website?

This is perhaps your single most important consideration. When you know your website’s purpose there are some design options that just make sense. For example, if you’re going to be an affiliate marketer and your website’s purpose is strictly to provide information, then you’ll likely want a CMS or a theme-based website. Know your site’s purpose first! Then you can weight your options.

On the other hand, if you’re building an e-commerce site you will want a shopping cart solution and a product catalog full of product photos and descriptions. [Read more...]

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Keywords: Finding the Right Ones to Open Opportunities

By Ponn Leave a Comment

If you’re going to go through the trouble of writing an article, you want people to read it, right? Of course! You don’t just want any people to read it either, you want people in your target audience to notice the article and read it.

By using keywords that your target audience is searching for, your article is much more likely to show up in their searches and grab their attention. But how do you pick the right ones?

Look for phrases that are concise and related to the content of your press release. They can be 2-4 words long, any shorter and they will be too generic to stand out in search results. If you find that only one word seems to stand out as your main point, add modifier words such as cheap, best or a location to further target your phrase and decrease competition.

Use a Keyword tool: There are tons of websites that offer these tools, such as Google’s keyword tool, WordTracker or WordStream. If you want to know what questions people have relating to a topic, I like this questions keyword tool.

These show what people are currently searching for; what words are already drawing people in. Brainstorm general words about your news or product, then put these terms into the keyword tool. It will give you more ideas for related phrases, that you can sort through to find those most related to your business.

Google Analytics. This program or a similar one when installed on your site will show you what terms people are using to find your site already. Words that pull in the best results will be your best bet for inclusion in future press releases.

Contest! Win one of 5 great prizes from Publicity Spark!

To enter: Comment below with the name of your favorite social media tool!

Winners will be contacted Friday August 19, 2011.

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Foolproof Guide to Press Release Writing

By Ponn Leave a Comment

I need to write a press release, where do I start?

If you plan to write press releases once per month or more, it is incredibly helpful to start with a basic template to base each new release off of. This will speed up the writing process and maintain consistency, giving you the best results.

Headline – Announces your news, product etc (with primary keyword) in 80 – 170 characters. This is one of the most important elements and deserves extra time and testing. It tells people why they should care.

Summary – A succinct explanation of your headline. Approximately 1 – 4 sentences describing the main point of the press release. This helps the audience screen the release, so tease and interest them.

First Paragraph –  In 25 words or less, share critical information that should stand alone without the headline and/or summary.

FORMAT: (City, State. Date.) – Company name, home page url. Keyword phrase that links to a webpage or blogpost that has to do with this press release story.

Body Paragraphs

  • These should consist of short sentences and paragraphs that give details about your news (back up your story). You can even include bullet points. The entire press release should ideally be within 350-600 words.
  • Include a call to action with a link. Insert what you’d like the reader to do and a URL to help them do it.
    • For example: Download the new iPhone App – now for sale at the iTunes store for $9.99 http://www.URL.com/iphoneapp
  • Use your keyword phrase 1-3 times in the body, and link those keywords to a related webpage or blog post.
  • Avoid directly addressing your target audience with “I” and “we.” Use “you” and “yours” sparingly.
  • Quote. Include at least 1-2 from a satisfied customer, CEO, members of your staff, etc. You can make up your own quote or pull one from an interview, blog post or article. Be sure your quote tells people the main value they will get from you or your service. If it’s the only thing they read, make sure they get enough information about you to motivate readers to keep reading or take a specific action.

Closing Paragraph – Restate and summarize the key points. It can also be a forward-looking statement about what is next or a statement about being open to interviews from the media.

Company Information

Contact Information – Include all social media outlets that you can be reached through online, such as your Facebook fan page, Twitter handle, blog url, LinkedIn Profile etc

Closing 3 Hashtags

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Contest Announcement! Enter to Win The Ultimate Online PR Kit (Value $97)!

Enter to win this kit from publicityspark!

Deadline date: Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Contest Rules

You must adhere to all the rules as stated. Shall a winner be chosen who did not complete these rules, he/she will not be eligible to win. To be eligible to win you must be 18 years of age or older.

To enter: comment below telling us why you want to win the Ultimate Online PR Kit.

For Additional Entries

For additional entries, you may chose to complete any one, or all of the below actions. You must write a separate comment for each additional entry you complete below. (A winner is chosen by the number of comments, not the number of actions taken.)

  • Follow TeenBizTalk on Twitter @TeenBizTalk
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  • Follow Ponn Sabra on Twitter @PonnSabra
  • Follow Janet Thaeler on Twitter @Newspapergrl
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  • Share this page on Facebook with the “Share” button below adding a personal note. Comment below with the timestamped url.
  • Tweet about this contest; don’t forget to comment below with the new tweet link.
  • SAMPLE TWEET. ENTER UP TO TWICE DAILY:
    GIVEAWAY Win #Publicity Spark #SEO & #PR products & services from @ponnsabra & @newspapergrl http://publicityspark.com/?p=493
  • Add a Publicity Spark button to your site,

 

  • Bookmark this post on your browser or your favorite bookmarking site, such as reddit, delicious, or google bookmarks. You can use one of the “Sharing is Caring” buttons below.
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Determining a Winner

Each comment below designates an entry number. Create a new comment for each entry requirement you complete. We will use Random.org to pick a random winner from the total number of comments below. The winner will be contacted by email. If no response is received in 48 hours, another winner will be chosen. Confirmed winners will be announced in each Friday’s blogpost and on our blog at PublicitySpark.com

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Marketing Your Business With Video – 7 Benefits

By lesa Leave a Comment
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - FEBRUARY 02: Fuze Box CEO...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

You’ve heard that using video to market your business can bring incredible results. But do the benefits outweigh the effort it takes to put your video online? In a word, Yes! Shooting a video, editing and formatting it, uploading it to the internet with the right title and description takes a bit of time. But the payoff for video marketing can be tremendous. Here are seven real benefits of marketing with video:

  1. Personal Connection – Especially for internet based businesses, the personal connection with your potential market is a huge selling factor. With video, your audience can truly get to know you, eye-to-eye. They get to see that you are indeed a real, live person. They start building a deeper relationship with you and feel as if they actually have met you. [Read more...]

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Who Can Benefit from Article Marketing?

By lesa Leave a Comment
Article Marketing SEO pagequest.co.uk

Image by Tall Fool via Flickr

Article marketing is one of the most popular methods of promoting a business online. Not only is it easy and low-cost, it works and anyone can do it!

By writing articles on your areas of expertise and offering this content free of charge to online and offline publishers, you can: [Read more...]

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Using YouTube for Viral Marketing

By lesa Leave a Comment
Image representing YouTube as depicted in Crun...

Image via CrunchBase

Until YouTube came along, there was no social networking site that promoted user content in the form of video. This niche has catapulted YouTube to the forefront as a leading social networking site. Because of its ease of use and popularity, YouTube has become a launch pad for many business viral marketing campaigns as well.

Do you have a digital camcorder or webcam? If so, you can make a video that can be shared online. People like to see what others are doing. There is no better way to allow others to do just that, than through video media. YouTube is the largest generator of user video content on the web. [Read more...]

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Managing Your Email List

By lesa Leave a Comment
Painting by Annika Ström: Please remove me fro...

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Once you’ve decided to start an email list, you’ll need a way to manage your contacts so you can easily add and delete contacts, and send them a variety of electronic communications. While some people try to handle their lists through their personal email accounts, when your list grows, you’ll soon run into problems. Not only may your internet server flag you as a potential spammer, keeping track of hundreds – if not thousands! – of subscribers would be a nightmare. Make it easy on yourself and start with a robust system from the beginning.

Here are some questions you’ll want to ask when evaluating email list management systems:

  • Will it generate an online form for installation on your blog or website that allows someone to subscribe and unsubscribe easily, at the push of a button?
  • Does it have the ability to send your newsletter in the format you choose (text or HTML, for instance)? [Read more...]

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Email List

By lesa Leave a Comment
Incentive to subscribe to email list

Image by djwaldow via Flickr

Your favorite restaurant sends you an electronic postcard for a free birthday dessert. You get an email coupon from your dog groomer, offering Fluffy a free toenail clipping. The Apple Store sends you an email about the latest software to make your life easier. Across the Internet, around your neighborhood, through all industries, companies are using email lists to track, entice, and market to their customers. No matter what business you’re in, a customer list is literally your bread and butter.

Research shows that it’s infinitely easier – and cheaper – to sell to existing customers than to convince new prospects to buy. And when you market online via an email list, you circumvent many of the challenges of traditional direct mail – namely, cost. With email lists, you can manage and mail to thousands of contacts at the click of a button, for the fraction of the cost of “snail mail.” This special report will show you easy ways to manage and grow your own email list, resulting in bigger profits for your wallet and higher visibility for your business. [Read more...]

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