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Sean McManus, author of the book Small Business Websites That Work, tells
you why press coverage is good for your site and gives you some tips on
how to write press releases that work In February I launched
Wild Mood Swings, a site
where you tell it how you feel and it takes you off to a site to fit that
mood. The week after its launch, the
website was 'site of the day' in the UK's Daily Mirror national newspaper
and got a quarter of a page of coverage in Web User magazine. I got emails
from lots of people who had seen it in these publications telling me they
enjoyed it and got quite a few people linking to my site after reading
about it. The best thing was that I was
reaching out to people who could not possibly have known my site was out
there to go looking for - search engines aren't a great way to generate
traffic for something gimmicky like this because people don't think to go
looking for it. Wouldn't it be great if
newspapers and magazines would write about your website? It might happen
if you write a press release to tell them about it. Here are some tips: Make sure you have something
to offer. Websites that are just selling things or promoting services
don't offer much of interest to tell readers about. But how about
offering free downloads of manuals or software, or on-screen buying
guides for technical equipment? What about providing some games or
creating an extensive directory? Think about what your potential
visitors go looking for and what you can put on your website to set you
apart from your competitors. (There's more advice on creating content
for your website in
chapter 2 of 'Small Business Websites That Work'). Editors have to filter out a
lot of junk. Make it easy for them to see why they should write about
your site by prioritising the benefits to their readers of visiting your
site. If you can't write a captivating headline, it's going to be harder
to promote your site on the web too - often you only have a few words of
link text or a short description in a search engine listing to convince
someone to visit your site.
Publications want news so
prioritise what's fresh. Tie in a press release with your site launch,
or the opening of a new section or a new service.
Include quotes. Try to have
something interesting to say about why you made the site, what you hope
it will become and what you hope people will get out of it. Magazines
like it to look like they've interviewed you and good quotes help.
Include your name and make it clear why you're qualified to comment (eg,
you built the site, you commissioned it, you're the manager of the
company that owns it).
Don't waffle - if you don't
have much to say, keep it short
Just the facts. Don't waste
your time and the journalist's time by hyping your site. Use figures
where you have them - eg, the site features more than 185 pages, the
site recognises more than 80 moods. There's an article about the kinds
of things journalists filter out as hype at
JournalismCareers.com
Remind editors to include
your website address so readers can find your site more easily. You can
include background information in a section called 'Notes for editors'
at the end of the press release.
Provide contact information
so journalists can easily ask follow-up questions
Provide a picture. Make it
easy to download a screenshot or provide a shot of your products if
that's appropriate.
Date your press release
Then, where to send it? Well,
the best thing is to start compiling a list as early as possible and long
before you'll need it. While you're still building the site or planning
your promotion campaign, cut out contact details from magazines or
newspapers that are relevant to what you do. Consider the local newspaper
and trade press if appropriate. But don't waste time sending your press
release to magazines that don't cater for your audience. It's okay to send the press
release by email (many editors prefer it because they can cut and paste
your words into their story where appropriate). You could even try
personalising your emails automatically by mail merging from your database
to include their name and their publication's name. Over the years I've had various
websites featured in national newspapers and a whole range of music and
computer magazines. The coverage tends to bring in a short burst of
visitors and not the kind of quantity that you might expect from a major
search engine. But it does bring in passionate people - people who already
like the idea of what you do before they visit your site - and they do
tend to join in more by emailing feedback, setting up links and
potentially buying your goods. Press coverage isn't
guaranteed. If you need certainty, buy an advert. But journalists are
looking for good stories and your website launch might just qualify.
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