Thoughts from Shannon: Spring cleaning- twin style!
Shannon Recommends: Spring Cleaning Ebook Special
Feature Article:News Releases for a Web 2.0 World
Events & Highlights: What's Shannon Up To?
Media Profile: BusinessWeek
About Shannon: Find out more about this award-winning presenter, author and publicist.
Marketplace: Great Offers From Great People
Special thank you to Bert Vermeulen and Lynda Byrnes for recommend Be Heard! as a great resource for the Easy Meal Prep community.
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Be Heard! is the free weekly online newsletter for entrepreneurs, solo professionals, consultants, coaches and small business owners that will help you learn the secrets to attract more targeted clients and customers through publicity and promotions.
As you can tell, I've been spring cleaning. Getting rid of those cobwebs, dust bunnies, and old, unproductive ways of doing things. And this new look for my ezine is just one of the many results. (And you'll be hearing a lot more very soon!)
The twins have been getting in the act of spring cleaning, too. My girls take great pleasure in 'helping out.' You notice I put that in quotes because sometimes their help can be not so helpful. There may be a mess to clean up after cleaning up with Lyra & Sasha, but there's always so much great fun and memories that go along with it.
They've learned quickly that two heads are better than one in some tasks.
I recently took a cue from them by learning not to be the 'lone ranger' and seek out mastermind partners to help my business grow faster, and more easily. I'll admit it, it was hard at first for me to reach out, but now, I'm proud to say I've learned, just as my girls have, that 1 + 1 can truly equal 5!
Take for example one of my mastermind partners, Rebecca Murtagh of Karner Blue Marketing. Once we really opened up to each other and shared, we found an opportunity to create an amazing new way to get free publicity, using the power of press releases and search engine optimization. We call it Marketing Power Play's Web 2.0 Publicity.
Want to learn more about how it works? Read this week's feature article. Or get the free audio course by going to http://www.marketingpowerplay.com.
You will be heard!
Shannon
PS: I always welcome feedback. Let me know what you think about the ezine by emailing me at assist@beheardsolutions.com
Spring Cleaning - Get 3 ebooks for the price of two!
It's time to clean out the old stock to make room for new products and programs. So for the month of May, you can get all three of Shannon's highly-recommended ebooks for the price of just two.
That's only $19.90 for three content rich ebooks that can help you with your publicity.
You'll get:
Be Heard with News Release
Learn
the skills to write great news releases that get a reporter's
attention. Discover the three tips of releases - and find out how to
use each one.
Be a Radio Star
Each
day, radio producers are looking for more than 10,000 guests to
interview. You could be one of them if you learn the tricks of the
trade to get booked.
Happy Holidays: Using Holidays & Seasons for Publicity
The
media are always looking for stories that tie into a holiday or season
and you can be the one they cover when you learn how to pitch the media
with your holiday story tie-in.
Press releases are often criticized for being a marketing device for
business instead of an informational tool. In the past, press releases
were utilized to distribute news to reporters and buyers. In today's
current market, many feel that press releases contain little newsworthy
material and/or details that would be interesting to readers.
If
used correctly, a press release doesn't have to be outdated. There are
times when it's appropriate to write a press release and times when
you'll want to try another method of publicity. It's not that writing a
press release is obsolete but rather that it has evolved into a new
form. Therefore the key is to evolve with it.
In order to modernize your press release, you should:
Write to a specific audience.
Instead of writing one general press release, try creating press
releases more often and make them shorter. Write your releases more
frequently and gear them to a more specific audience using popular
topics for that specific audience. In doing so, there's more potential
to grasp the interest of your readers.
Take advantage of social media.
The use of various social media such as blogs, video sharing or a
business website allows you to meet the needs of your internet
audience. Going beyond the format of a traditional press release
permits reporters and editors easier access to your information.
Check the newsworthiness of your release.
Your release should include essential information that your readers
wouldn't want to miss out on. Using a press release to promote your
business can lead to less interest in any releases that you may
distribute in the future. Essentially, sending out a press release
without any news can jeopardize the importance of your future press
releases.
Make the most of search engines.
You can use keyword devices on Yahoo or Google to explore what words
are used most in searches and put those words in your press releases.
That way when a member of your audience is online conducting a search
for something related to your field, it's more likely that they will
come across one of your releases.
Include links back to your website.
You should include links back to your business website or any RSS feeds
in a press release. That can help you expand your audience and enhance
the importance of your press release. And isn't that the reason you
wrote it to begin with?
Interested in getting more targeted with your press releases? Then join Rebecca Murtagh and I for Marketing Power Play. Sign up for the LIVE event in Albany - or simply get the free audio at http://www.marketingpowerplay.com
May 8, 2008
9 am - 1 PM Marketing Power Play LIVE event
Holiday Inn Turf, Albany NY
Learn the basics of how to incorporate Web 2.0 in your publicity! Find out more.
May 13, 2008
8 PM EDT (5 PM PDT) The Simple Secret to Building Your Online Empire
FREE Teleclass with Gina Ratiffe, success coach
Learn the secrets of creating the business you want, from a feminine perspective!
Register today!
BusinessWeek
1221 Avenue Of The
Americas, Fl 43 New York,
NY10020
Here's the scoop:
Edited to keep readers informed of important news that affects the
business community in the
U.S.
and abroad and to interpret, analyze and evaluate these news events for
business management. Each issue features late-breaking news and economic
analysis, as well as stories on international business, science and technology,
information processing, management trends, marketing, corporate strategies,
financial markets, government, personal business and profiles of business
leaders.
Some Key People and What They Need: Spencer Ante, Consulting Services Department Editor - spencer_ante@businessweek.com
Spencer is a Department Editor responsible for the Computers
section. He specifically covers consulting services and outsourcing. Customize
press releases to his coverage. Contact him by e-mail if you haven't already
built up a rapport.
Catherine Arnst, Business Senior Writer - cathy_arnst@businessweek.com
Cathy is a Senior Writer and covers Medical and Health topics for
the Science and Technology section. All e-mail contact should be short and to
the point; please include Web site information for all companies. She prefers
e-mail.
Susan Berfield, Entrepreneurism Associate Editor - susan_berfield@businessweek.com
Susan is an Associate Editor and covers People in Business. She
writes profiles for People, which is part of the Corporations section. Send
press releases by e-mail. Phone calls are unnecessary and discouraged.
Editor's note: I've done my best to make sure these contacts and their details are accurate. But remember, it's best to check to make sure!
Shannon Cherry, APR, MA is the founder and president of Cherry Communications, which includes the subsidiary Be Heard Solutions. She works with small business owners, nonprofit directors and entrepreneurs to help them to be heard.
For more than 15 years, she's been turning people's thoughts and ideas into clear, concise, compelling stories - the kind that stand above the rest and get noticed.
In addition to her consulting work, Shannon has co-authored two books: Be Your Own Great & Powerful: A Woman's Guide to Living a Real, Big Life and Parenting Beyond Belief, an Amazon best seller for more than eight months. She is also the blogger behind, Startup Spark, one of the top 60 business blogs in the world.
She is a professional speaker, who has presented internationally on the topics of media, public relations, marketing and parenting.
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Wild Women Entrepreneurs is celebrating its 3rd
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Stop struggling to develop a webpage that works! Come
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Disclaimer: Neither Be Heard Solutions, Cherry Communications nor Shannon Cherry endorses the accuracy or reliability of any of the paid advertisements above or the quality of any products, information, or other materials displayed, purchased, or obtained by you as a result of an offer in connection with any ad. Please do your own due diligence BEFORE purchasing any product.
They've learned quickly that two heads are better than one in some tasks. 
If
used correctly, a press release doesn't have to be outdated. There are
times when it's appropriate to write a press release and times when
you'll want to try another method of publicity. It's not that writing a
press release is obsolete but rather that it has evolved into a new
form. Therefore the key is to evolve with it.
