Getting Started Online - Press Releases

One of the best ways to spread your message on the Internet is
through press releases and articles. Not only do these strategies
establish you as an expert in your area, they also significantly
improve search engine rankings.

The power of the press release is the potential for free advertising.
If your story is interesting and relevant enough to a wide audience,
a news source may pick up it up. Attracting attention on the Internet
is more difficult than it once was, but a well written and topical
news release can still greatly enhance you public relations efforts.

Press releases are highly structured document that must fit within
accepted guidelines in order for news sources to accept them. One
thing to note here is that reporters are not interested in promoting
your product. They will only pursue stories that may be interesting
to their readers, so despite the temptation to sell your product or
website, consider the angle.

A relaunch of your hotel website probably won't attract attention
from news sources. However if you can approach your story from the
perspective of an existing or breaking news the likelihood of success
is much greater.

For example third party booking sites like Expedia are often in the
news. Your website launch story could take its lead from the recent
shift by consumers away from third party sites, or the recent
troubles with trip cancellations and price changes from overbookings.
If clients who book online with your new site are offered guarantees
with regards to refunds and availability it could be a good angle for
your story.

Once an interesting news angle has been determined, the press release
must be created to match the standard format.

Headline:
The headline must be designed to state your announcement in as few
words as possible. Emulate the headlines from newspapers. This single
short line must be enough to catch a reporter's attention through the
hundreds of press releases the see everyday.

Hotel XYZ Launches New Website will probably not get covered.

Angry Travelers Burned by Travel Giants Seek Out Online Properties
That Won't Ruin Their Holiday may be more interesting.

Whatever your angle is, use the headline to entice the reader to continue on.

Subhead:
The subhead is designed to more clearly identify the angle of the
story and more fully land the reader without detracting from the
impact of the headline.

Headline: Angry Travelers Burned by Travel Giants Seek Out Online
Properties That Won't Ruin Their Holiday


Subhead: As Expedia Customers Suffer Last Minute Cancellations due to
overbooking, Hotel XYZ Announces New Online Guarantee.

Lead:
The opening paragraph or lead must identify the who, what, where,
when and why of the story. If the journalist were to only read this
paragraph they should still be able to proceed with the story. This
is where the claims and points of the story are made.

Anywhere, USA - April 26, 2007 - During Expedia's recent problems
with last minute price changes and outright cancellations from
overbookings, travelers have now become aware that booking their
holiday of a lifetime on the world's largest travel website may not
guarantee a successful journey. In answer to those seeking to avoid
having their flights canceled or unexpected price increases, Hotel
XYZ today announced a new travel guarantee in conjunction with the
launch of its new website and online booking system. Any guest
booking online is absolutely guaranteed their room at the price it
was booked at with a 200% refund policy. If their room is not
available at the check in time of 3:00 pm, the guest will be refunded
an amount double to their booking price on the spot in addition to
their night's stay then being complimentary.

Press Release Body:
The rest of the press release should then back up your claims from
the opening paragraph. Ideally quote experts or outside sources known
to be reliable.

A recent PhocusWright study indicates travelers are moving away from
third party booking sites like Expedia as a result of being bumped or
having to wait once they arrive....

...Hotel XYZ today in conjunction with the relaunch of their website
announced a new guarantee for online bookings....

Boilerplate:
Finally place a paragraph at the end of the press release which
describes your company and what it does.

Hotel XYZ is a luxury boutique hotel located in the heart of Anywhere
USA offering unique accommodations in the heart of downtown...

At the bottom of the release, place ### or -END- to indicate the end
of the release. Below this place a sentence to indicate "For more
information, please contact....". Once the release is written it must
then be distributed.

Distribution:
Getting the press release into the hands of reporters and editors can
be a challenge. Simply collecting an email list and sending it out
will not result in success. The primary source of news for
journalists are the news wires. Your budget and target audience will
determine which wire is most appropriate.

For large companies with global reach and interest and for stories
that have a large consumer impact, a regular news service like PR
Wire will distribute your press release to every news organization in
North America or around the world. Local areas can also be identified
and targeted. The general audience of these news sources are general
consumers. Prices vary depending on where and how far the release is
distributed.

Specialty news wires usually offer lower costs and greater industry
targeting. Hotels and hospitality news organizations generally rely
on Hsyndicate for their press releases. If your story is more
relevant to a specific audience in the business to business realm,
consider a specialty service instead.

Many websites subscribe to these wires and your news story will get
posted in many places across the Internet. This reach will attract
new audiences which may not have been available to you before.
Additionally this presence on other websites should positively affect
your search engine rankings and optimization as your name and hopefully your website address will now appear in many more places. Even if the story is not picked up by a news source, the Web presence alone makes press releases a critical online marketing strategy.

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