When it comes to promoting your business on the web, there are as many opinions as there are experts.\u00a0 One guy says to start a blog.\u00a0 Some other guru tells you to write articles and submit them.\u00a0 Still another thinks a press release is the best thing you can do. You probably think to yourself, \u201cIt seems like these guys are just saying the same thing in different ways.\u00a0 It\u2019s all about semantics, right?\u00a0 Au contraire mon frere.\u00a0 Blogs, articles, and press releases are quite a bit different.\u00a0 Come along and see what I mean.<\/p>\n
We will first tackle the blog. A blog, or web-log if you want to be technical, allows you to share with others your wit, wisdom, and a wealth of information.\u00a0 From a business standpoint, your blog can be invaluable.\u00a0 Use it to post videos relevant to your site.\u00a0 Link your customers to independent reviews of your products or services.\u00a0 Write exciting and interesting articles that will thrill the masses, or at least keep them interested enough to take a look-see at what you have to offer them.\u00a0 Your blog can reel in customers like tweens to a Twilight movie.\u00a0 The more inventive you are, the more likely your blog is to spark interest.\u00a0 That spark produces a flame, and that flame can be fanned with a great article.<\/p>\n
An article is a piece of writing that has many purposes.\u00a0 It can inform, entice, entertain, or all three.\u00a0 Its purpose is to share some knowledge, disseminate information, or look at things from a different angle.\u00a0 This is not the place to toot your own horn, except at the very end of the article. You can submit your article to a submission site where more than just customers on your site can view it.\u00a0 What you are looking for here is for others to pluck your article from obscurity and put it on their own site.\u00a0 You allow them to do this in exchange for linking back to your site.\u00a0 This will increase your page ranking with Goggle and other search engines.\u00a0 The great thing is, you pretty much have control of who gets to use your article and what you \u201ccharge\u201d them for it.\u00a0 Now, what do you do if you have something new or exciting you want to let the world know about?<\/p>\n
The press release is your golden opportunity to trumpet your own success, tell the world how great you are, and announce new products or services to the masses.\u00a0 Press releases are written in a pre-determined format, and sometimes require a professional hand to strike that delicate balance between newsworthy and promotional.\u00a0 The press release sites are savvy and snuff out a glorified ad in a second.\u00a0 To combat this, you must find something worth reporting and craft your promotion piece around that.\u00a0 It could be a blurb about how your product or service made someone\u2019s life easier.\u00a0 You could also tout how this groundbreaking new product is a must-have for everyone (think the Ipad).\u00a0 Now, I would be remiss not to offer this one word of caution.\u00a0 Once your press release is \u201cout there\u201d it is out of your hands.\u00a0 You have literally released it and other news media may take it, change it, and shape it anyway they like. Sometimes that is a great thing, and sometimes it isn\u2019t.\u00a0 You will have to make that decision for yourself.<\/p>\n
Okay class, so ends today\u2019s lesson.\u00a0 The blog, the article, and the press release are all excellent tools for boosting the content of your site.\u00a0 Each of them is unique in style, form, and substance. No matter which you choose, they will have positives and negatives.\u00a0 Use one or use them all, whatever strikes your fancy.\u00a0 The most important thing is that you use them.<\/p>\n