Now THAT’S advertising!

Five Things you should know when sending out a press release

1. Get the most important thing you need to say into an ATTENTION GRABBING headline (in bold) and first sentence of your press release

2. Include crucial information only – don’t ramble, and don’t exaggerate

3. Length guideline – 4/5 paragraphs of two or three sentences including a quote or two from relevant people

4. Research who to send it to – only send to journalists who have an interest in the subject or company, those who’ve written about you before, or send to general news@…. email addresses

5. Do not attach anything to the email – plain text only – add the fancy bits if they get back to you seeking more info!

Cheers for those quick tips Emily. I think keeping things short and to the point will always help!

A page dedicated to people that help me with the weekly Five Things is here.

1) If You Build It, They Won’t Come

Thousands of start-ups you’ve never heard of sink all of their time and money into development and reserve none for the marketing plan that oh wait – they don’t have. You can have the best product in the world but if you don’t have users, you don’t have a business, end of story.

2) Reward Your Early Adopters

Your first users and customers will do a better job of marketing your business than you ever will. Talk to them, reward them, help them, love them. If you make using your product or service an amazing experience for them personally, they will turn into an army of evangelists for your brand.

3) Online Marketing Rules

If you’re selling a web-based product or service, guess what: your market is already online. You will get a better ROI for a well-designed online marketing campaign than you will for traditional print and media, especially if you are at the low-spend end of the spectrum.

4) Social Media Marketing is Bad

Social media marketing is a misnomer. Companies that attempt to sell or market in spaces that are by definition social stick out like sore thumbs and look like clueless idiots. Don’t be that clueless idiot.

5) Social Media is Good

The big tip-off is in the name. Use social spaces like Twitter, blogs, or (God forbid) MySpace and Bebo to hang out with your users. Talk to them. Interact with them. Use these platforms to build real relationships and develop a community around your brand. If you cannot do this authentically, then don’t go there.

These are five great tips you should read and re-read every time you come up with a new business idea. I’ve only met Sabrina about four times now and already she has saved me lots of Euros and lots of time. One of her clients is currently up for WON Best Commercial Website at the Irish Digital Media Awards. Best of luck to Sabrina and the team at Curious Wines.

[Update: A page dedicated to people that help me with the weekly Five Things is here.]