Press Release-Breathe Life into your Jewelry Business

I'm reprinting this article with permission because this old tool,the press release , can breathe some much needed life into emerging and established handcrafted jewelry businesses!

A New Look at an Old Tool
The press release was long considered the workhorse of the public relations trade, now smart marketers are breathing new life into this tool.

It used to be that PR folks would create tightly formatted press releases to distribute a your company's story to the media. The hope was that these releases would catch the attention of a journalist and spark a mention or interview.

While PR firms still pump these documents out, they no longer have the impact they once had. However, smart marketers have discovered new ways to breathe life into the press release and use it a way to communicate directly with prospects as well as journalists.

Most journalists will tell you that they go online when researching story ideas and looking for sources to interview and quote. Creating press releases with an eye on search engine optimization has become a powerful way to get your story told while enhancing your overall web presence.

The trick to employing the press release as a search engine tool is to focus on creating quality content that features basic optimization techniques.

Why optimize

A press release that focuses on your company's primary keyword phases can often bring page one search results for very little cost.

Press releases distributed through the right channels can bring your web site hundreds of back-links in a very natural fashion (very important factor for the search engines)

Targeted press releases can bring very targeted traffic to your site when done on a consistent basis.

Tips for formatting

• Create strong, keyword rich titles and subtitles for your release - don't get spammy with this keep it strong and short
• Keep it short - aim for somewhere around 500 words tops
• Cover the most important details in your lead paragraph
• Add quotes from customers or executives and write in 3rd person
• End your press release with a concise paragraph about your company an don't forget contact information

You can use my free Instant Press Release tool to walk your through this and format the release for you.

Tips for optimizing

• Make sure you have your list of important keywords and phrases
• Try to work a phrase into your title, subtitle and several times in the body of the release but make sure that it looks natural - consider saying it several ways
• If you link to a page on your site, use the keyword phrase as your link text instead of click here - this is very important for long-term effectiveness
• Create an RSS feed (you can create a free WordPress.com blog and write your releases and use the RSS feed) and repost the content back to a page on your site.
• Make it easy to bookmark your release by adding social bookmarking tags

Now that you've created a well written, well optimized press release it,s time to get it out there on the Internet and in front of some journalists. (Don't worry if you don't get a call from the New York Times, the real value is what doing this on a monthly basis can mean to your web presence - if you get a story or two, that's great.)

There are many press release distribution services such as PRNewswire, MarketWire, and BusinessWire, but I think that PRWeb.com is the best small business tool.

For $80 PRWeb will distribute your press release to thousands of journalists and with its Online Visibility Engine much of the task of SEO and adding social media tools is done for you. The $80 level assures that your release makes it to Google and Yahoo News.

Related article - Minor PR Story Starters

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John Jantsch is a marketing and digital technology coach, award winning social media publisher and author of Duct Tape Marketing. He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system. You can find more information by visiting www.ducttapemarketing.com

Spirit of the Heart collection Press Release

Here is an example of one of the press releases I used for the Spirit of the Heart collection......

For Immediate Release:
Contact: Randi-Sue Deckard
Phone: 469-877-0805

WORDS ARE NOT REQUIRED WHEN SPEAKING YOUR HEART

Glass and Metal Artist Randi Deckard Launches SPIRIT OF THE HEART

To Let Your Heart Speak Without Words

Dallas, TX (January 01, 2007)-Sharing the message that is in your heart has never been easier. There is no need to agonize or prepare over word choices when you let your heart speak with an original fused glass heart design inspired by passion, hope, love, faith and more. No matter what is in your heart you will find a message perfect to share with any women in your life just because-no special occasion required.


Valentine’s Day is just one day of the year that we celebrate the people we love. Spirit of the Heart embraces the spirit of letting your heart speak everyday. Whether it is passion for your wife, pure love for your daughter, faith for a girl friend in need, or just because, the special women in your life will know what’s in your heart when you give them a fused glass heart necklace to treasure for a lifetime.

The Spirit of the Heart collection includes passionate reds to sweetheart pinks to help the message from your heart be spoken without words. Each heart is handcrafted one at a time so each is unique just like the heartfelt message being shared.

“There is no special moment or date required to let your heart speak. This collection embraces letting your speak spontaneously to the special women in your life every calendar day of the year,” states the artist , Randi Deckard.

Celebrate life, dance daily and share what’s in your heart with the special women in your life. The Spirit of the Heart Collection is available at www.Designing-Diva.com and ranges in price from $15-$100.

2008 Business Resolutions/Goals

The Diva's 2008 Business Goals/Resolutions

• Keep website updated (photographs & items to buy)
• Make website more navigable for products (even more important now that I will be adding home decor and desk Art Glass gifts this quarter)
• Be consistent with PR (have a new PR on a monthly basis at least)
• Work with other independent partners to promote "buying handmade" and "directly from artists"
• Pursue more wholesale accounts by signing up with Wholesale Crafts
• Brush up my PhotoShop skills and buy a polarizing diffuser for my digital camera
• Have art glass and or jewelry in a Gallery and national print(magazine, newspaper or tv)
  
• Keep up with my business records on a monthly basis so it does NOT snowball
• Work on my bio and author statement to reflect my current work
• Continue my self education in metalworking and warm glass (an advanced stone setting class and experiment with surface design on warm glass-frits, enamels and silk screening)
• Redesign business card and small promotion cards
• Design bigger label for vellum purses (small and large)
• .....still find time to create and enjoy it! ;)

What are your business goals for 2008? Anyone want to work on being accountable to one another??? Leave me a comment or drop me a line at DesigningDivaJewelry at Gmail dot com

Listen to Nike and Just Do It!

The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men.
- George Eliot


Think about this quote for a little bit and how it relates to your jewelry marketing plan. If it is just a plan and you've taken NO action , your business isn't going to move forward! You must take action and it does NOT need to be perfect; in fact, it just needs to be professional and follow the tone of your niche market.

I don't know about you but I don't have a degree in the dreaded M word.....marketing. Everything I've learned is either from experience (on and offline sources), self-education or mentoring.

For example, I don't dread writing a press release even though it is not my favorite thing to do. I'm comfortable in doing my own research and pitching various on and offline publications, tv, and radio.

Just remember, you need to put your jewelry marketing plan into action. Tackle just one thing on your plan this week. Make business goals and stick to them! There is NO such thing as failure only an opportunity to LEARN and GROW!!!

Leave your thoughts or comments!

Silent Auctions-Great Way to Market Your Jewelry to the Community

We live in a suburb in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Our local community paper is a great place for me to find Silent Auctions and other fund raiser to place my jewelry line in.

When I submit a jewelry item, it is always tagged with my business information. I also include a gift box and pink purse with my logo to be displayed along side the jewelry item that is donated. Of course, it has never been a problem to include business cards and I always ask if coupons can also offered.

These have been a great way for not only my jewelry line to gain visibility but free marketing. Often the Silent Auctions/fund raisers will write a press release or give out thank you notes to the attendees that list the donating companies with contact information.

I have had several new customers as a result of helping out in my community.

Has any other jewelry artist had an experience with a Silent Auction or fund raiser that they would like to share? Post a comment.

Jewelry Line , Media & Press PDF-Why you Need and Want this...

Offer your jewelry line, media & press in down loadable pdf. Not sure what a PDF is? Scroll down. I found a great reference article by Mark A Abrahams.

1. Retail customers will love being able to browse & share your jewelry offline with a pdf version. It is a great way to showcase a gift guide with highlighted designs and there are NO printing costs on your part.

2. If you sell your jewelry wholesale, you can offer retail buyers a "virtual catalog". Just make sure that your retail customers are NOT privy to this information or they may get upset when they see the pricing difference.

3. If you pitch your jewelry line to magazines, they will have instant access to media ready photos, company bio, etc...This is so important considering they are often running deadlines and your jewelry might not end up in print because they did not have access to media quality photos (300dpi on white background).

4. Writing press releases? You should be! Refer to reason #3...so they instant access to media quality photos and information INSTANTLY.

Are you beginning to see how powerful this little PDF can be? Read on to find out how to create your own PDFs. I can not wait to put this in to use. I had been putting it off because of the cost of Adobe Software but I found a work around in the article below.

As always, got comments? suggestions? want to share ?? E-mail me!

Creating A Pdf Document
Creating A Pdf Document
By Mark A. Abrahams
When you first start out on the internet creating a pdf
document can be a challenge. While the Adobe reader is
free. The software to create pdf files from Adobe is very
expensive costing a few hundred dollars. This can be a
quite an expense for a person on a limited budget.
Especially if you only using this to give away free reports
and not selling anything you may have difficulty justifying
the expense. Pdf is the standard when it comes to reading
documents online and most people prefer this to any ebooks
created by ebook software because pdf ebooks are really
easy on the eye to read. Adobe is the standard and make the
best pdf software. I will show you some alternatives to
explore in case the price is to steep for a person starting
out.

There are many alternatives to use for pdf creation and
conversion. If you have a document like Word you can use a
free pdf online conversion service like Pdf Online. However
if you create pdf files regularly you may want to install a
pdf converter on your personal computer. The way that this
works is that you install a driver like a printer. Every
time you want to convert to a pdf file you need to print to
the printer and this will convert your file to a pdf file.
However for this option most of the alternatives charge a
fee.

One of the problems I have had with the alternatives to
Adobe software is that I found it impossible to insert
links directly in your pdf files to link to a web site url
using your own specified link text. I was eventually able
to overcome this problem. Google mail has a nifty feature
where it allows you to upload documents for example Word.
You then can make your changes and insert your links and
save the file as pdf. This is all completely free.L

Learning how to create a pdf document is one of the most
important skills you need to learn when you start marketing
online. Not only can you create free pdf reports and build
a relationship with your list, but you can also create
commercial quality ebooks and sell them for a price. You
can also embed your affiliate links in your pdf documents
and create additional profits.


Would you like to know more about the techniques that have helped me to quit my day job? I have just completed my new guide.

Download it free here: Secrets Of Internet Marketing

Mark Abrahams is a full time internet marketer who has helped others to earn a living online.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_A._Abrahams
http://EzineArticles.com/?Creating-A-Pdf-Document&id=531599

Hold a Contest & Write a Press Release

Did you check out Designing-Diva Jewelry's (DDJ's) jewelry contest, "Mom Rocks", press release?

**When you look at the original press release, does the headline grab you?

**What is the point of the press release?

**Does the press release sound like an ad?

Can anyone tell me , why I asked those questions and why they are important? I'm waiting for those lurkers to comment! :)

How to Get Publicity for your Jewelry Business-Write a Press Release

Sooner or later you are going to have to learn how to write and submit a press release. Why? Free publicity!

There are several places to learn about writing a press release and how to format (just do a Google search and you will find what you are looking for).

Once you have a sample press release, read it again and have someone else read it. When you read the headline, ask yourself, "Who Cares?" If you can't answer that question, rewrite the headline. The headline is the attention grabber so you should spend more time on that than anything else (80% on headline and 20% on body. Look at newspapers and magazines. What headlines grab your attention and make you want to read? Yep, more homework for you.

Make sure you can get to the point in 2-3 sentences. If you can NOT, go back to the drawing board. The press release needs to get to the point and quickly if it is going to make it past the journalist's desk and not end up in the wastebasket!

Give the press release credibility by having a quote from you commenting on the topic.

Your call to action is very important; make sure you tell people to shop online at ----- or to buy----shop at ------. If you do not tell them what to do, they won't do it!

When submitting a press release to a newspaper or magazine, include your bio and company's background. If they have any questions, this extra information should assist them. Ensure your contact information is accurate in case they want to follow up with an interview! Yes, it happens all the time.

Don't forget to submit your PR online as well so it may be archived. Whenever someone searches for your business, they will find a press release which gives your jewelry biz credibility and establishes your company as a solution!

So, what are you waiting for, do a little homework and get to that press release!

If you have a website, make sure you have a page for media and press. Check out Designing-Diva Jewelry's press and media page. Note, I have my press releases and articles archived. I have made it easy for the media to gather information about my jewelry business and myself by having all the information accessible in ONE place!

Jewelry Marketing Tip #1-gift giving problem solved

Jewelry Marketing Tip #1

Solve a Problem

Every product or service on the planet solves a problem. Do you know how your handcrafted jewelry solves a problem?

Jewelry solves many problems:
*Gift
*Romance
*Love
*Special Moment-birthday, anniversary, wedding, graduation

Get the picture. You are offering a solution/service/product that people are looking for!

Convert that solution into a press release. Here is an example of headline you could use for a press release:

Mother's Day Gifts Under $50 by Designing-Diva Jewelry

If you were a reader, would you care enough to read on? Yes. Mother's Day is a huge retail day and people are looking for gifts so they will read on. You have just provided a solution to their problem.