mariare Don’t we all… Here are some quick tips to get the ball rollin’…
- Are you trying to promote a new book? new website? new product? Whatever it is — getting reviews from others across the Net can have a great impact on the publicity your “new thing” gets.
- First, you’ve got to determine who might be interested in reviewing your “new thing.” This could be bloggers who cater to your audience, your review being great content for their blog. Colleagues in complementary niches, would be a great selection.
- Second, have your gameplan done. Create guidelines, keep them reasonable. For example, the bio box must remain in tact (this should have text links to your website); if you approached them with an affiliate offer, make sure that plan is intact; and other considerations, depending on your specific situation.
- Third, make contact. Remember your angle here is to present the review proposal in a manner that is mutually beneficial. If you’re approaching a blogger, the value of content and possible exchange in traffic (when linking), etc.
- Fourth, repeat as necessary.
- Publish online press releases. In this case, the “free” distributions services will not work, as a stand alone. Go ahead an invest in a PRWeb account. They offer a range of packages to fit any budget, but they also get your press release into places (Google News, etc.) that the “free” ones just don’t. Its worth the money in back-links and traffic for your “new thing.”
- Publish “leader” articles weeks leading up to the launch and weeks after, regarding snippets of information from your “new thing.” For example, if your launching a new book, publish articles related to topics in the book, and give excerpts (if feasible). If you are launching a new teleseminar on business communication, publish articles that relate to the different communication modules in the teleseminar. The key here, is to create articles that carry the topic theme of your “new thing.”
- Make sure you post and advertise your “new thing” on all social networking profiles that you own. MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn… whatever you have, get your “new thing” on there. Offer an incentive and make it time-sensitive. You need to create urgency and as much exposure as possible.
- If you are launching a new digitally downloaded product, get it listed in ClickBank and other affiliate-based services. Leveraging the power of affiliates is critical to achieving big success.
- Offer previews, sneak peeks, and other incentives to create “buzz” about your “new thing.” If you are publishing a book, create a website that has “engaging” features – so you create “buzz” before, but draw your audience back for the book’s release. Forums, polls, contests, all serve great for this purpose. If you are launching a new teleseminar series, you want to offer several free-preview calls. Preview calls are critical, not only to build “buzz,” but you can get some really good information from your respondents – if you pay attention. Some could incite changes in your gameplan that triple your sign-ups, etc.
- Lastly, and likely, the most important, plan ahead. Give yourself plenty of time BEFORE launching to set-up the technical aspects (website changes, landing pages, adtracker set-up, auto-responders, etc.). You do not want to rush and take the risk of mistakes. Also, be realistic in the timeframe it takes to create good publicity online. It will always take longer than you think, always.
In an nutshell, think creative, be proactive, and plan ahead. Launching a “new anything” can be taxing and tedious, it is a lot more work than people realize. Most times, you’ve only got one shot at getting it right, particularly if your audience is a tight niche and word gets around.