The days when you could count on a professionally written Press Release to get you noticed by the Press are so last century that even thinking that’s all it takes is seriously misguided thinking.
Today’s journalists are inundated daily with Press Releases which range from the completely amateurish and ineffectual to the totally professionally written one. After weeding out the obvious ones by filing them in the bin they are left with far more than they could use.
This begs the question: why bother? There are many reasons:
- First a professionally written Press Release is like a well-designed business card. It sends a clear, unmistakeable signal that you are focused, professional, business-like and should be taken seriously. It therefore increases the likelihood of what you are promoting actually getting noticed.
- A professionally written Press Release forms additional, search-engine indexable collateral you can post on your website.
- A Press Release forms part of the professional activity serious business engage in. Just like having a business card it indicates, depth, methodology and clarity of purpose.
- A Press Release also allows your online presence to increase. There is nothing worse than a potential customer or business partner doing a little research on you and finding just four pages of your company on Google. Released through online channels a Press Release becomes a digital sing post popping up on other sites which re-publish Press Release content adding credibility to your company and weight to your online presence.
- Publicity. Should the Press actually decide to give coverage to your company and its products or services a Press Release that’s already ‘out there’ makes it easy for them to find out information and create copy which means it also increases the likelihood of coverage.
A Press Release, like a business card still makes sense to create.
Make sure that it is:
- Professionally written in terms of style and length
- Adheres to the acceptable formatting of the professional Press Release
- It has been written by a professional journalist as opposed to a student who will use it as a creative writing exercise to learn
At Web Direct Studio we employ NUJ -trained journalists who have often, themselves, been on the receiving end of Press Releases from hopefuls looking to get noticed. They understand what convention requires. They know what works and what does not and they can, as necessary, push the barriers sufficiently to engage their fellow journalists' attention whenever possible. They create Press Releases that are designed to work equally well online and offine.
Press Release samples
Below are samples of some Press Releases we have created for different clients, click on each to see in turn.
British Tastes delivered to your doorstep with English Food Supermarket
British Tastes delivered to your doorstep with English Food Supermarket
www.englishfoodsupermarket.com
With over half a million British people leaving Britain for a life in the sun every year there is that eventual, and some would argue inevitable, moment when there will be the urge to seek out Marmite or look for Pot Noodles or that can of baked beans necessary for the perfect English breakfast taste.
Now, in a perfect world you would be able to enjoy your favorite brand of baked beans, Cadbury’s chocolates and the bottled water of your choice anywhere on the planet, except we know the world is not perfect and the moment you leave Britain you are at the fate of whatever patchy supply lines have been set up by local retailers.
EnglishFoodSupermaket.com is where this imbalance gets addressed a little. Your British supermarket wherever you may happen to be in the world EnglishFoodSupermarket.com can deliver a wide range of British products straight to your doorstep. Are you homesick for Digestives, Shortbread and some real tea? No problem. Do you want baked beans, Marmite and some Twiglets? A few clicks and within a few days it all arrives.
Utilizing the latest technology in supply line fulfillment EnglishFoodSupermarket.com brings the culinary tastes of Britain to your doorstep wherever you may be in the world. “The idea is to take the hassle out of finding British food and British products and provide one place where you can reasonably find almost anything,” said a company spokesman, “we have focused on providing some of the best British food brands and those which help shape British taste and British culinary needs. With an ever expanding program in place I am confident that within time we will be the one-stop shop for British food outside Britain. We see it as our way towards helping create that ideal world where you can enjoy uninterrupted sunshine and year-round high temperatures and still have the best of Britain a click away.”
Emigration rates have been rising steadily in Britain since 2005 with 2007 being the first year they topped the half a million mark – a population greater than that of the city of Leeds. They have since, according to Home Office figures, remained on a steady rise of between 10% - 15% a year.
“Just because you leave Britain does not mean you have to leave your favourite British foods behind too,” explain the people behind EnglishFoodSupermarket.com. “With our extensive range of products the taste of home is only one click away.”
Online Yoga website draws Yoga enthusiasts from all over the world
Online Yoga website draws Yoga enthusiasts from all over the world
Yoga is the one physical training discipline you can engage in which has been medically proved to work against depression, high blood pressure and even aging of the joints, reversing the toll of time. There are many different branches of Yoga, each with a variation in emphasis and philosophy and each also focuses on different aspects of Yogic fitness.
Some focus on so-called ‘hard’ aspects of fitness with an athletic, almost, overview of Yoga. Others take a more holistic approach which incorporates the different states of the mind as well as the body. With so many different organization, disciplines and directions Yoga has been extremely resistant to both organization and change. Recently however, through the medium of the Web and the efforts of an Ashtanga Yogi, Yoga is beginning to find a focus which is leading it towards the 21st century.
iYogaclub.com started as an idea. Its founder, Spyros Kapnias – Garudananda, has spent the best part of three decades bridging philosophies which span the world of fitness, martial arts and Yoga practice, to bring, in one place, a cohesive approach to Yoga itself.
“Yoga has a long, long tradition which goes back millennia,” he says, “it would be short-sighted to dismiss that out of hand and it would be wrong to ignore it. Yoga, however, has not always availed itself of modern teachings and modern training techniques. In the 21st century we see a large body of work from disciplines outside Yoga which, however, can be adapted and successfully used by Yogis. In order for this synthesis to take place we have provided a forum for Yogis from all over the world to gather, catch up with research, exchange views and news and also promote their schools, seminars and Yoga Festivals.”
The iYogaclub.com website started out as a small site overseen by a single person and has since grown into a full-blown operation with a team of more than eight people supporting it and its demands. It features writings of some of the world’s more renown Yogis and it has become a point where those who are separated by geography can be united by Yoga and exchange views, ideas and opinions and develop. The costs of the site’s development and maintenance have been met by an investor group with a five year plan. The site operates completely free and anyone can join for free.
“Basically the site is everything about Yoga,” says Spyros, “it brings, under one roof, everything the Yoga enthusiast and the Yoga instructor will need. We have experts writing for us and people who are published journalists in the world of fitness. Yoga has a way of levelling differences and bringing people together and iYogaclub.com has done exactly that.”
Anthuriums increase your ability to say it with flowers
Anthuriums increase your ability to say it with flowers
London, England, October 2007 – Flowers have always had the ability to provoke an emotive response in us. They change our surroundings bringing the outside in and modify our moods cheering us up when we feel low. They also have the power to highlight aspects of our homes, enhancing features, atmosphere and architectural lines.
It is in the latter that Anthuriums.co.uk, a new UK start-up, is busy carving a name for itself. Taking as its mission the beautification, enhancement and tasteful decoration of every modern, minimalist living room and home, Anthuriums specialise in the sale of exotic, architectural plants which approach, in their shapes and colours, living works of art.
“Sticking a daisy in a vase and putting it on a table does not really do a lot for a modern living room,” explains Dan Prayag, founder and CEO of the new venture, “Quite rightly we have high demands of the environment we create in our homes. We live stressful, hectic lives and the decoration of our living rooms and homes is of particular importance because they reinforce our sense of identity and our place in the world. Anthuriums provide the opportunity to use flowers to create unique settings at very cost-effective prices.”
Perfect for creating a visually striking effect for parties and special occasions, the exotic offerings of Anthuriums.co.uk are also ideal for creating environments we can feel comfortable in and relax.
“When you’re buying flowers, whether they are for yourself or a gift you are looking to create a very specific effect. Our flowers provide you with endless opportunities precisely because we carry a large, exciting variety.”
Offering click-and-buy ease of use Anthuriums.co.uk are the perfect solution to how to best integrate the power of flowers in homes which are minimalist, clean-lined and very geometric in their décor.
With over £2 billion spent every year on flowers and plants in the UK Anthuriums aim to capitalise on demand by offering competitive prices, excellent customer service and a truly stunning variety of options in the decorative plant front.
“You have to decide what you really want to do,” says Dan, “do you want to put a daisy in a vase and muse how pretty it looks or have flowers in your home which look stunning and show off its décor. If it’s the latter, then we’d love to help you.”
Enter a world of luxury and aspiration with Elite Aspects
Enter a world of luxury and aspiration with Elite Aspects
London, England, June 2007 -- It was Coco Chanel who famously said: “I love luxury. And luxury lies not in richness and ornateness but in the absence of vulgarity. Vulgarity is the ugliest word in our language. I stay in the game to fight it.”
If you are tired of trawling the web in search of items with class and style and coming across sites where the word ‘vulgar’ is an apt description then you are part of the Web 2.0 revolution where online surfers search for websites which reinforce their own values and reaffirm the aspirations of their lifestyle.
Elite Aspects has been created to meet this exact need. Focusing on convenience, quality and style, the innovative website is firmly lifestyle based with a business directory, unique articles, press releases, eBay auctions and items to buy, the selection of which is governed by the need to create an upmarket, responsive environment that’s totally aspirational.
“Luxury should not optional. Style should not be rare,” says the site’s Founder, David Stone, explaining the basis for Elite Aspects. “Globally there is a need for an easy-to-access, comprehensive website where you can find merchants, services, goods and information about the things which make life feel special.”
Elite Aspect’s global reach and its focus on what could be described as the cream of the crop from every corner of the world makes it the destination of choice for every discerning surfer who is ready to explore quality and style.
Information is varied, covering destinations, hotels and luxury yachts. There is a diverse range of material, a directory which will eventually cover a great many traders in speciality and luxury goods from all over the world, plus the ability to find a range of products from specially selected outlets from the world’s largest auction site: eBay.
Elite Aspects’ focus on style and quality is part of a growing surge in websites which aim squarely at the niche, but globally huge, market of affluent visitors looking for quality products, elite services and the “next best thing”. Elite Aspects is unique in that it also offers the versatility of finding eBay merchants who offer quality products, thus doing away with hours and hours of tiring, frustrating trawling, and has a directory which in itself is an information goldmine.
In terms of bringing quality to quality-focused sites Elite Aspects has just raised the bar paving the way for others to follow, or be left behind.
Help your website be found and save a lot of money in the bargain
Help your website be found and save a lot of money in the bargain
London, England, October 2007 – The world wide web grows at the rate of 170,000 new websites added each day. In this increasingly crowded, ever-expanding global community where opportunities beckon the daily battle is in making your site visible to those who are looking for it.
Until recently the choices in that respect were stark. Either you were in the feted position of having enough cash to hire expensive professionals or you were constantly trying to understand the arcane art of search engine optimisation (SEO) in order to help your site show up high on Google’s organic search engine page results.
Struggling webmasters, new site owners, cash-strapped budding SEO amateurs and anyone remotely interested in making their site begin to list high on Google’s top pages, now have help in the form or affordable expertise and in-depth advise from the SEO website: www.helpmyseo.com.
As the name suggests the website was formed with the specific purpose to help those who want to save money and optimise their website themselves and it does that in a no-nonsense, affordable way. HelpMySEO is a monthly subscription website which at .99 a month will not break the bank. The question is, will it really help you get your website listed highly on Google?
The answer from the site’s owners, two SEO professionals who got fed up with the industry smoke and mirrors they see being peddled everywhere, is a resounding yes. “We wanted to create the kind of site we would have liked to have found way back when, before we learnt all the things we did concerning search engine marketing and SEO. That’s why we separated the content on the site into SEO Basic, SEO Essentials and SEO Advanced. No matter what level of knowledge you have in terms of SEO we guarantee you will benefit. We also made in non-binding. You have the same access to the site if you pay just one month’s subscription with someone who has paid for the year. That way you can test it and if it’s of no benefit to you, you can leave. All you risk is bucks.”
The owners of HelpMySEO.com guarantee that their website will help you in your optimisation efforts. They recently added an SEO News section which is in-depth analysis you will find nowhere else and worth the monthly subscription just for that plus an SEO Content section which allows you to copy and paste SEO-ready, customisable copy for your site.
HelpMySEO.com gets updated daily so regular visits are required in order to benefit from its expertise.
Wedding flowers that tell a story (but still keep a secret)
Wedding flowers that tell a story (but still keep a secret)
http://www.lolablooms.com
Flowers always tell a story. In a wedding they set the tone, create the mood and spice up the atmosphere, creating a tale in the minds of the guests. They are what guests subconsciously remember and what many will talk about afterwards. As you would expect the flowers at your wedding are also the focus of much of its preparation and budget.
Budget, of course, is what most weddings are about though that stays very much in the background, part of the hidden subtext that revolves around the big day. The budget determines the size of the wedding and the quality of its overall presentation and there is always pressure to make it go further than it can. Money aside, however, every wedding is also a dream. It marks the beginning of the rest of your life and getting it just right is paramount. This is something which we, at Lolablooms.com understand very well and this is why we are determined to not let budgetary pressures get in the way of the dream.
Our flowers tell a story of freshness, quality and class. They help make your dream wedding perfect in a way only top-quality flowers with guaranteed beauty and freshness can. They elevate the atmosphere, set an expensive mood and create a fairy-tale impression. We select our flowers especially so they tell the right story to your guests.
As good as they are at telling this story they are also great at hiding a secret. The top-class quality flowers at your wedding have not cost as much as your guests think they have. At Lolablooms.com we are experts at cutting out the middleman, reducing costs and passing the savings directly to you. “At Lolablooms we understand how important a wedding is. The last thing you want to do on the happiest day of your life is worry about the cost of the flowers and then worry that you have spoiled the effect by not choosing the very best,” says a company spokesperson, “our flowers tell the right story on the day. What your guests see is freshness, beauty and quality. Their cost is a secret only you know about.”
By streamlining the grower-to-wedding process LolaBlooms significantly reduce all the in-between stages which flowers typically undergo before they reach their destination. This translates into a faster delivery time, shorter journeys, fresher flowers, better quality flowers and a reduction in costs which is passed directly to the customer.
Lolablooms flowers are all about maintaining the balance. You can have a dream wedding without having to constantly worry about the amount of money your fresh flowers cost. What is remembered then is that, on your wedding day, the fairy-tale atmosphere told the right story without costing more than you wanted to spend.
Supercharge your relationship no matter what stage it is at
Supercharge your relationship no matter what stage it is at
London, England, June 2009 – Relationships, it seems, or rather the problems involved in their maintenance are the one factor we all have in common. From global movie stars, like Madonna, to US governors, British MPs and ordinary people, we all struggle to maintain them, develop them, find happiness and fulfilment through them.
We all seem to fail at the same level, face the same challenges and, often, make the same mistakes. Yet it does not have to be quite that way. Alisa Miller’s ‘Ultimate Guide to the Perfect Relationship’ is a guide designed to help take your relationship to the next level no matter where it is at.
Its seemingly simple step-by-step advice is designed to help you decode the many different levels of your relationship and understand both the subtext within each situation and what you need to do in order to create a more fulfilling relationship which delivers happiness, consistently, to both partners within it.
Released earlier this year, Alisa Miller’s book spent three weeks on the Amazon best-seller charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Her website (alias-miller.com) attracts hundreds of visitors each day.
“I have on purpose avoided being prescriptive and have, instead, created a guide which will keep on guiding even after your relationship goes off first base and onto its next phase,” explains relationship expert and author of the book, Alisa Miller. “This book has been written for you to analyze and understand your relationship with your partner no matter at what stage it is at the moment. It doesn’t matter if you have been married for 20 years or you are just moving in together, if you have kids or other commitments. This book will help you to understand how your relationship should work and it will help you to make it work no matter how things are at the moment.”
With divorce rates, break-ups and heart ache on the rise, the ability to find happiness with someone you love is a vital aspect of self-fulfilment, personal development and, ultimately, a sense of completion, happiness and peace in ourselves and our time in this world.
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