CHAPTER 34

Using Press Releases To Quickly Generate Sales

What exactly is a press release used for?  Some PR people say that the purpose of a press release is to demonstrate to an editor or reporter the newsworthiness of a particular person, event, service or product.  You write a press release with the goal of getting this editor or reporter to contact you for more information about your business so that they can publish or air a story featuring your business.

In this age of Google more and more businesses are using press releases as a way to promote their website.  The more links there are that point back to your website, the better your site will do on Google.  A well written press release will contain links to your website.  The more places that press release is distributed, the more links you have for Google.

Whether you goal is to get the attention of the news media or to get the attention of Google, it is very important to keep in mind what happens after ‘real people’ come across your press release.

A press release that is written well, distributed properly, and well timed can be very effective for calling attention to your business, your product or service, or your accomplishments.  Your main focus when putting your press release together should be making sure it gets read.  If the release is not interesting, if the headline does not grab the reader from the beginning, no one will read the release.

Press releases can be targeted toward search engines, editors and reporters, and ‘real people’. Can you target all 3 audiences with one single press release?

Search Engines – Before you start writing do some research and determine the keywords that you will be targeting.  The release must be keyword oriented without over stuffing the keywords. Keep it natural but don’t be afraid to slip the keywords in there.

Editors and Reporters – Editors and Reporters don’t care about your product or service. They are not looking to ‘help your business out’.  They don’t want to buy anything from you. They don’t want to become your customer. The ONLY thing that they are looking for is interesting, news worthy content that their readers will find interesting.  You must tell them WHY this story will be of interest to their readers. Your goal here is to get them to pick up the phone and call you to find out more information.

Because the reporter will probably rewrite the storey and not just reprint your release, you should write your release with the goal of grabbing the reporter’s attention.  Don’t focus on what you would write for the consumer. Focus on the editor or reporter.

Real People – If your keyword research was done properly and you are targeting keywords that have a decent number of people searching for them, your press release will start showing up on the first pages of Google.  Once this happens potential customers, clients, or patients will find it.  If your headline grabs them, and your first paragraph convinces them to read on, they will read the entire release.

Real people, just like the editors and reporters, don’t really care about some new piece of equipment in your business.  They are not interested in your latest discovery or about a new procedure that you use.  What they do care about is how this new equipment or procedure will benefit them.  How will it make their life easier?  How will it save them money?  Why should they care about it?

Real People vs. The News Media

As you can see the content that you write for real people might be slightly different than what you would write for the news media.  Your press release is only going to be a few paragraphs long.  You probably don’t have enough space to properly write for both audiences.

For this reason you might want to think about doing TWO different versions of your press release.  Both versions can target the same keywords.

In addition to distributing the ‘editor/reporter version to the standard online press release sites you will want to email this version directly to newspapers, tv stations, editors, reporters,etc…

You should make sure that you add your ‘real people version’ to your website, Facebook Page (you do have a business page on Facebook? Don’t you?), and blog.

CHAPTER 9

Transform Your Customer Receipts Into Marketing Ads & More Sales

When you go to the grocery business have you ever noticed that your receipts have coupons on them? They collect the coupons so they can use them on their next purchase, but in reality those coupons are just receipts with an offer printed on them. Also, have you ever noticed when you go to a fast food restaurant that they offer to enter your name into a monthly drawing for a one thousand dollar prize if you call into a special number and leave your opinion and feedback?

Why do these companies spend all the time and money it takes to run these surveys and print these coupons.  The reason why these companies use these strategies is because these strategies generate more sales and profits. Grocery stores have been using this strategy for many years because their customers are accustomed to saving coupons and purchasing items which are on sale. The reason why businesses collect customer opinions and feedback is because it allows them to keep their pulse on the rapid changes in the marketplace, while also allowing them to see the areas of their business they need to improve or change.

However, most other businesses have yet to catch on to this profitable strategy. In fact, many business owners in other industries that hire me have never even considered the possibility of having a mini-ad, discount or coupon printed on their sales receipts. You can even have your refer-a-friend rewards program ad on the receipt. This transforms a useless piece of paper into a money-generating magnet, just by making a simple change.

You can also put an ad on your receipts highlighting your testimonial or customer feedback phone number. To do this just call your phone service provider and let them know that you want a voicemail only phone number. This extra voicemail phone number may only costs five or ten bucks a month, but the advantage is tremendous. By using this technique, you discover exactly what your customers want and their view of how their experience went. Once you get the testimonial, you can now use that in all your other advertising to prove to prospects that you are the best option in your market place which provides social proof that you are a leader in your industry.

Another effective method of getting feedback is to direct your customers to a specific web site that you have setup for this purpose. Have a short survey on the page. At the end of the survey offer them a coupon that gives them a significant discount, free product or service. All they need to do is enter their email address so that you can send it to them. You now have their email address allowing you to market to them in the future.

SIDE NOTE: The Anti-Spam laws say that it is not considered spam if the person receiving the email has conducted business with you in the past. Clearly if they are filling out a feedback survey they have recently done business with you.

How To Create A Post In WordPress

When a business owner hire me to help turn their business into a money-maker, one of the first things we do is calculate the lifetime value of their customers. The lifetime value (LTV) of a customer is the amount of profit each customer brings to your business over the course of their buying lifetime with your business. The following formula is a simple way to calculate the LTV, but if you are anything like me, and unless you keep great records you should probably have your bookkeeper (or hire one) to dig through receipts and calculate the numbers for you.
Let’s look at the following example…

Total # of Customers for the year    100
Average # of purchases per customer    2
Average Purchase Amount    $125.00
(100 x 2 x $125) Total Revenue    $25,000.00

Cost to produce each product or service (including parts & labor)    $35.00
Total cost to produce product for the 100 customers (100 x $35)    $3,500.00
Marketing Costs for the year    $5,000.00
Total Costs    $8,500.00

Total Revenue – Costs = Gross Profit
($25,000 – $8,500)    $16,500.00

Gross Profit     $16,500.00
Customer Lifetime Value For The Year
($16,500 / 100 customers)    $165.00

So, in this example on average each customer represents $165 worth of profit per year.

So, when someone buys from that business, on average they represent at least $165 in profit per year. However, it doesn’t have to stop there. In fact, your goal should be to increase the lifetime value of each customer by getting them back into your business to purchase from you more often.

Another example that many of my clients can relate to would be the following.    Let’s say that a personal trainer gets $80 per session, and the average client trains 40 times per year. So, 40 sessions per year @ $80 per session.

40 X $80 =  $3200 per year

The personal trainer gives the gym 50% of that, leaving $1600.

So if the average client only stays with you 1 year, the LTV of the client is $1600.   I hope you are better than that, and the average clients stays with you for 18 months.  In that case the LTV would jump to $2400.

The reason why the lifetime value of a customer is so important is because it gives you an idea of how much you should invest in marketing to get the customer in the first place. So, in the example above the business owner knows that if he spends another $5,000 in marketing in the same ways he’s investing in marketing now, he can reasonably expect to double his profits. Without knowing the lifetime value of his customers, he wouldn’t have the confidence to make that kind of investment in marketing.

So if a professional online marketing campaign is going to cost the personal trainer $400 per month,that comes to $4800 per year.  If the marketing campaign were to ONLY bring in 1 new client per month, using our 16 month LTV, that would mean $28800 in sales per year.  $28,800 – $4800 = $24000 profit.

Is it worth it to invest $4800 to get $24000 profit?  I would say “HELL YEA!”

What is the Life Time Value of your customers or clients?

Are my figures flawed or missing something?

I would love to hear from you.  Leave a comment in the box below.

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In video below Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King give us all a lesson in what it means to have real passion for whatever it is that you do.  There is no doubt after watching the expressions on their faces that they really love what they are doing.

As one fan puts it…

“I’ve loved Stevie for years. Look at his face and body while he’s playing. That guitar is an extension of his soul!

He is TOTALLY focused on this one thing, and nothing else. It’s who he is, it’s WHAT he is, it’s his very being!

The house could catch fire and he would keep playing. His band-mates would have to drag him from the stage.”

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So what Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King playing “Stormy Monday” have to with building your business? EVERYTHING! If you are not the most passionate person in the world about your business, who will be? If you are not shouting to the world about how great your product or service is, who else is going to do it?

However just telling the world about your business is not enough. You have to really love your product. And it has to be genuine. If it is not everyone will be able to see right through you. They will know when you are faking it.

So what is it about your product or service that makes you stand out above everyone else? What is it that you provide to your customers or clients that no one else can? What is it that makes your business the best business in the world?

Figure that out and then tell the whole world. Don’t be afraid to show the world just how passionate you are about your business.

What is my passion? I really love helping owners of small businesses tell the world about their business. If you have a great product or service and are trying to figure out how to get it noticed let me know. I would love to talk to you. Shoot me an email or call me today.