Welcome To Startup Students

Whenever you develop a new product or introduce a new service, it’s always a good idea to take the time and put together a solid press release.  This document can be sent to past clients, current prospects, and to a variety of free press release distributors and wire services.  A quick google search will locate a number of these services.

Instead of going at it blind, why not use the template below by Brian Solis?  The template is organized to look like a press release, but is full of tidbits of advice on how to assure PR success.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELASE

(My keywords are throughout the release – with an emphasis on the front-end)

Press Release Example Demonstrates How to Convey Your News without Using Excessive Words or Relying on Hype

In a Perfect World – Sometime in the Near Future – Brian Solis (note how I’m not putting how I am a leader here, nor should you) drafted a new outline for wire-ready and static online press releases to help PR and communications professionals tell a more meaningful story in a way that helps convey the true value of the news – without insulting the people who read it.

This new template can include a list of bullets (note wire services cannot incorporate bullets, only dashes), quotes and links:

— Press releases can tell a story to customers that specifically demonstrate why the news is valuable to them

— These releases can include SEO (search engine optimized keywords) to improve their pickup by Google and Yahoo search and news pickup

— Traditional releases can also complement Social Media Press releases and blog posts simply by linking to them

— The difference between a traditional release, new media release, and a social media release is intent, media, socialization, and distribution

Or, the press release can be written as an article you wish to see as if you’re telling, not promoting, a story. Basically it can deliver more information as to why this information is important, how it’s different and to whom it benefits and why. The key about this paragraph is that it needs to be honest and it must demonstrate that the writer indeed analyzed the pains and needs of the market they’re trying to reach.

A supporting paragraph, in this case, is going to help round out the story. In this case, usage examples will help strengthen the story and potentially inspire people to take action. These releases can be used in a variety of ways such as traditional wires, free wires, static Web pages and in blogs. They can be written for journalists, bloggers, and analysts as well as the very people we’re hoping to reach.

(Provide genuine and interesting quote that says something other than “we are excited…”)Brian Solis of PR 2.0 weighed in on the world of press releases, “Some journalists prefer to cut and paste from a well written press release while others simply need the facts without the spin. However, what’s new here is that you can have a variety of flavors of each press release to tell a story in different, genuine ways for journalists, bloggers, and customers in different markets. Just keep them interesting and relevant.”

Links are now more important than ever:

Blog: www.briansolis.com

Website: www.future-works.com

RSS Feed: https://feeds.feedburner.com/Pr20

Market background: https://del.icio.us/briansolis

Artwork: https://www.flickr.com/photos/briansolis

Or if the link is too long, simply input it into www.TinyUrl.com and get this shortened

format in return: https://tinyurl.com/3ctn2s

About This Outline

What you should not to do here is repeat information. It’s already been said above, and if this is to cross the wire, why pay for the extra words. Say something that fortifies the company’s stance in the market to offer perspective on the information that you are presenting however. It should also provide a bit more details about the company facts, market and histry that stand aside from the news and support the story.

# # #

Also, include some traditional and new media formats for contacting you more effectively.

Contact:

Brian Solis
PR 2.0 / FutureWorks
408-428-0895 Ext. 101
brian [at] future-works [dot] com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/futureworks
FaceBook: https://tinyurl.com/38su7l
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/briansolis
Vcard: https://tinyurl.com/3242wm

I’ve made the assumption that most of my readers are internet entrepreneurs – that is they conduct the majority of their business on the web as opposed to in “real life”.  That’s fine and great, in fact I’m in the same boat (obviously).  But that doesn’t mean you and I should stick to internet based advertising.  I agree 100% that if you work online you need to participate in SEO, PPC, Insert Abbreviation Here, but I feel you are really missing out on a large market segment by ignoring what I would call the more traditional advertising channels.

Below I have put together a list of the traditional media outlets along with some advantages- I hope it helps!

•  Newspapers
  • These are pretty old school.  You will benefit, however, from the ability to target specific geographic regions.  It’s also nice because you have very short-term commitments and can easily gauge the responses you receive.  And, unlike other print media, you can submit your ad on Monday and have it appear in the paper by Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Magazines
  • You’ll benefit from full color, professional looking advertisements – but remember that it comes with a hefty price.  What’s really great about magazines is the long shelf life and high chance that it will fall into the hands of many (think doctors office).  My recommendation is to target trade magazines as opposed to general interest publications, that way you minimize the so-called shotgun effect.
• Radio
  • Radio is accompanied generally by a low cost, immediate result.  It also adds a touch of professionalism in my opinion.  Problem here is your market is not well targeted, but the cool thing is you might start attracting customers you never thought would be interested!
• Television
  • Diverse audiences like radio, except at a hgher cost.  You’ll benefit from the ability to get creative and leave a lasting impression however.  I found this site called Spot Runner a while back that has prebuilt, entertaining comercials for your use.
• Outdoor Media
  Again, you’re going to run into some costs here.   I had a buddy who used this method to some success and that’s why it’s on the list.  You’ll benefit from repetive views without any additional costs and you can also place it where you want.

That’s all for today, if you have and questions or comments, please feel free to post.  Class dismissed.

I was rummaging through my old lecture notes, and came across one that I really wanted to share. It’s a great bit of information that will be very useful once the customers start rolling in. Below is a list detailing customer objections along with an appropriate response to keep the gates open. It’s much more difficult to make a sale once you’ve been shot down, but by keeping the dialog going, you’re more likely to come out on top.

Just to note, these can be applied to current customer’s as well as cold calls. And, before we get started, I wanted to point out a great article I stumbled across entitled The Fine Art of Telephone Prospecting over at Freelance Switch.

That’s all for today startup students. Remember, tomorrow is Field Trip Friday so be sure to stop by. I’m putting together a great post about my home office. Class Dismissed.

Good morning Startup Students! Today we’ll be discussing ways to gather intelligence on your competitors. This can be useful in a variety of ways such as identifying cutomer habits, picking up on competitor workflow processes, and so on. With such fierce competition in todays market along with ever changing consumer opinions, it’s imperative that you stay one step ahead of your competition.

Quickly, here are some things to think about when checking out your competition.

• Remember that your competition is not necessarily who you think it is
• Your customers determine who the competition is by patronizing those establishments
• Be sure to broadly define your competition at the start, and carefully move inwards through the industry to determine all competitors.

And now for a few pointers on checking out your competition:

• Pretend to be a customer
• Talk to the business owners and find out as much as you can from them
• Talk to their customer’s and get a feel for why they utilize your competitors service or product
• There are tons of great resources out there, so use them! Internet, public filings, local libraries, etc.
• Go to industry trade shows, seminars, and conferences
• Complete a competitive matrix, similar to this

That’s all for today, if you have any questions or comments, don’t forget to post them. Class dismissed.

Good morning startup students! Today we are going to discuss how to define your target market. You’ll find some overlap from my post on Friday about Marketing Intelligence, but it just goes to show how important these things are for young entrepreneurs.

You really want to identify the market niche you intend to serve. It’s always better to be too specific at this point, you can broaden your target in the future. Take a look at what benefits you bring to the table.

• What problems are you solving for your customers and the market in general?
• What specific needs to you fulfill?

When looking at the benefits you bring to the table, keep in mind there are two generally accepted types of benefits.

• Emotional
  • You convey hope, you massage fear, you instill love, or merely provide convenience.
• Financial
  • You assure increased profits, offer lowend pricing, save customers money, or offer extended payback periods.

Remember, the above are just examples and aren’t meant to be the only benefits.

Once you’ve defined your niche, you need to get out there and talk to your customers, similar to what I talked about Friday.

• Take part in casual conversation
• Conduct interviews and surveys
• Enlist the services of focus groups

They key point here is to just LISTEN and identify their needs. That’s all for now, enjoy the rest of your day and I’ll see everyone tomorrow. Class dismissed.

Sorry for not posting yesterday, I had a test along with a presentation of my business plan (which I’ll be sharing with you eventually). At any rate, today is the start of a new segment entitled Field Trip Friday. I had the opportunity to take part in a secret shopping of Universal Studios Florida. It was a great experience, and I learned some good pointers for completing primary research.

Primary research is a vital tool for today’s young entrepreneur as often times you’ll find the data you need simply isn’t accessible. Let’s look at a quick example. Say for instance you are interested in opening a fast service restaurant catering to the after hours crowd. You’ve developed the idea, know what you want to serve, and even have a location in mind. But without actually going downtown at 2am, how are you going to know if your target market is interested? You need to interview the individuals leaving the clubs and get a feel for whether or not your idea meshes with their specific needs.

I’ve outlined a few pointers below that I picked up today, and I think you’ll find them useful in the future. These can be applied to all types of primary research including interviews, surveys, observations (like secret shopping), and analysis.

• Determine what you want to know and how you are going to get that information.
• Identify your target market and approach them.
• Have a questionnaire in mind, with follow up questions based on the answers provided.
• Be honest about your reason for conducting this research.
• Exude the passion you have for your idea, and your interviewees will pick up on this leading to more positive responses.
• Be aware of any biases you might have going into the assesment and try not to let them play a role in receiving the information.

And since this is the first installation of Field Trip Friday’s, I’ve got a special treat for you – Show and Tell!

I’d like to introduce to you my new pet turtle, Larry David. He’s very small and still pretty nervous about his new home. In fact, he hasn’t been eating very much and I’m a bit worried. If any of you startup students have some pointers, please pass them along!

If any of you would like to showcase one of your “field trips” or participate in Show and Tell in the future, please let me know! Class dismissed.