Today I want to welcome guest blogger, Emily Sidley from Three Girls, a PR firm that specializes in Media Relations. Too often people slap together a few random items and flood the media channels in hopes that someone will pick up the news. Follow these steps and you’ll have a much better chance of being noticed.

Securing media coverage takes time. A lot of consumers think getting coverage is just a matter of calling up a reporter, but in reality it takes a lot more work behind-the-scenes to be ready to contact the media.

Reporters are busy people. They have constant deadlines, and don’t have the time to wait for you to compile info or take photos, so make sure you’re ready before you approach them. Anticipate what they’re going to ask for so you can send it right away when they ask.

For each campaign we put together at Three Girls, we have a checklist of items to prepare prior to press pitching:

• A Virtual Press Kit: This document includes contact information, information about the company in who-what-where format and high-res images. We always recommend posting it online so anyone you’re talking to has 24/7 access to it (see our client page for an example). If you don’t have a place to post a press kit on your site, you should at least have it ready to go in case information or images are requested.
• 3-5 High-Res Images: Although these are included in the Virtual Press Kit, I wanted to go into more detail. It’s important to have several images for the media to choose from. For print publications, they need to be at least 300-dpi and 3×5 in size, although larger is okay too. We also recommend a plain white background so the media outlet’s art department has more options (they can drop it into a collage of products, make the background whatever color/design they want, etc).
• A Sample Letter: This document is most of the same information in the Virtual Press Kit, but limited to one page. We have clients send this one-page information sheet in every single package they send out to provide the journalist with vital information they can reference quickly.
• A Sample Package: Prior to press-pitching, we make sure all our clients have Sample Packages that will really “Wow!” the press. They don’t need to have a lot of bells and whistles, but they do need to be clean, sharp and look professional. Before you contact the media, make sure you have everything you need to ship a few samples, including boxes, tissue paper, packing tape, etc.
• A Fact Sheet: For clients that offer a service as opposed to a product, we create a Fact Sheet to send interested journalists in lieu of a Sample Letter. This is the same information that’s in the Virtual Press Kit as well, but formatted more like a bulleted list that is easy to skim and pull specifics from quickly.

Did I miss anything? What else would you make sure you have ready to go prior to pitching?

By Johanna Stutz

Consider for a moment the speed at which the tech industry evolves. If you are not part of the newest “thing”, then you are behind in your online marketing potential.
The most difficult part of following these trends in not identifying them, but leveraging them for business.

Let us consider the new attention to geolocation sharing sites such as Foursquare and Gowalla. Both sites use GPS to verify their uses location to their “check-in.” Both are claiming tens-of-thousands of new users weekly.

Often referred to as location-based social networking, these sites build off of the use of smartphones, status updates and connecting with people you know by highlighting your current location.

But how do you leverage this behavior in the business world?

Option 1: Your Website

WordPress has already built an inventory of plugins and widgets that can identify the geolocation of the visitors of your site. Web content or ads can be altered depending on the region, city or neighborhood of each viewer.

Option 2: Email Marketing

Automatically segment your email mailing list into geolocation groups and tailor marketing campaigns to the needs of these different groups. How? Through Mail Chimp WordPress plugin.

Option 3: Play the Game

The most enticing aspect of joining these Geolocation sites is the users ability to turn real life into a game. Users earn “badges” for checking-in to specific locations or types of location numerous times. Some businesses give out discounts and other rewards to the current most-frequent visitor (mayor) or individual who have reached a minimum required number. As a participating business you gain valuable information on the demographics of these individuals who have digitally confirmed to the world that they visit your place of business.

There are other possible applications for location-sharing –a travel blog comes to mind.
However, successful marketing with this new service, as with any other, requires that you make it work for your needs.

Turn $10 To $1500 In Just 90 Days
Take the challenge and learn ways to gain the prize

It’s a  fact. There is nothing more appealing to us than to know that we matter to others.  Creative use of web data mining by way of Google Analytics can help you unearth the hidden gold  “in them thar hills”.  The golden nuggets of information that, when used correctly in good content writing, can make your site visitors feel like the King of the Mountain.

When you meet a new person for the first time, do your eyes glaze over and your ears stop hearing them after a while, when all they can do is to go on and on about themselves?  How great their service is, how fantastic their qualifications are… on and on….

You want them to hear about you as well – a give and take of conversation.  Well, it’s exactly the same on-line.  If your Home Page isn’t focused totally on who your site visitor is, what their concerns and needs are, then they will do the on-line equivalent of the “glazed eyes” which is, to click-off your site and go elsewhere – where they are more appreciated and their concerns heard.

Use of  Google Analytics,  either on your own, or by using a web analytics consulting company,  can make the task of finding out what is going on with your site visitors so much easier.  Why  keep digging in soil that has no vein of gold? When just a few feet away the proverbial Mother Lode may be waiting for you.  Discovery may be as simple as website analysis.

In order to provide your on-line visitor with an experience that makes them feel heard and appreciated, you need to clearly understand who your visitor is – the whole demographic package.  Once you have this crucial piece of information you can use that as the foundation for your writing.

Your writing will be totally different if your primary audience is 20 years old, male and going to college verses 45 years old, female and working in a corporate job.

Until next time, Happy Data Mining

Suzanne Elliott
Website Content Copy Writer
www.sueelliott.com

Let’s face it, the best part of take out is that you don’t have to do the cooking.

Come spend the day in our local Tech Kitchen as we whip up some fantastic web pages with WordPress. We call it “Make it and Take It,” but you can call it a mini miracle, you decide !

I’m not saying that WordPress is easy-peezy-lemon-squeezy, but let’s face it: you’re all intelligent people with a keen eye for what you want in a website. Why let someone else control the wheel? We’ve designed this workshop with beginner and intermediate users in mind. By the end of the day you will have a better understanding of WordPress and sit in the driver’s seat of your own, custom-made site. And the best part is that you won’t have to pay someone else $5,000 every time you need a picture added. (Well, the best part is that you get personalized attention from the best in the Bay Area, but saving money is a close second).

Benefits of the Workshop

• Install WordPress on a web host using FTP
• Select themes, add content & publish
• What are the best WordPress plugins / widgets to install
• Keeping your WordPress website safe and secure from internet hackers
• Controlling spam comments
• Getting the help you need and putting it all Together

The Details

• Hosting
• Installation
• Customization
• Configuration
• Themes
• Plugins
• Widgets
• Pages
• Posts
• Media
• Links

All this for only $99 with the discount code “mpthree” ($149 from August 1st to the 18th and $199 at the door, if space is still available.)

Chopsticks are optional.

P.S. Future 2.0 To Go workshops include SEO, design, social media, and content generation. Join our mailing list and you’ll be the first to know!

PPS. For those interested, we will be having one/one trainings for people – $25/15 minutes for either Massimo or Clyde.

One of the most important things you can do to improve the content of your Front Page, in addition to use of Web Analytics,  is to ask yourself this question.   “Does this page address the concerns and needs of my site visitor?” – Will your site visitor immediately feel a connection and want to keep reading your content – and then take the next step, which is to be interested enough in your site to stay and check out some more information – maybe even sign up for your ezine or special offer…

Web Analytics can be used to see what topics are top of mind with your target audience for your web site – website  content can then be directed towards these hot topics.

Take an objective view of your current Front Page and ask yourself the question “Does this page address the concerns and needs of my site visitor?”

• If the content of your Front Page is all about your qualifications, experience and education, the answer is “No”.

• If the content  is all about how great your company is – then the answer is “No”.

• If the content is all about how great a consultant you are….well, you get the picture.

You have spent an incredible amount of time, money and energy getting your web site visitors to your site, please don’t immediately turn them off  with “how great we are” content.  This will result in a quick click off.
Your visitors have a particular need or problem that they feel your website may address, otherwise they wouldn’t be there.

There is a place on your site for your qualifications and how great your company is – it just isn’t the first thing your site visitors want to see on your front page.

Give them what they crave – the answer to what they are seeking.

First and foremost you must provide your site visitors with content that is valuable to them.  Doing the upfront detective work by using Web Analytics with Google Analytics will give you valuable clues about how to direct the content of your writing towards your visitors’  topics of interest.  Needs and concerns may change from time to time, so using web intelligence to keep on top of these changing needs will keep your Front Page  fresh and current – and generating the life blood of your business, site visitors who return again and again.

I’ll be blogging from time to time on how to write for the web.  So next time we’ll talk some more about giving your site visitors what they crave.

Suzanne Elliott
Website Content Copy Writer
www.sueelliott.com

I just finished working on a web analytics project through the Analysis Exchange. It was a great experience and so I wanted to take this time to encourage other web analysts to consider donating the time and expertise as well.
First, after signing up with the exchange, I was matched with the Myelin Repair Foundation–the world’s largest research organization looking for the next generation of MS treatments. Coincidentally, I have two people in my life who both suffer from MS and was thrilled to be able to work with a group that is working so hard to help people like Sylvie and Derek. The foundation has a full-time employee working on the site’s web analytics, but they needed some extra guidance on working with the conversions. After initial consultations, we decided to focus on good alternatives to their existing system in order to track conversion to it’s conclusion.Next, I worked closely with Matt, the Analysis Exchange student web analyst. As a mentor, it was important that I didn’t just take over, but rather use guidance and instruction to help Matt expand his understanding. I think this was one of the most valuable lessons that I learned: how to instruct and teach more than grabbing the reigns and controlling the whole project. In the for-profit world, people hire me to do the web analytics FOR them. What a change this was!
Finally, after a quick two-week period, we presented our final results to Justine’s boss. In the process, I learned a few interesting items about non-profit web analytics:

1. Non-profit donation systems are not web analytics friendly
2. While Google Checkout will wave the processing fees, they don’t have the functionality needed for non-profit donation tracking
3. Just like for profit companies of the same size, non-profits find it hard to justify a full time analyst even though that position usually pays for itself many times over

While my brief time with Myelin Repair Foundation was beneficial to them–and we are looking at working on more projects together in the future–I truly gained a new understanding and appreciation for the challenges that non-profits organizations have with web analytics. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!

If you’re new to web intelligence and struggling to gather data, how do you know if your efforts are really paying off? Well, there are these wonderful things called “benchmarks” and KPI, and this is where they come into play.

What is a KPI?

Not to be confused with SEO’s KEI (Keyword Effective Index), KPI stands for Key Performance Indicator. As Avinash Kaushik would say, KPIs are measures that help you understand how you are performing against your objectives. They can help you define and evaluate whether you’re making adequate, successful progress towards your long-term goals.

A good KPI used to measure performance should meet the following criteria:
1. Uncomplex
2. Relevant
3. Timely
4. Instantly useful

Now, KPIs can’t be copy/pasted from one organization to another or from one strategy to another. Each KPI is unique, dependant upon what your company does, what industry you’re in and what your strategy is. As well, it is a key part of your measurable directive, which includes five pieces:

1. Company direction
2. Key performance indicator
3. Benchmark
4. Target
5. Time frame

For instance: [1] Increase [2] Average Monthly Revenue from [3] $300,000 to [4] $600,000 in [5] 6 months.

Eric T. Peterson wrote a great book called The Big Book of Key Performance Indicators, which can be downloaded for free on the Web Analytics Demystified site. The KPI Library is free to use at their basic level and has more information and discussions.

Some sample of KPIs are:

• Bounce rate
• Conversion rate
• Average order rate
• Days to purchase
• Visits to purchase
• Loyalty, Recency
• Task completion
• Share of search

Don’t forget to segment your data!

Putting Your Measurable Directive Into Action

Using your measurable objective as a focus, you can then begin to build a strategy to reach your company goal.

1. Define your model.
   • What type of site do you have? You may think, “Well, I’m bringing in money, it must be an ecommerce site.” Maybe, but don’t be so quick to assume. There are at least five different site types including information/news portals, lead generation sites, educational sites, ecommerce sites and support sites. Your website may have multiple functions, so choose which fits the site’s main function the closest.
2. Define your goal / objective.
   • What’s your primary goal? What’s your secondary goal? An ecommerce site may want to increase their revenue; an information site may want to increase their targeted traffic.
3. Define your potential conversions.
   • Based on your goals, outline potential conversions, both primary and secondary. Which is which – and what falls under each – all depends on what type of site you have. For example, an informational site might use newsletter signups, PDF/brochure downloads, RSS subscribers and contact form completions as primary conversion points. However, an ecommerce site might use affiliate sales, ad revenue and products as primary conversions, with the others being secondary.
4. Define your strategy.
   • How are you going to make sure people hit your potential conversion points? Develop a strategy based on your model, goals and conversion points. Your strategy might be something like, “Create a higher, more targeted traffic base.” This is one strategy to raise your KPI.
5. Define your tactics.
   • Because “tactics” are different then “strategy”, you also want to pinpoint your tactics. If your strategy is to create a higher, more targeted traffic base, your tactics might include:
     • Social media platforms
     • Link building campaigns
     • Engaging content creation

Now you know what your goal is, what you need to get there and what tactics you’re going to use. By watching your chosen KPI and benchmark, you have a much better chance of making sure that your company objective moves forward. The great thing about it is, when tied in with the rest of web intelligence, the KPI is one of the keys to finding your site’s formula for success!

Be a Web Ninja: go measure your KPIs.