Ninja Web Strategies for Entrepreneurs

How to Lose Customers - Part I

Janice (not her real name), a friend of mine who owns her own business, needed to have an automobile sign made from a local sign shop that she's been doing business with for the last 9 years. They had a new person working there who quoted her a price of $35 for the sign. Janice verbally agreed and the sign shop person said she would call Janice when the sign was ready.

The next day, the sign shop person called and informed Janice that they would not be able to make the sign for $35 but instead must charge her $65. Janice asked if they would still honor the original price quoted. The sign person promised to ask the owner of the sign shop.

The sign shop person called back and told Janice that the owner of the sign shop would not honor the quoted price. Janice replied, "Fine. I'll take my business elsewhere!" And she did.

By quibbling over $30, the sign shop lost a loyal customer who now is "bad-mouthing" the sign shop to all of her friends within her business network. Was this worth the $30?

If the sign shop had decided to honor the original quoted price, they would have lost $30. However, they likely would have elevated an already loyal customer into a super-loyal cheerleader who would almost certainly tell her business friends about what a great company the sign shop was and how everyone should use them for their sign needs.

And this would have been worth the $30 many times over.

How to Write a Press Release

You should probably write a press release whenever you have any news, announcements, events, or other information you want to share with your customers. (See When to Write a Press Release.) Fortunately, writing a press release is simple once you understand the basic format.

Your Message

Each press release should have a laser-like focus on one topic only, whether that topic is, for example, the hiring of a new employee, the winning of an industry award, or the introduction of a new product or service.

Your press release should be just long enough to adequate cover the topic, and no more. Typically, a press release is relatively short consisting of about 400-500 words.

Remove any fluff and technical jargon that's unnecessary. Remember: short and to the point. Omit Needless words

Supporting Your Message

Try to include information that will support your message such as:

• Quotes from the owner, president or any key personnel in your company
• Quotes from industry experts
• Excerpts from any product reviews
• Awards or industry recognition

If you make any marketing claims, make sure you offer evidence that supports your claim.

If the press release is about hiring a new employee, establishing a new strategic relationship with another company, or winning an award, or any other change in the company, describe how it will benefit your company and your customers.

Standard Press Release Format

Effective press releases have a consistent format as follows:

Headline

This should be a short, engaging title that draws your reader in.

Summary

Summarize the entire press release into two or three sentences

Location and Dateline

Next comes the location and date of your release. (For example: Reno, Nevada. September 10, 2010.)

Body

This is where you go into detail and expand on the summary. Here you will provide facts, figures, photos, quotes, or any other items that support your message.

About You

Briefly describe your company and your products and services.

Media Contact Information

Include contact information here including a contact person, a telephone number, mailing address, email address, and website address. (You are putting your website address on just about everything you produce...right?)

Closing

Traditionally, three hash marks—###—indicates the end of the release.

Things to Keep in Mind

Try to eliminate jargon that’s understood only by industry insiders. Modern press releases potentially serve a much wider audience today than the targeted industry reporters of yesteryear. You don't want to risk alienating your potential audience.

Avoid writing the press release as a marketing piece. Yes, the press release can and will be used for marketing, but the copy on it should be straightforward and stick to the facts. The purpose of a press release is to give information, not be an advertisement.

Following these guidelines, it will soon become a breeze for you to be writing your press releases.

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When to Write a Press Release

Do you have any news, announcements, or other information to share with your customers, investors, or clients? If so, then you should probably write a press release.

What is a Press Release?

A press release is a somewhat formal statement that you send to media outlets that provides detailed information about a specific event or announcement. Typically a press release is a document that is one page or less, usually in PDF format.

Not only can you fax or email a press release to relevant media outlets, you can use them to communicate to your customers and to bloggers, writers, and other influential people in your industry. For these reasons, along with SEO benefits, it's a good idea to have all your press releases available for download from your website.

When to Write a Press Release

Simple. You should write a press release anytime you have significant information to share. This could be:

• You're announcing a new product or service.
• You hired a new employee with extensive experience in your industry.
• You've developed a strategic relationship with another company or organization
• Another company or organization hired you to provide a major product fulfillment or service.
• You won an award or were otherwise recognized by your industry.
• Your product or service has received a positive review.
• You're rolling out a new website or marketing initiative.
• You're releasing information relevant to Investor Relations.
• You have any other news, announcement, or events you’d like the public to know about.

You can write press releases on just about anything. From a marketing standpoint, it's better to write too many press releases than too little.