Self-Promotion and the Art of the Online Press Kit	Visited: 811 5.0/5.0 (1 votes total) Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
by Christine Louise Hohlbaum March 26, 2007

In today’s marketplace, it is virtually impossible to be successful without an online presence. It’s also the best and most cost-effective path to self-promotion. Whether it’s a highly ranked Web site or bylined articles with your name or business plastered all over the Web, there are many ways to reach your visibility goals.

Tip #1: Make your online presence your number one priority.

The Internet has changed our entire conversation around promotion and attainable avenues for success. While everyone has his or her own definition of success, all business owners would agree more sales translate into more business wins.

Information is power. The way we retrieve data today is very different than our parents’ approach was. Even the way we speak has radically changed, thanks to the Internet. We don’t cross-reference any more. Today, we google.*

Tip #2: Subscribe to Google(TM) alerts to track the latest trends in your business.

Self-googling, in which you subscribe to alerts about yourself, may seem rather self-centered. The fact is it is a highly effective method for locating who’s saying what about you. Use it to augment your clipping service.

Once you have assembled several great clips about you and your business, scan the hard copies into a PDF or JPEG file to upload onto your online press kit.

What? You don’t have an online press kit? You’re going to need one. In it you'll need images, press releases, a one-pager with background and story ideas,

Tip #3: Being an expert isn’t reserved for Ph.D.’s. Everyone has one or more areas of expertise the media would love for you to share. Add yourself to expert databases such as http://www.Presskit247.com. When you sign up for an online press kit there, you’ll not only bump up your visibility, you’ll tap into a vast network of newsmakers looking for people just like you.

Web sites have not lost their importance. But in today’s fast-paced economy, you’ve got to realize hard copy press kits are an auxiliary, costly item you can virtually eliminate. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on slick marketing materials, concentrate your resources where you’ll get the most bang for your buck. Press kit 24/7 allows you to upload multimedia files such as movies, audios, Word documents, JPEG’s, and more. It’s so easy, even a second grader can do it. So fire your Webmaster and streamline your processes by leveraging the power this type of technology brings.

Tip # 4: Give the media a multisensory experience of who you and your company are. Grab your Web site visitor’s ear with a snappy audio recording. Impress radio producers with your articulate speech. Catch that TV producer’s eye with a snazzy 90-second B-roll clip of what you are up to.

A simple Web cam from Logitech, for instance, allows you to record brief clips instantly. Audacity from Sourceforge.net is a no-cost voice recording software for easy use. Remember to upload these documents onto your online press kit for immediate media access.

You don’t need a PR professional to form a solid online presence. Be your own publicist while saving time and money in the process. ____

* The verb “to google” was officially added to the Merriam Webster’s dictionary in 2006. ___