 The Internet's
New Secret Weapon For Getting Free Publicity
By
George
McKenzie © 2005
You probably
don't even know about them. Few people do. Even fewer people realize how
many different ways you can use them to get free publicity, increase your
search engine rankings, and make yourself a media celebrity in your field.
I'm talking about "news alerts."
Google offers Google News Alerts at www.news.google.com. Look in the column
to the left of the page.
Yahoo has a similar service, as do a number of other web portals and news
outlets.
News alerts are the Internet's new -- and one of its most powerful -- secrets
weapons for attracting attention from radio, TV and newspaper reporters.
You can sign up for news alerts for free. Then you choose keywords related
to your industry, and whenever those keywords show up in a news
story--practically anywhere--you get an email notification and a link to
the story.
News alerts allow you to identify and contact the journalist who did the
story to suggest a follow up, offer another angle, etc. on the story they've
already done.
You can even set up news alerts for a competitor's name. If they're quoted
in a story somewhere, you'll be notified by email. That gives you an opportunity
to contact the reporter who wrote the story and position yourself as a future
resource for similar pieces.
You can also set up your news alerts so that every time your name appears
in the media, it sends you an email notification.
It’s a great way to find out when your news releases, tip sheets, or
articles have been published. This can be extremely valuable since people
who print your stuff don’t always let you know they’re doing it.
Furthermore, when you find out that something by you or about you has been
published, you can get copies or reprints to use in a multitude of ways to
further establish your credentials with the media.
For instance, you can print out stories
you may want to include in your media kit, or even mail to journalists to
reassure them that your topic really IS newsworthy--and that you indeed ARE
an expert in your field.
I got quite a giggle -- and a little bit of a shock -- when I set up a news
alert for my own name recently.
I got an alert from Google a few days later telling me the name "George McKenzie"
had appeared in a Scottish TV story.
When I clicked on the link, I found out it wasn't really about me--it was
about a Scottish lawyer named Sir George McKenzie, an advisor to King Charles
the Second 300 years ago.
I won't give you the details here -- a little too gruesome for a family friendly
article. But you can read it if you choose by clicking on
http://www.publicitygoldmine.com/sirgeorge
News alerts are one of the Internet's most important developments for helping
people get the attention of the media.
They're free, easy, versatile, valuable, and best of all--your competitors
probably don't have a clue they exist.
For more information on how to use news alerts to identify reporters who
are already doing stories about your industry, go to
http://www.publicity-pro.com/searchenginepublicity.htm
About the Author:
| About the Author:
Award winning TV anchor George McKenzie offers a free 7-part email "Publicity
Crash Course" at
http://www.publicity-pro.com.
During his 33-year broadcasting career, George's work appeared on ABC, NBC,
CBS, ESPN and CNN. |
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