Released on = December 7, 2005, 9:49 am

Press Release Author = Fast Track SEOP

Industry = Small Business

Press Release Summary = Most small business owners have, according to one expert,
internalized the notion that it would be a waste of their time to issue a press
release because nothing they have or will ever do is "newsworthy". Says who? The
city editor at your local newspaper?

Press Release Body = "The fact that you are reading this right now is certainly
proof positive that you don't need the approval of an editor to get your message out
to the general public," says Ron Scott, Fast Track SEOP's senior publicist. "Apart
from a basic screening process designed to prevent the posting and distribution of
offensive content and poor grammar, this 'press release' has reached your desktop
virtually uncensored and unedited."

According to Scott, the vast majority of business owners don't use press releases to
promote their online and offline businesses because they have internalized a couple
of assumptions that are no longer valid..

The first assumption is that they don't have anything "newsworthy" to report.
"That's utter nonsense," say Scott. "Everyone has a story to tell and it doesn't
have to particularly newsworthy or timely to have value. It just has to be
reasonably well written and, above all else, it has to be interesting."

The second and most prevalent assumption, according to Scott, is the notion that the
primary purpose of a press release is to get media coverage. "A traditional press
release is just that - a release of timely information to the press corp in hopes
that the media will pass the company's message on to its subscribers.

With the advent of the internet, however, the term 'press release' takes on a whole
new meaning. "Business owners no longer need to depend on the print and/or broadcast
media to deliver their messages to their target audiences. They can publish and
distribute their stories using a wide variety of on-line venues without them," he
says.

To Scott what makes internet press release distribution all the more powerful is
that business owners don't have to have a website to take advantage of it. "A well
written press release can make the phone ring just as well as it can drive traffic
to an internet website," he says.

For those interested in getting started, Scott offers a few tips.

1. Write to address the needs of the end user, not the media.

2. Tell a story or offer a perspective that will be as interesting six months from
now as it is today.

3. Write in third person.

4. Attend to spelling and grammar.

5. Publish on a regular basis.

6. Length matters. Anything less than 400 words and it won't be much of a story.
Any longer than 800 words, it will probably be ineffective..

7. Assume that the target audience is highly intelligent.

8. Avoid superlatives and exaggeration.

9. Optimize each release to maximize readership.

10. If linguistically challenged, hire a professional writer.


Web Site = http://www.fasttrackrankingandplacement.com

Contact Details = Ron Scott | The PR Guru Guy