Getting great media exposure is something every expert would love to have. Television and radio placements are highly desirable to your campaign. However, professionals who wish to promote their book, product or service are realizing the enormous numbers of people who flock to their favorite website or read their weekly newsletter on a regular basis. Internet Publicity, when managed through the delivery of high quality content is a very effective way to promote your products or services.

Connecting with these sites and establishing a solid foundation for placing your content on their home page is not always a simple task. It can be daunting and time consuming to search sites for the proper contact and then somehow have the magic formula to connect with that contact in a way that gets their attention. And if you do connect, what do you do then? Knowing what to ask for is crucial in creating a permanent and marketable position with top websites. Ongoing relationships with prominent websites means that a client can be placed on the home page of sites and seen by millions of people within a short period of time. Often, placement on certain sites will spill over to national radio, print and television opportunities. Authors have written new books based on the content generated on expert boards. A client is put in regular contact with the public, giving the client a great perspective on what people are looking for.

Here are some essential tips to remember in structuring your online campaign:

A complete campaign includes all facets of Internet Publicity. However, the core of your strategy requires assessing your website or creating one if needed, to focus primarily on content. Your website should be a resource center rather than a sales tool. Next, utilize articles from your site to promote your work. By offering this highly creative and desirable content to sites that are very large and therefore in need of content you will secure a position with that site on an ongoing basis.

Most sites require articles that are 500-800 words in length. Quizzes and tip pieces are very popular. Present a package of perhaps an article and/or a tip and quiz. The articles should reflect a timely or crucial issue of interest to the largest audience possible in that specific genre. The articles should be purely informative, not commercial in any way. Your bio and site links are mentioned at the end of the article.

One of the most crucial aspects of what you need to do is to create “an identity” beyond the scope of your work. Become a “Pro” in your given genre. Make it as specific as possible to carve out a unique and highly identifiable niche for your work. If you are a parenting expert, then promote the unique aspects of parenting that you address. How are you going to be of value to the reader? This is the critical question you need to answer to set yourself apart. In some cases, starting with smaller sites to establish your credibility within a genre can help open the doors to bigger sites.

It can be frightening to hand over your content to a large site, but rest assured you maintain complete control over your content, unless paid by the site. You are giving the site permission to post the article and beyond that, the content remains your property and can be used in any way you choose. If the site does offer compensation you will retain the rights to the content, but you will allow them exclusive rights for 90 days.

Utilize a resource like Bacon’s Media Guide to seek out contact information. Keep your e-mail introductory letter brief with a short statement of who you are and what you have to offer. Include a sample article in the body of the email. Offer topic suggestions for future articles. Don’t offer testimonials at this point. If you have given previous credentials and good content, that is what they will notice. They will then refer to your site, which if formatted properly with content and not commercial products and services, will motivate them to work with you.

Do not link to a commercial page in your site. Prominent websites will only link to an informational page or a home page that is structured with content.

Online editors need to have a profound understanding of what you have to offer. They need to have the information presented in a complete and professional manner in accordance with their editorial guidelines. They also need you to do the job of researching great topics. They have to please their editors, and the better content you offer, the more the door will be open for future postings.

Other elements of an Internet campaign are crucial, including search engine placement. However, ultimate success on the Net is achieved by securing ongoing placements in sites that appreciate and want a client’s content. In exchange, the client will receive great publicity and credibility in being associated with some of the best sites.

If you are considering online promotion, this is the most important article you will ever read. I know this sounds a bit presumptuous and I apologize. However, we are hearing the same stories over and over again from our prospective clients and we feel it is time to help educate and to protect you from the various scams and blatant dishonesty that takes place daily as more and more companies try to take advantage of the growing demand for online PR services.

Let me clarify that have we been in business since 1999 and have helped hundreds of experts and corporations grow their businesses, using the fastest growing and most effective way to build your brand available today…the Internet. Based on our experience and the overwhelming numbers of disreputable operations that exist, we have learned some crucial points about protecting your interests. We want to share those with you. There is one distinction that you need to make right off the top. If your goal is to be an expert and to maintain a prominent position within websites of your choice, then you are an expert or contributor. Any company who offers you article syndication is NOT what you are looking for.

Here are some of the critical ways you can avoid being taken advantage of and avoid losing precious ground in your media campaign.

If it sounds too good to be true…it is. Beware of any company who makes extreme claims. We often help with damage control when clients have been taken in by the most abused claim heard today…”we can submit your content to 100 sites or more…” Simply put, there are not that many credible websites on which to place your content. This is a red flag. A credible online publicist knows that real success comes in working with the best 10-20 sites and making those placements count.

Don’t confuse an online publicist with a traditional publicist. There is a huge difference between an online publicist who has dozens of relationships with websites who rely on them for experts and a publicist who simply submits a single article or excerpt blindly. It does not make any difference if the publicist is new and inexperienced, or the most reputable publicist in the country. Neither will have the loyal and time honored relationships necessary to create the ongoing and increasingly prominent placements you seek. These results come from online publicists who know how to present to this medium and how to maximize the promotional support the site can offer in a timely way.

Avoid anyone who offers a “quick slam” campaign. You can’t possibly receive any real value from placing one or two articles on any site, regardless of their size. Credible online campaigns only work when your needs are evaluated, appropriate websites are targeted and your submissions ultimately result in a relationship with those destinations that last over months or even years. Learn the difference between throwing content out into the Internet and carefully choosing how and where your content is placed. Once content is out there, you can not get it back. There are always risks when you place your content on the Internet, however there are firms who know exactly how to protect you when it comes to minimizing the risks

Choose an online publicist based on their contacts and experience. A credible online publicist has active relationships with editors of the sites on which you want to place your content. Blind submissions are not typically accepted, and in fact, these kinds of submissions are considered spam and can destroy your credibility and overall campaign objectives. Once that occurs you will not be able to get back into the editors’ radar unless you are working with someone who has those relationships in place and can repair the damage done.

Choose a publicist who knows how to secure fast and prominent placement. There are unique and rigid factors that are presented to an online editor in order to get prominent exposure on your targeted websites. Only work with a publicist who knows this process well.

Find a publicist who guarantees their placements. An instant red flag is when you are promised certain results with no guarantee in place. Credible publicists can and do guarantee their placements. Accountable publicists who value your business track your results and only promise what they can and will deliver.

Work with publicists who are taking your entire campaign into consideration. A single placement on the wrong site or presented in the wrong way can destroy your potential placements for both online and traditional media. Be sure you are working with people who have your entire campaign goals in place and only pursue opportunities that will enhance those objectives and not hinder them. An experienced online publicist will know everything necessary to secure prominent ongoing positions for you including how to assess your website, how to increase your search engine rankings and how to format your content. Online PR involves all of these components. Only work with someone who has proven knowledge and experience in all of these areas. If your publicist can’t discuss anything beyond submitting an article, run for your life.

Choose an online publicist who provides stringent follow up. Once you paid for your content to be submitted, it is crucial to conduct proper follow up. If no follow up occurs to determine if the articles were placed, how and where they were used or whether the site would like more content from you, the submission is ultimately worthless and without value. Many so called “publicists” will be more than happy to arrange this for you. And beware, some of these individuals many appear to be very notable experts in the PR field. Do your diligence and decide if they are truly the best person for this form of campaign. Not everyone becomes a well known expert based on ethical business practices.

Credible publicists create partnerships between you and online editors. Your publicist should be creating a variety of content features and opportunities for you. They can match what you have to offer with the needs of the sites, creating new and original features for the site that you will fill. This will result in ongoing leads that will be sent to you from the editors on an ongoing basis as well as acceptance from the sites for new content you wish to contribute. A successful online outreach should result in many new opportunities well beyond the original presentation.

Avoid the “cookie-cutter” approach. A reputable publicist will customize their campaign objectives and their fees to your individual needs. All clients come to a promotional campaign with a wide variety of needs. While some approaches may work for several clients, beware of any publicist who is not willing to be flexible when it comes to the goals of the campaign, the time involved and the fees to be assessed. You, the client, should feel like this person has your very best interests at heart and that you can trust that they are just as invested in your results as you are. Your publicist is not someone you hire, it is someone who is invited to be part of your team and your success. Make that the most important component in your decision making process and you can’t lose.

The Internet is now becoming a mainstream media destination for experts, authors and companies who want to access the millions of repeat visitors daily to promote their work. It is more important than ever before that you are aware of the various kinds of services available. You want to make the best possible choice in hiring an online marketing company to help you reach your goals. Here are three of the most common kinds of services you will find and what you can expect in terms of how they work and what can be achieved.

1. Word of Mouth Internet Publicity: This is the most common and can be very effective. In this case, a company will blast your excerpt, article or press release out to a multitude of websites in an attempt to play the numbers game. These services are hoping that at least a few sites will post the material. There is no personal relationship with the site and you typically do the follow up yourself to see if the items posted. It is standard PR/Content Submission. The pros are that they can reach out to many sites and quickly gain some exposure for you. The Cons are that there is no accountability and no ongoing relationship with you and the website. Typically, the sites that accept this kind of content are directories and mass article sites that do not feature experts and content.

2. Blog/Chat Tours: These are quickly becoming more popular and involve targeting specific blog sites and directories for your topic. Blog entries, articles, etc are posted into Blog directories and site blogs and promoted from there. Chat Tours are promoted beforehand and can be a good way to again, gain exposure.

3. Expert promotion: This involves promoting the expert rather than the content and is the hallmark of Net Connect Publicity. Based on individual presentations to editors for a targeted list of websites, experts are positioned on a site as an ongoing contributor or panel expert. This kind of placement provides ongoing long term site exposure and credibility that other campaigns can not offer. While it can be more time consuming, this kind of campaign allows you to build relationships with prominent and strategic websites that results in sales of not only a specific product you might have now, but it also allows you to build a base to market all future products to. In addition, you are going to secure more credibility which is crucial when approaching publishers and prominent media.

Net Connect is unique in that we have built our foundation on sales and marketing principles rather than PR principles. We are not focused on securing placements. We are focused on building your business and helping you form partnerships with media outlets who will work to promote your past, present and future books and products. We help you design your branding so that you can approach new media and new audiences. We can guarantee the placements. There is no risk because we know what our sites are looking for and we have the tools in place to make it happen. The Internet is unlike all other forms of media in that you need ongoing exposure to create a lasting impact. Pages come and go quickly online, so simple one time article placements or features will soon disappear. While it will be archived, it won’t be prominently displayed. Thus ongoing relationships with websites are what will make you stand out among the pack of content submitted to editors everyday.

So when you are choosing a company you need to first define your goals. It is valuable to gain all the exposure you can and the Internet is a powerful place to accomplish this. However, you do want to examine what kinds of sites you want to be associated with, how much exposure you will receive on the website and what the real value will be for your investment. No approach fits every need. Evaluating your goals will help you be more knowledgeable to choose the form of online PR that will work best for you. Just ask yourself, am I looking for people to know my name? Only Expert PR will provide that opportunity.