Effectiveness of press releases can be entirely dependent on
whether or not there are any major national scandals brewing
before that news release is sent. I don't know if there will
be any major earthquakes, tornadoes or presidential sex
scandals this week, but I'm very excited that television's
60 Minutes news magazine covered online education tonight!

This week WebSite101.com and OnlineWorkshops.com officially
announced our partnership to the press via an electronic
press release distributed online via multiple sources and
sent by email to specific local media sources. I can't yet
say what results that announcement will have as it just
went to the inbox of hundreds of journalists across the
country.

What the media pays attention to is often determined by what
the media pays attention to. Every news outlet looks at what
the competition is running on the front page or what tops the
hourly news reports. If 60 Minutes is paying attention to
online education, then WebSite101 has got great chance of
being a major news story tomorrow. If my local paper, the
Santa Rosa Press Democrat gets interested, their parent
publication, the New York Times may pick up the story too!

All we can do now is to wait and see if the San Jose Mercury
News or the San Francisco Chronicle notice a small business
internet tutorial teaming up with a distance education portal.
The 60 Minutes piece was specifically discussing major online
distance education initiatives launched by Duke University
and the well known internet education site, University of
Phoenix. Talk was centered around whether it was an effective
and useful way to learn. I already believe that it is.

Now we'll see whether the media agrees with that perspective.
And as long as George W. Bush is faithful to his loving wife,
and makes no malaprops during the performance of his duties
tomorrow, maybe the Philadelphia Enquirer will take notice
of a quiet little web site that is seeking to change the face
of ebusiness by training a few thousand independent entrepre-
neurs in ecommerce for the little guy.

I'm excited and hopeful of the potential for distance
education and the small part WebSite101 can play in helping
small business gain an edge in ecommerce.

Our first press release was used by Entrepreneur Magazine,
the Sacramento Bee and Oracle Magazine and we can only hope
for more of that kind of attention will follow with the
latest announcement. Ted Koppel, what do you think? David
Letterman, do you care to comment? Howard Stern, would ya
like to weigh in on this one?

Take a look at our press release by visiting it online at:

http://website101.com/press.html

And keep your fingers crossed for us that no movie stars get
arrested for soliciting prostitution or some such nonsense.
Maybe Martha Stewart'll say something nice about WebSite101.
Oprah, would you like to add my ebook to your recommended
reading list?

Mike Banks Valentine
WebSite101 "Reading List" Weekly Netrepreneur Tip Sheet
Weekly Ezine emphasizing small business on the Internet
http://website101.com/arch/
e-tutorial online at: http://website101.com/shortcourse.html
By week's end you're ready expand your business to the web!

"Finding Leads...Before and After You"

By Christopher Wright, Guerrilla Marketer
www.GuerrillaPromotions.com

Once again...everyone's looking for leads. One can't really blame them...they are the 'life blood' of business. Lets take a look at a simple strategy for locating leads, not just a look but a vertical look.

"Are You In...The Cycle?"

Sometimes the best way to find leads is to work your cycle (sales cycle). Before you can 'work' this cycle, you first must find where you fit in this cycle. Once this is done, then its just a matter of contacting those before and after you to inquire as to the possibility of a promotion.

Now, you may be wondering what I mean by 'before and after' you. This means who will your customers need before they see you and who will they need after they've done business with you. This applies whether you're focusing online or off-line.

"Form Your Crosses...Join Your Joints"

Ok, you've found your place in the sales cycle, now it's time to contact other businesses. The hot term now on the net is 'joint venture', but its been called 'cross promotions' for ages off-line. Let's say you're wedding planner and you're looking to increase your business. Let's see what we can do. Who would your potential clients need before they seek out your services? Surely they'll need wedding rings. So, let's contact some jewelers. Don't expect many jewelers to jump for joy over your prospective 'joint venture'...at least without some incentive.

The best incentive (but not always) is cash. How much should you offer? Should it be a flat fee per referral or a percentage of what they spend? This is something only you can answer. Your decision will be based on your expenses and profit margins.

Why pay a referral fee you ask? Simple. What you give up on the front end, you'll more than recoup later on the back end. How? Well, lets look at who they'll need after they've done business with you? Maybe they'll want to go on a honeymoon...which means they will probably want a good travel agent. Now, you contact (ahead of time, of course) travel agents and propose a similar joint venture to the one you used with the jeweler. Only this time, you'll be receiving the referral fee.

We're not finished yet! Keep these names on file in your database, we'll be using them to generate other streams of revenue for our (um..I mean your :) business. You have their anniversary date...it was the date you helped plan remember? Well send a postcard to the husband about a week or so before asking if he would like some flowers sent to his wife's job (women love that). What about sending a postcard about a month before the date offering a special discount on jewelry? Or maybe its their fifth or tenth anniversary and they've been talking about another vacation. Send a postcard a month or two offering a discount on a vacation package.

How will you be offering all these discounts on these services...through your 'joint ventures' you'll set up ahead of time! You're only limited by the time and effort you put into this strategy. Next time, we'll discuss how this technique can be implemented on the Internet.

Best of Luck,

C. Wright, Guerrilla Marketer
"Free 100+ Ezine Article Database"
www.GuerrillaPromotions.com/TrafficMagic.html

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