Web 2.0 (dynamic, interactive, optimized) Web sites and blogs are like the proverbial tree falling in a forest if there’s no one around to notice. It takes a marriage of new  - and old - marketing communications vehicles to make target audiences aware of your new Web site, or blog, or forum, or bulletin board. So …

• Announce your new Web site with a press release to publications that your target customers read. Make sure to cover the innovative ways you encourage  interaction on the site and what the site offers visitors. News releases must have substance.
• Send a direct mail piece to your customer, prospect and friends list announcing the site and offering a giveaway to the first five who log in.
• Put your Web and/or blog addresses on every printed piece and every email you send out.
• Bring visitors back to your site with valuable downloadable tips or trends, case studies or articles; announce their availability in an email or in person.

The most effective marketing initiatives take advantage of the best new - and traditional - tools.

From elevator pitches to descriptions of company products and services, insiders are often too close to the subject, too steeped in the details to give right-on, short answers to critical customer questions. You should be able to respond to the following questions in less than 30 seconds with one or two phrases (that’s about all the time you’ll get). No industry jargon or acronyms. Can’t do it? Sit down with a savvy outsider (could be a customer/friend) and craft the answers. Distribute them to everyone that has contact with customers, so you’ll all sing the same notes.

1. Who is [COMPANY NAME]? [We make logo'd shirts for companies and teams.]

2. What do you do? [We do company payroll tasks on line.]

3. What can you do for me? [Reduce payroll-related staff and costs; let you focus on your core business.]

4. What will you do for me that your competitors don’t do? [We're the only company that will have an expert tech at your door in an hour - any day, any time, holidays included - to keep your business running.]

5. Why should I do business with you? [Big Bang benefits, i.e., keep your systems running 24/7/365 - no revenue or data loss.]

Reporters and editors are like those elusive crushes you had in high school. You try to communicate with them every once in a while, but they just won’t give you the time of day. That is, unless they want something from you.

Your high school crush may have wanted help with homework – or worse – to cheat off you during a test. Reporters and editors have similarly selfish intentions. They’ll want your information if it’s A. truly newsworthy — a scoop they can put on page one and one-up the competition; or B. something that’s going to fill their news “hole.”

Feeding the monster
Depending on their editorial cycle, reporters and editors feel the pressure every day, week or month to fill their pages with print. Pitch them at the right time, and – as long as the story is substantive, interesting and not overly promotional – they just might bite. As precious as they are, these opportunities, however, tend to be few and far between. More often, you’ll feel as if you’re pitching to a vacuum.

If not now - sometime
Don’t despair. Though reporters or editors may not respond right away, their silence doesn’t mean they haven’t filed away your idea on their computers – or, more likely, in their heads – as a possible future story. So keep the pitches coming. A constant stream – but not bombardment – of relevant information is the only way to cement your company in the minds of the media.

Whether you’re creating a marketing e-mail, an e-newsletter, Web or blog copy, remember S4 : Short, Simple, Scannable, Searchable to make your piece “sticky.”

• Short: Keep copy at 100 words or fewer. If you’re quoting from an article, provide the first paragraph, then a link such as “read more” or “article.”

• Simple: No fancy words, no industry jargon. Short sentences. A single idea at a time.

• Scannable: Use heads and subheads to give your piece glance value; enable the reader to “get it”
without pouring over each word.

• Searchable: Incorporate your key words (the words your customers use to find companies or
products like yours online). Helps your Web or blog copy pop to the top in online searches.