Jul 9

PR Grade Image

Yay! 100%!

Hubspot, the innovative company behind the creation of The Website Grader, has recently released a new tool: Press Release Grader. And I have to say, this is an incredibly valuable tool.

The images I have included in this post are screenshots of the instant report that Hubspot generated for my latest Press Release submission. Hubspot provides products, reports and advice to help small businesses with Inbound Marketing. The Website Grader is a great tool for business start-ups that need help analyzing their sites for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

I’m a big advocate of Social Media Releases (SMRs) and changing the way people read and write Press Releases. I really enjoy writing releases that help interesting people share great stories with their readers. I can’t wait to scavenge the details, find an angle, and develop a compelling story. I’ve had great success with many of my submissions.

Here is a general overview of the core features of the tool:

Section 1: General Statistics

This section features a short analysis of the word count, sentences, number of links and readability of your release. The readability section is important, and comparable to a word processor’s Flesch Kincaid Grade Level. I would suggest adjusting your copy and writing your press releases specifically for your market. Don’t create releases based solely on industry standards and submission guidelines. Always ask yourself, “who is my target, and what will they respond to?”

Section 2: Content Suggestions

This section includes analysis of basic sections that are included in every press release such as Contact Information, the About the Company paragraph, and the End of Content Markers (###). All Press Release templates include these sections and give the audience general information about the company.

PR Element Pic

The Content Suggestion section also features my favorite tool: Goobledygook Words. Hubspot has specifically designed this tool to compare your press release against the words that have been designated as Gobbledygook in David Meerman Scott’s e-book Change This: The Gobbledygook Manifesto.

In the Manifesto, David explains how a small number of words are vastly overused in distributed releases:

The news release wires collectively distributed just over 388,000 news releases in the nine-month period, and just over 74,000 of them mentioned at least one of the Gobbledygook phrases. The winner was “next generation,” with 9,895 uses. there were over 5,000 uses of each of the following words and phrases: “flexible,” “robust,” “world class,” “scalable,” and “easy to use.” Other notably overused phrases with between 2,000 and 5,000 uses included “cutting edge,” “mission critical,” “market leading,” “industry standard,” “turnkey,” and “groundbreaking.” Oh and don’t forget “interoperable,” “best of breed,” and “user friendly,” each with over 1,000 uses in news releases.

If you have not read this short ebook, I suggest that you visit the David’s site and download a copy. It can help you avoid using unnecessary words and bring clarity to all of your copywriting.

In case you were wondering, my Press Release received a score of zero for Gobbledygook words.

Section 3: Link Analysis

I really like this section as well. I almost managed to get a perfect 33%, 66%, 99% score, but my first link was included in the text a little too early.

Link Analysis Image

I think it’s important to include links throughout your Press Releases. Having three, as Hubspot suggests, provides your readers an opportunity to visit your site at the exact moment they begin making a buying decision. Why wait until the end, after the About the Company section, to direct them to the sales page or website? Capture them at the height of the story, immediately after a compelling headline, summary or incredible quote.

Overall Impression

I highly recommend Hubspot’s new offering. It’s certainly worth trying before you submit your next release. I encourage you to explore their site and try of all of their free tools.

If you’re interested in more free information, Hubspot is presenting a Free Webinar - Doing a Website Redesign with an Internet Marketing Strategy in Mind on Wed. July 9, 2PM EST.

I’ll definitely be tuning in.

P

P.S. If you want to find out more about the Press Release Grader, follow this link to Hubspot’s Video on You Tube, which highlights all of the features that I have mentioned above.

If you don’t think you have a story worthy of a Press Release, take advantage of my Free 30 Minute Consultation. I will help you figure out how to write a compelling press release that drives traffic to your site.

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May 3

Paper Airplane

This post is about a month late.

I had planned on writing this April 2nd, when I first stumbled on the Press Release.

I’m not going to say much about it. It really needs no explanation, but I thought it was worth noting because its an example of the Labour Congress’ blatant misuse of Press to downplay a very serious issue.

Well… they probably hadn’t intended to make light of the issue, but this doesn’t help the public’s view of their commitment to solving the problem.

I know, it was April Fool’s day. This was intended to be light-hearted and in the moment of the festivities (are there April Fool’s Day festivities?).

Here is their first release of the day:

Our Kind of Tax Cut
Labour welcomes government action on women’s wages

OTTAWA – The Canadian Labour Congress today welcomed news that the federal government will finally move to close the persistent and growing wage gap that sees Canada’s working women paid an average of 70½ cents for each dollar earned by men.

“Lower taxes for lower wages: higher taxes for higher wages. It’s plain old common sense that works for women. We work just as long and just as hard to support our families as men do in this country. It’s about time something was done to address the fact that we get paid less for our work,” says Barbara Byers, Executive Vice- President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Last month, the CLC released a report that showed just how deep Canada’s pay inequity problem has become. The report, “Women in the Workforce: Still a Long Way from Equality” revealed that Canadian women who work at full-time jobs throughout the entire year earn just 70½ cents for every dollar earned by men who do similar work. Worse, the report showed that this wage gap was growing and growing fastest among women with post-secondary education.

“As women file their income tax returns, they see they are paying taxes on wages where they’ve done a dollars’ worth of work for thirty cents less. It’s not fair and, finally, the government has decided to do something about it,” says Barbara Byers, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

According to Byers, the Minister for Women will announce plans to have women pay, on average, 70% of the income taxes on their wages that men pay. Because nearly 40% of women who file income tax returns already don’t earn enough to pay federal tax (according to Revenue Canada statistics from 2005), the impact on the federal treasury is something the government can manage.

While greater access to affordable child care, higher minimum wages, and meaningful pay equity laws would do more to close the wage gap between Canadian women and men, Byers says this is an April 1st to remember. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca

My point is, they could have picked a different issue, or dealt with it in a different way. They actually released this to an international PR website. So it was released as genuine news about labour equity and tax cuts.

I’m sure it’s not the first time a company has done this, but it certainly should be the last time a governing body does this.

They issued this retraction, which was released later in the day:

April Fools! - Cutting taxes really doesn’t help

April 1, 2008

OTTAWA – Earlier today, we issued a release about plans to have women pay just 70% of the income tax on their wages that men pay as a measure to compensate for the fact that women earn, on average, about 70 cents for every dollar earned by men who do similar work. Of course, it was an April Fools’ joke.

While it’s true that something needs to be done to address this problem, there are better answers. To learn about them, visit onceandforall.ca or look for the Equality! Once and For All! campaign on our web site, canadianlabour.ca.

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.2 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 136 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca

I agree that tax cuts are the appropriate way to solve the problem, and the likelihood of the Government taking a stand in this way is pretty far-fetched.

Maybe they were attempting to gain more support by creating awareness of the situation and making people angry.

I’m not averse to humor.

I just don’t support their idea of a joke.

P

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