The Internet's New Secret Weapon for Getting Free Publicity

You probably don't even know about them. Few people do.

Even fewer people realize how many different ways you can

use them to get free publicity, increase your search engine

rankings, and make yourself a media celebrity in your field.

I'm talking about "news alerts."

Google offers Google News Alerts at www.news.google.com.

Look in the column to the left of the page.

Yahoo has a similar service, as do a number of other web

portals and news outlets.

News alerts are the Internet's new -- and one of its most

powerful -- secrets weapons for attracting attention from

radio, TV and newspaper reporters.

You can sign up for news alerts for free. Then you choose

keywords related to your industry, and whenever those keywords

show up in a news story--practically anywhere--you get an

email notification and a link to the story..

News alerts allow you to identify and contact the journalist

who did the story to suggest a follow up, offer another

angle, etc. on the story they've already done.

You can even set up news alerts for a competitor's name. If

they're quoted in a story somewhere, you'll be notified by

email. That gives you an opportunity to contact the reporter

who wrote the story and position yourself as a future

resource for similar pieces.

You can also set up your news alerts so that every time your

name appears in the media, it sends you an email

notification.

It's a great way to find out when your news releases, tip

sheets, or articles have been published. This can be

extremely valuable since people who print your

stuff don't always let you know they're doing it.

Furthermore, when you find out that something by you or

about you has been published, you can get copies or

reprints to use in a multitude of ways to further establish

your credentials with the media.

For instance, you can print out stories you may want to

include in your media kit, or even mail to journalists to

reassure them that your topic really IS newsworthy--

and that you indeed ARE an expert in your field.

I got quite a giggle -- and a little bit of a shock -- when

I set up a news alert for my own name recently.

I got an alert from Google a few days later telling me the

name "George McKenzie" had appeared in a Scottish TV

story.

When I clicked on the link, I found out it wasn't really

about me--it was about a Scottish lawyer named Sir George

McKenzie, an advisor to King Charles the Second 300 years

ago.

I won't give you the details here -- a little too gruesome

for a family friendly article. But you can read it if you

choose by clicking on

http://www.publicitygoldmine.com/sirgeorge

News alerts are one of the Internet's most important

developments for helping people get the attention of the

media.

They're free, easy, versatile, valuable, and best of

all--your competitors probably don't have a clue they exist.

For more information on how to use news alerts to identify

reporters who are already doing stories about your

industry, go to

http://www.publicity-pro.com/searchenginepublicity.htm

About The Author:

About the Author: Award winning TV anchor George McKenzie

offers a free 7-part email "Publicity Crash Course" at

http://www.publicity-pro.com. During his 33-year

broadcasting career, George's work appeared on ABC, NBC,

CBS, ESPN and ESPN.This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_9197_3.html