Business Resources

How to Start Your Own Website

Are you interested in starting a website to promote your business but don’t know where to begin? We’ve broken the process down into six easy to understand steps.

1. Get a Domain Name

Every website first needs a domain name. The domain name is the address of your website. For example, Lamaze International’s is www.lamaze.org. A best practice is to choose a name that is the same as your business. If your business’ name is Labor Your Way, you might want your domain name to be www.laboryourway.com.

2. Register Your Domain Name

Just as you have to register a business, you must also register your domain name. There are many places online where you can register, including:

www.GoDaddy.com

www.NetworkSolutions.com

www.Register.com

+ Read More...

Use a Blog for Self-Promotion

Are you looking to promote your classes or services but don’t have a large budget? Consider starting your own blog. It’s a simple, no-cost, effective way to demonstrate your knowledge while promoting healthy birth practices to a sizable audience. A blog can help you attract new business while providing your expertise to those with questions.

What’s a Blog?

A blog (short for the term “Web log”) is a website, oftentimes maintained by an individual, that may feature regular entries of:

• Commentary
• News
• Informal articles
• Photos
• Videos

Blogs can range in style and tone. Some feature people writing their innermost thoughts similar to journal entries. Others are places for people to share recipes, make political commentary, etc. With a blog, you can write about and discuss nearly anything under the sun.

Why Should I Use a Blog?

• As more people rely on the internet for answers to their pregnancy, birth and parenting questions, your blog can be the source they turn to for trusted information.
• It’s simple – There is a variety of websites that can help you start your own blog. You don’t need any technical experience and most blog sites provide tools you can use to customize your blog.
• It’s free – You can start and maintain your blog at no cost.
• It has reach – More than 57 million adult Americans consider themselves to be blog readers according to research by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. This audience includes expectant parents, new grandparents, childbirth educators, health care professionals and more.
• The engaging, relevant information you post on your blog can connect with these audiences and help your professional reputation grow at the same time.

How Should I Use a Blog?

People are constantly scouring the Internet in search of reliable, timely, well-written information. As a Lamaze educator, you have a wealth of solid knowledge others will be eager to read.

Share your wisdom and experience with others. Write entries on what parents can expect during pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Provide pregnancy exercise tips, communicate the benefits of the Lamaze Six Healthy Birth Practices and more.

Each entry will build your credibility as a trusted expert in the field.

Remember to update your blog on a regular basis (two or three times a week is a healthy goal). A long period between posts can lead readers to believe the content is stale or the blog is no longer active.

Build Your Business

Many blogs feature a page for an author biography. This “About Me Page” is where you can list out your credentials, promote your business and provide contact information.

How Do I Get Started?

There are many sites to help you begin building your blog for free. LiveJournal, Blogger, and Word Press are widely popular sites geared towards helping first-time bloggers get started.

Once you’re blog is up and running, remember to add a link to it to your Lamaze member profile. And don’t be shy—we’d love to see it! Send your blog’s address to info@lamaze.org.

Tips for Writing an Op-Ed

What Is an Op-ed?

It is an opinion piece, often published in newspapers, and more recently in online publications. Op-eds are most often published by the author’s local newspaper and can be about everything from major news stories to local issues. Op-eds typically range from 500 to 750 words in length.

Please note that an op-ed is not a letter to the editor.

Why Should I Write One?

An op-ed is an effective way to demonstrate your expertise to a local audience. At no cost, you can write an op-ed that informs readers about an aspect of childbirth while also positioning yourself as a subject matter expert. Your op-ed can have your name, credentials, and business’s name in the byline, thereby giving you and your business exposure.

How Can You Write an Effective Op-ed?

1. Pick a Controversial Topic

Choose a topic that is likely to be of interest to readers. VBAC, labor induction, cesarean surgery, medically unnecessary interventions and more can be solid topics that will capture your readers’ interest.

2. Clearly State Your Position in the Opening Sentence

Next, build out your argument with facts. Make sure all of your supporting reasons are based on facts that can be verified by the newspaper’s or online media outlet’s editorial staff.

3. Be Brief

If you craft a strong argument, readers will easily grasp your point in the first few lines. Remember: less is more. People have short attention spans and no one wants to read 900 words of something that continually repeats itself.

4. Make it Relevant

With an op-ed, strike while the topic is hot. Has there recently been a national news story on maternal mortality? A new report out on the climbing cesarean surgery rate? If so, this is the time to submit your op-ed to your local newspaper. The more relevant your piece is to current events, the more likely it is to catch the newspaper editor’s eye.

5. Submitting Your Piece

 Visit the publication’s website and carefully review the guidelines for submission and you can likely submit your piece electronically.

6. Don’t fret

If your op-ed is not picked up, don’t worry. Try submitting it to various online news sources or post it on your blog. It’s not guaranteed that every op-ed will get published, so if the first one doesn’t make it to print, try again.

Further Reading: http://www.dirjournal.com/articles/what-is-an-op-ed/

Tips for Getting Media Coverage

Why Get Media Coverage?

Media coverage is an effective way to build your reputation as an expert on birth, breastfeeding, childbirth education, etc. Every time your name or picture is highlighted in the media, you build your brand and potentially can attract new students.

1. Make Sure Something Newsworthy is Happening

To attract media coverage, you must have something newsworthy that a publication, radio show or television station would be interested in reporting. This could be a milestone such as holding your 500th class, publishing a book or offering a cutting-edge new type of class. If you own your own business, you may be a perfect fit for a story on local entrepreneurs.

2. Piggyback on Events

Certain calendar events can help your message feel more relevant. Pitch a story that relates to Mothers’ Day, Labor Day, World Breastfeeding Day, Midwives’ Day, National Patient Safety Week or another event where your story is a logical fit.

3. Get in Touch With the Local Media

Send a press release (see Lamaze’s tip sheet on Writing an Effective Press Release) to your local media outlets. If you noticed they recently featured a story on births, childbirth education or a related topic, get in touch and ask if they intend to do any follow-up pieces and offer to be an expert interviewee.

4. Give Your Story a Local Spin

Local media is probably your best bet for media coverage. And that’s perfect because it’s where your prospective students are most likely to be. So give your story a local spin. Born and raised there? Work that angle. Had your business on Main Street for years? Put that front and-center. Show reporters why people in your community should care.

5. Find a Relevant Reporter

This seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people get it wrong: Don’t pitch a story idea about your childbirth education classes to the sports desk editor or a reporter covering local politics. Do your homework into which reporters cover what beats and then reach out to them. In most local papers, reporters list their e-mail addresses in their bylines.

Also check the media outlet’s website for a list of contacts. Find the reporter that covers topics most closely aligned to yours and make contact.

6. Pest Control

Be persistent, but don’t pester a journalist. If they aren’t interested, revise your pitch and try again in a few months. Even small towns tend to have several local newspapers, radio stations and television news programs, meaning there should be multiple journalists you can try.

7. Become a Member of a Speakers Bureau

Submit an application to become a member of your local speakers bureau. If accepted, the media will be seeking you out, enabling you to spread your message with minimal legwork.

Tips on Submitting Letters to the Editor

Do you want to write a letter to the editor and ensure it has the best chance of being published?

Keep it short, keep it focused, and keep it within the bounds of good taste. The bigger the circulation of the publication to which you are submitting, the more competition you face in having your letter selected. The letters editor may have hundreds of choices in each day’s mailbag, arriving by ordinary post or e-mail.

To make sure your letter is compelling enough that the editor will not toss it in the reject pile:

1. Before writing your letter, review the publication’s policy and guidelines for letters to the editor. It is frequently available on the publication’s Website under the Opinion section.
2. Write and submit your letter as quickly as possible, preferably the same day that the article runs.
3. Submit letters by e-mail whenever possible. (Look for the e-mail address on the newspaper's website).
4. Put your full first and last name, address, phone and/or fax numbers (day and evening) and your e-mail address at the top of the letter. Most publications want to call the writer to confirm authenticity.
5. Cut to the chase. You don't need a long, rambling introduction to your subject. Just focus on one or two key points that you want to make and then get out. Aim for no more than 250 words, and be sure to stay under the paper's word limit.
6. If you refer to a previously published letter, a news story or column, identify it by its headline and the date it was published. This enables the editor to quickly check the original item to verify any references you have made to it (i.e. quotes, statistics).
7. Write short, punchy sentences, grouped in two or three paragraphs.
8. If you are responding to a columnist’s views (or any other opinion piece), don’t launch a personal attack on the columnist – attack his/her views. Offer a countervailing opinion. Try to advance the debate so that other readers might join in the discussion in subsequent letters.
9. If you have read a news story or feature article that relates to something you've experienced, respond by putting your own personal twist on the subject.
10. Don’t send copies of your letter to a whole host of publications. Make it an original to the publication you really want to publish it. If you don't get a confirmation call within a week to 10 days, then try submitting it elsewhere.

Write an Effective Press Release

Press releases are a useful way to inform your clients, prospective clients, colleagues, and the community of your childbirth classes. They are meant to capture the attention of journalists and news sources and are designed to be published on the Internet, through e-mail, and via online newsfeeds.

When writing your press release, remember:

Create a Solid Lead

Create an attention-grabbing headline to get your readers’ attention. The headline and introductory paragraph should tell the story, while the remainder of the press release provides the details.

Tell, Don’t Sell

Press releases are meant to inform an audience, not to sell products. Evaluate the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” “why,” and “how.” Don’t forget to provide useful information about your business, event or service—without sounding like a sales pitch.

Be Media-Friendly

Press releases are designed to be picked up by online media outlets (e.g. blogs, websites, online newsletters) without editing the text. Express your thoughts in a simple, clear and to the point manner to increase your press release’s media exposure.

Media Coverage: Who Cares?

Your audience’s interest often determines your press release’s exposure. A topic or news story that you find exciting may not be seen as such by the media. Consider your news topics carefully—focusing on what’s new and unique. Ask yourself, “Why should the audience care? How will they benefit in learning about this?” Most importantly, make sure the news is timely.

Nobody wants to hear about something that’s well-known or has already happened.

Tell the Truth!

Relate the cold, hard facts. Don’t embellish, and don’t “slant” your story. If the press release sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. The media is skeptical, so be prepared for members of your audience to research your statements.

Get to the Point

Speak plainly and openly. Avoid using clichés, as they weaken your message. Clichés to avoid include: “cut to the chase,” “without a doubt,” “know full well,” “the nick of time,” and more. Do not overuse adjectives. If a story is attention-grabbing or unique, the news will speak for itself.

Avoid “Lingo”

An effective press release caters to all audiences. To reach prospective students, write about your childbirth classes in language the average eighth-grader would understand. Be specific! Make sure that someone who isn’t familiar with childbirth terms can understand your message.

Conclude With a Boilerplate

Finish with a brief paragraph describing your business (or job description), products, clients, and services. Boilerplates often include a short history, your credentials, and the overall mission statement.

Further Reading: http://www.prwebdirect.com/pressreleasetips.php