GUIDE: How Home Builders Should Use Press Releases To Build Their Brand

Leading Luxury Builders To Great ness

FREE GUIDE HOW PRESS RELEASES HELP LUXURY BUILDERS BUILD THEIR BRAND Learn how to write, optimize, and distriubte your press releases in the most effective way

CONTINUE TO BUILD YOUR LUXURY BRAND An import ant part of building a brand is communicat ing your accomplishment s t o prospect s, cust omers, and part ners.

You?re achieving a lot of newsworthy goals, now start sharing.

Cert ified Luxury Builders (CLB) has t he answer.

How To W rit e, Opt imize & Dist ribut e Your Press Release STEP 1. CREATE Write an announcement about your business. It could be a product or promotion, a sale or a new location, a customer survey, or any other newsworthy story.

STEP 2. OPTIM IZE Turn your news release into a search marketing asset with PRWeb. Add keywords to target your ideal customers on search engines. Include a video and photos to attract more attention.

STEP 3. DISTRIBUTE PRWeb or another distributor will deliver your story to every major search engine, national news sites, and 30,000 journalists and bloggers ? generating visibility and buzz for your business.

W hat is a press release, anyway?

Press (or news) releases are usually one- or two-page documents that share breaking news with the public. They're typically read by journalists, but sometimes general audiences might stumble upon them, too. Typically, they emulate a news article format, using the reverse pyramid to place the most important information first.

W hy should my business send press releases?

Organizations of all sizes use press releases to achieve various goals. Some common objectives include: -

To get media coverage.This would be when your company releases a new product or feature.

To build your brand?s reputation. Maybe you?re re-launching your brand image and want more people to know.

To manage a crisis.When things go wrong, it's often beneficial to break the story yourself first.

To build backlinks from trusted media sites.This could be when you publish a new e-book, report or blog and you want a reputable source to link back to the information.

As a cost-effective way to market your organization.A well-written press release can help garner public attention due to news coverage.

W hen should I send a press release?

Any time you have something newsworthy to share. This includes: -

Breaking news announcements:News outlets want to be the first to cover news when it breaks. So, lend them a helping hand.

Product launches:New products often make for good news pieces.

Events:These can offer reporters something timely and interesting to share with their audiences.

Partnerships:If you team up with another interesting company, the news may want to know.

Sharing research:Unique data and original insights are always interesting.

Awards:Don't be afraid to talk yourself up (a little bit).

Hiring new executives:At larger organizations, this can be considered important news.

Crisis management:When something bad happens, it's best to get in front of it (before someone else does).

Make sure you have something your audience (and the media's audience) will care about. This will dramatically increase the odds that your release will earn coverage.

W hat informat ion and cont ent should a release include?

Here?s what you should include in your press releases: -

Headline: Be sure to make it clear why your story is interesting and important.

Press Contact:How can the media get in touch with you?

City, State, Location:Where are you, and where is your news happening?

Body copy:Order information by level of importance.

Boilerplate:What's your organization all about?

W hat is t he best way t o format your press release?

Press releases generally follow a familiar format. By keeping your formatting consistent, reporters will always know where to look for which information.

So, what does a formatted press release look like?

Every marketer should knowhow to write an effective press release. They?re essential for ensuring the media and public know your latest news. Plus, they can be cost-effective. Aside from paid distribution, they only cost your time to write.

However, you need to know how to write them well.

Journalists are extremely busy and only respond to the best pitches they receive. If you send something sub-par, it will get deleted.

Fortunately, if you spend the time to get it right, you can tilt the odds in your favor. In this guide you?ll learn: -

How to identify newsworthy angles people care about. Every good news story should have a hook.

The best way to write and format press releases for easy readability.Learn how to do it right the first time, every time.

What to do to make sure your release gets read (and drives results).Stay out of the trash folder and make a real impact on your business.

Plus, you?ll find several templates and examples to follow. By the time you?re done, you?ll know exactly how to get your organization the attention it deserves.

Use a press release t emplat e ?

Don?t write releases from scratch! Instead, use templates to make sure you nail the formatting every time.

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Press Release Template (Word):Take the hassle out of writing and formatting press releases with this simple template.

Press Release Checklist:Make sure each release you deliver is up to par before hitting Send.

Press Release Pitch Template:When you send a press release, you might also need to send a pitch email. Use this template for that.

Format and creat e killer press releases quickly and efficient ly: copy and past e t his press release out line t o get yourself st art ed [Logo] For Immediat e Release Name of Press Contact: Date: Phone: Email: [INSERT HEADLINE] [CITY], [STATE] - Introductory Paragraph [QUOTE] [Second Paragraph] [Third Paragraph] [QUOTE] Closing Paragraph [BOILERPLATE]

Think like a journalist If you?re writing a press release to send to a journalist, you need to think (and write) like a journalist. You need to be able to pitch a story that captures the attention of the journalist you?re pitching to. Some tips to keep in mind: -

The information they need should be easy to find.Don?t bury the lead for your reader. Tell them upfront what the purpose of your press release is.

Keep your press release short and sweet.Your journalist is busy, don?t waste their time with fluff.

Don?t overdo it.Everyone?s organization has the best event, the best new product the best whatever it happens to be. Just don?t start your press releases with that kind of cliché.

M ake sure your st ory has value t o a publicat ion?s audience If you?re a software company sending a press release to a publication that writes about pick-up trucks, why would they run a story about your organization?When determining where to pitch your story, ensure that: -

Their readership or viewership aligns with your target audience. Do both your audiences care about the same things?

Their coverage area aligns with your product or service. Will the publication care about your company?

You can do this by reading a few issues of a physical publication, or by spending some time on their website.

Follow t he invert ed pyramid This format entails putting your most important information first. Follow this visual guide:

Include Useful Quot es One of the most critical parts of your press release is including a quote that writers will be able to pull and use in their own story. Remember: reporters and writers are already super busy. The more work that you create for them, the less chance they will have of covering your story.

Eliminat e fluff Press releases should always be short and to the point. Reporters and editors are busy people.

Now you're ready to buckle down and write your release. Follow this process to get the job done.

Find your angle Every good news story has an angle. An angle is the perspective your story will take. Some common angles are: -

Local impact.How is your story impacting the local community?

Conflict.Is your press release giving another side to a conflict?

Progress.Is your press release highlighting progress made towards a certain problem?

Drama.Does your press release evoke an emotional response for readers?

When constructing your angle, remember the 5 W's: - Who is this story about?

- What is happening?

- Where is it going on?

- When will it occur?

TRY FOLLOWING THE TEMPLATE - Why is it important?

ON THE NEXT PAGE! >>

YOUR PRESS RELEASE TEM PLATE For Immediate Release Name of Press Contact: Date: Phone: Email: Luxury Builder Named 2019 Best of Houzz Winner [Company Pict ure or Meaningful pict ure] [City, State] [Company Name] is pleased to be awarded ?The Prestigious Top of the Market 2019?in the Design and 5-Star Customer Service category. We were chosen by the more than 40 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than one million active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals. Houzz is the leading platform for home remodeling and design.

This highly-sought after award recognizes our commitment to our customers and the ways in which we set ourselves apart from the competition by building exceptional homes and making our customers dreams come true. We take pride in our quick response to customers?concerns during the entire homebuilding process.

Recognized for Except ional Cust omer Service Every year, Houzz selects winners in the categories of Design and Customer Service. The Customer Service honor is based on several factors, including the number and quality of client reviews we received in 2019. As a result of our award, we are proud to display a ?Best Of Houzz 2019?badge on our profile as a sign of our commitment to excellence.

Add your story and unique differentiation below.

For example - We?ve been building custom homes in [x community] since [19xx], and over the years we?ve developed a step-by-step homebuilding process whereby we handle everything from demolition to rebuilding brand-new ENERGY STAR®-certified homes from the ground up. In addition, our coastal homes exceed FEMA?s new standards for building in flood zones. Our vision is to construct homes the right way, reducing the risk of future wind and flood damage by elevating 4?to 9?above expected flood levels, depending on the location of the property.

Follow [Company Name] and check out our projects on [www.houzz.com address]

Looking t o build meaningful relat ionships wit h st rat egic part ners in your market ?

View our case study about how one builder generated an additional $30 million through CLB's strategic partner program

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ABOUT CLB NETW ORK CLB measures our partnership success in Revenue, New Projects, and Net Profit.

We want you to achieve your goal of putting a minimum of $1M in profits in the bank and achieving 10% net profit for the business and building a valued asset.

CLB takes a bright and innovative approach to offering easy-to-understand, customizable, and fractional solution options at a significant value compared to hiring employees or firms that do not understand your business, your best-fit clients or the luxury home building and remodeling industry.

CLB Network is backed by a team of seasoned professionals who explicitly understand what it takes to be a high performance luxury custom homes and remodeling business and how to deliver a 5-star experience to best-fit strategic partners. prospects, and clients.

Our combined experience and solutions allows CLB to offer you and your business genuine peace of mind knowing that we are on your team and will help you achieve your goals years sooner than if you had to do it on your own.