DWPub Sporadic

Meet us at next week’s Internet World show

We’ll be present at the press office of the Internet World show in London next week.
Press releases associated with the event, which will run between 1-3 May at Earls Court 2, are featured on a dedicated page on the SourceWire site. To make sure your releases are included simply post them to the SourceWire Press Release Wire and be sure to include the phrase ‘Internet World’ in the body text.
The Internet World show is not all techie stuff - it’s mostly all about internet marketing so any PR professional may find it of interest. It’s certainly worthwhile talking to the search engine optimisation (SEO) firms who are exhibiting. So if you’re not already going with a client maybe you should consider attending (click here for free registration).

Get press contacts from FeaturesExec

Our completely revised Press Lists Express service on FeaturesExec has been very well received.
It’s slicker than the old version and has additional features - such as the ability to email multiple journalists straight from your search results and add your own private press contacts.
It also integrates with our Freelance Journalist Directory, so you can potentially create target press lists including staff, freelance and your own contacts.
If you’re a subscriber try it out at www.featuresexec.com/ple. If you’re not call 0845 370 7777 or email sales@dwpub.com for information on how to subscribe.

On the way to beating charity target - but need your help

Thanks to generous sponsorships so far I have made a good start raising money for the Argus Appeal charity - but still have some way to go.
The challenge is 105 miles off-road by bicycle from Winchester to Eastbourne in three days starting 11 May. It’s for a great charity - the Argus Appeal has been going for 50 years and its mission is to help lonely and needy old people and underprivileged children.
But I'm still some way off beating the £900 sponsorship record for an individual entrant - please help out. Just think - the email version of the DWPub Sporadic goes to 9,500 people, so if you all sponsor me just one pound I'll beat the record by ten times and make a huge difference to people who really need help! If you've not already done so please pledge as much as you can at www.justgiving.com/darylwillcox.

Social media - let's share PR tactics

There was an excellent event last night on the impact of social media on PR, organised by Chinwag.

The event was very well attended – over 100 by all accounts – which shows how seriously many PR professionals are taking this issue now. Everyone on the panel (Mark Rogers from Market Sentinel, Neville Hobson from crayon, Jacqui White from Edelman and Stephanie Bonnet from Burson-Marsteller) had valuable insights to share.

It was nice to see the panel unanimously reject the proposition from someone on the floor that ‘the press release is dead’ – readers of this blog will know the press release is experiencing an revival thanks to online press release distribution.

I believe the most valuable comment during the event came from Sarah Chambers from Holiday-Rentals.co.uk. She pointed out that for many in-house PR professionals the issue isn’t so much understanding that social media is important – that much is already established – instead it is more a question of knowing exactly how to engage with social media.

I totally agree. PR professionals should be evaluating and sharing tactics for engaging with social media and pooling ideas on other ways of implementing online PR. It’s in the long-term interests of the PR industry to do this, you only have to read my whitepaper to see the reasons why.

Online PR whitepaper gets enthusiastic response

The response to my whitepaper published just before Easter has been amazing - over 300 people have downloaded it so far.
If you’ve not read it yet then maybe you should - it takes a close look at how search marketing agencies are offering PR services and what that means for the PR professional.
Although the title of the whitepaper, Public Relations Versus Search Marketing - Clash or Collaboration, sounds a little contentious, I believe the reality will be all about collaboration. Many within the search marketing community agree that if public relations professionals work with search engine optimisation specialists then all sides will benefit - not least the client.
But it is still vitally important that all PR professionals get some basic understanding of online PR issues, a good first step is to check out the whitepaper at www.dwpub.com/whitepapers.php

Great timing for online PR event

Anyone who reads the DWPub Sporadic will know I’m a real believer in online PR, so it’s great to see that the Chinwag people have set up an event that relates to this subject - especially so close to the publication of my whitepaper.
The PR Unspun discussion, part of the Chinwag Live series, will look at ‘how the PR industry is adapting now that social media is heading for mainstream adoption’. It will be held in central London on 24 April. There is an ‘early bird’ rate of just £20 if you book before midnight tonight (19 April). Check it out at http://live.chinwag.com/prunspun.

Help me beat South Downs Way Challenge target

I’ve dug my mountain bike out of the garage and entered the South Downs Way Challenge in aid of the Argus Appeal.
Put simply I have to do 105 miles off-road from Eastbourne to Winchester in three days starting 11 May. Anyone who knows the chalky, undulating South Downs will know this is no walk in the park. It’s also for a great charity - the Argus Appeal has been going for 50 years and its mission is to help lonely and needy old people and underprivileged children in Sussex.
Sussex may be a long way away for many of you but despite the apparent prosperity of the South East the Argus Appeal unfortunately finds all too many people needing its help. Please pledge as much as you can at www.justgiving.com/darylwillcox and help me beat the £900 sponsorship record for an individual entrant.

Online PR whitepaper published

My whitepaper examining the impact of search marketing on the PR industry has been published today.
Entitled Public Relations Versus Search Marketing - Clash or Collaboration?, the whitepaper is a response to the fast growing phenomenon of search marketing agencies offering PR services.
It illustrates how search marketing agencies are threatening to grab the online PR agenda if PR professionals do not educate themselves en masse about new media issues and start offering online PR advice and services. The whitepaper describes how PR professionals can benefit from the close relationship between PR and search engine optimisation.
Take a look at the press release and download the whitepaper from www.dwpub.com/whitepapers/

Press release wire now includes pictures

Pictures can now be included in press releases submitted to the Response Source/SourceWire Press Release Wire.
Including an image with each press release is a great way to boost your press release distribution - increasing chances of media coverage and attracting more visitors to your release online.
Each image appears alongside its press release on Response Source and/or SourceWire and expands to full size when clicked on. Releases with images are highlighted with an image icon on the home page and press release index pages of each site as well as being flagged in the plain text email version sent to subscribing journalists.
Uploading pictures with press releases is easy with the press release submission form.
For more information call 0845 370 7777 or email sales@dwpub.com.

SourceWire links up with Internet World show

Business and technology journalists’ website SourceWire is to be the official press office sponsor of the Internet World show in early May.
Press releases associated with the event, which will run between 1-3 May at Earls Court 2 in London, are being featured on a dedicated page on the SourceWire site. To make sure your releases are included simply post them to the SourceWire Press Release Wire and be sure to include the phrase ‘Internet World’ in the body text.
Members of the DWPub team will be based at the press office during the show and will be available to provide advice on our publications database, journalist enquiries system and press release wire.