The mass e-mails are good, but you need to follow up with some phone calls.

A press release is an EXTREMELY powerful marketing tool. So powerful that I simply cannot overstate the fact.

So it is surprising to see that most small business owners do not spend the time and energy they should developing positive press about their firm. If that is you, do you know that there are some things you can start doing immediately to improve and increase awareness of your brand?

I’ll show you what I’m talking about. Ready?

First of all, it’s important to note that, a positive story in the media/web about your business or website will not only generate new leads, but it also resells your current clients and makes it easier to refer your firm to others.

So how do you generate positive media mentions?

(1.) Target The Media.
When releasing your press release, don’t just release it to the wild, you should also try and target a particular journalist (s). Think of the journalists that cover your industry or town like you would a hot prospective client. Target them and spend some time getting to know what they write about and what interests them in particular.

Try setting up alerts on Google for your favorite journalist or the journalist and publication that you are targeting.

(2.) Get Familiar With The Publication
There is nothing as embarrassing and wrong as sending your “HOT BREAKING NEWS: NEW J. LO FASHION LINE NOW LAUNCHED AT OUR STORE” to the editor at Money Magazine. Know where you are sending your press release. You don’t have to be a regular reader of the publication, but you have to know their business. Bottom line.

(3.) Start small
Even a mention of your small business or website in a small publication is a big feat. In fact, you are more likely to be published by the “big time” publishers if you are already published a bunch of times by the “small publications.” So don’t look down on those small publications and definitely make them a target of your press release campaign.

(4.) Be consistent
Try and send a news story to your list of “targeted journalists” at least once a month. You just never know. You might catch them in a good mood or even-most preferably-when they have a hole to fill in their publication.

(5.) Become a resource
Realize this: Journalists need reliable sources.

You want to become a reliable resource. Instead of just sending press releases talking about your company’s new merchandise, start sending useful survey results from industry publications, new stories related to articles they’ve written, or even opinions about industry trends.

And remember: do not ask for anything in return. Just make it a habit to feed useful information.

Do it consistently for a couple months and you’ll start to receive requests from journalists for quotes.

That is how you launch a successful press release campaign.