Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Seeking info on issuing press releases and tracking



I hope this forum can assist me in building an effective PR program for my company, the American Association of Individual Investors (www.aaii.com).

We are a nonprofit group that serves the investment education needs of individual investors through unbiased journals, newsletters and our web site. We have been in business for 30 years and for the most part we have not participated in any pro-active public relations efforts. Our audience for issuing press releases would be financial publications, finance writers and their readers, individual investors.

The purpose of this message is to request any info the forum might have on the areas I’ve outlined below. At the conclusion of this message, I am also providing some insight on what our likely strategy and press executions might look like.

1) I am looking for cost effective online tools and services that can help me push out press releases to the following –
Financial Blogs
Traditional Financial Publications (money magazine, etc.)
Local Finance Writers (note we have 50 regional chapters across the country that host educational meetings that I would like to promote)

2) How can I best track the results of sending out our press releases? I am interested in knowing if any releases get utilized and by whom.


A note on our press strategy --

Currently, many members of the financial press come to us asking to interview our members about a certain issue that pertains to individual investors. Going forward, we plan on inviting the press that calls us to opt into a free press membership version of AAII – they would get all of our investment education at no cost plus a monthly e-mail that touts one or two story lines from our monthly magazine that we feel would be of interest to the financial press and the investing public.

We plan on sending out quarterly press releases that tout something special about the American Association of Individual Investors. Ideas include: our upcoming 30th anniversary of providing investment education, profile of a current member and what they gain from being associated with AAII, Launch of a new & free educational web site for beginning investors (investingpathways.com).

At the local level, we have 50 AAII chapters who meet regularly to discuss investing, hear speakers and assist one another learn more about the markets. We are interested in pushing out press releases for all of our 50 local chapters, letting the public know who is speaking where and the cost to attend.

Thanks for reading this posting any help, ideas or tools we should consider using would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Adam Pfeffer