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While our listings are (and we suspect will always continue to be) the primary reason for students to visit our site, we are pleased to introduce our Studyabroad.com 'Destination Portal Pages.' Each portal page looks and feels much like an encyclopedia article about a destination. The portals act as gateways to the directories and provide a wealth of information about virtually every possible study abroad destination world-wide.
Here is a list of some of the information contained in the Destination Portal Pages:
Each new portal page will allow students to truly receive all of the information they need from a single source. Each is an invaluable reference source. Students can use these pages both as a means to select the destination where they want to study abroad and as a means to become oriented towards a given destination before departure.
We anticipate that this content will be useful to students and advisors and will cause users to spend more time on our site, to visit our site more often and to recommend Studyabroad.com more often.
Advertising positions are available throughout these new pages and facilitate a maximized reach to a well-targeted audience. Please contact Mark Landon at 610-499-9200 or mlandon@studyabroad.com for more information.
We encourage you to look through our new content. We will soon be re-arranging our site navigation so that most of our traffic will go through the portal pages. For now you can access our 'public beta' through the red "Portal Pages" button on the Studyabroad.com Home Page. Please give us your feedback (to Content Manager Jennifer Lewis at jennifer@studyabroad.com). We hope that you will like what you see and that you will continue to use our services and recommend it to your students, your colleagues and your friends.
A First-Timer badge at NAFSA may very well be an unusual entitlement to a variety of behaviors, however, my own practices of avoidance prevented me from the ceremonial affixation of my allocated badge. Nonetheless, the toting, pushing, pulling, shoving and stowing of multiple pieces of luggage at the conference's end undoubtedly evidenced that I, myself, had also participated in the practice of table gift mongering. Table gift mongering, typically engaged in on exhibit floors, is characterized by the offering of appreciative and promotional tokens and is more specifically defined in terms of the creation of the incessant need to take at least one of everything in view. Having attended the 52nd annual NAFSA conference in large part as an exhibitor, for none other than the practical purposes of shipping and handling, admittedly this was a practice that I was forced to welcome with open arms. Unsurprisingly, a pack of 100 Studyabroad.com rubber sheets (I mean: Mouse Pads!) no longer qualifies as either simple or bizarre at our office. I didn't realize, however, that the desire to unload materials would be greeted by the opposite/equal reaction of reloading with that of others materials!
Despite my eagerness to share my photography efforts on Monday and to describe the feeling of a promenade along the San Diego Bay and especially to allude to the amazing sights and sounds of multi-culturalism, I was still happy to share other momentos from the NAFSA experience. As NAFSA seeks to increase awareness of and support for international education in higher education, the exhibit floor is precisely designed to be the interpersonal communicative forum by which these strategies are enacted. Have consumer goods come to replace the intrinsic value of communication? Though we cling to elements of tangibility, we process, negotiate and remember the intangible. What have I kept for myself from NAFSA? Some print materials, some business cards and especially the sights and sounds: only that of which is meaningful. So, when the brain gets squashed, the Eiffel Tower tarnishes and Egypt loses its stickiness, I remain hopeful that I will share another part of my NAFSA experience.
While few may ever be on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, local or niche publications may prove invaluable to your organization.
WRITING PRESS RELEASES
Utilizing press releases is the best way to get press. Writing a good release can be a difficult task for those who are accustomed to creative writing. A press release is very dry and to the point. In case you are unfamiliar with a press release format, please go to http://www.edudirectories.com/press. The press releases here are in a standard format and will give you an idea of how they should look.
When writing press releases, there are several things to keep in mind:
The story line of the press release must be newsworthy in the editor's eyes to be given even a moment of time. Most editors will throw releases in the trash that are about such menial things as new equipment, new advertisers and matters considered trivial by the public at large. Things that are newsworthy, however, include new, innovative products, charitable contributions, significant events, new partnerships, survey results, etc. Be sure the release is about something most people would want to pick up the paper and read, not just something of interest or significance to you.
Never, ever, ever try to sell your product or service in a press release - at least, not in a way that could be perceived as such. Sounding like a salesperson or advertisement is a surefire way to be excluded from
publications. Not all advertisements are blatant, either. Many times, writers subconsciously advertise in their press release without even knowing it. Using such words as "the best" or "wonderful" can kill an otherwise newsworthy release. The key is to make it sound objective. As you are reading your release, ask yourself, "If I read this sentence in a newspaper, would I perceive it as a promotion?"
The first paragraph should answer the questions who, what, why, when and where. It should be a brief summary (as in one or two sentences) of the entire newsworthy event. The entire release should be no longer than one page and centered on one point, never multiple subjects. As the press release goes on, the paragraphs should become more detailed. All major points should be contained within the first two paragraphs so that the editor does not have to read any further to know what the entire release is about.
The headline of the press release is the key factor for publication. It should grab the attention of the reader, be informative and believable. A good headline: Company A's Sweepstakes Offering a Grand Prize of $100,000. Odds are 1:1000. A bad headline: Free Money - Win $100,000!
The first paragraph should be only a few sentences as discussed above. It should start off with the date and location before any other details: May 16, 2000 -- Philadelphia, PA - (Rest of copy).
The second paragraph should expand on the first, explaining the missing important details.
The rest of the paragraphs should contain more information on the subject matter and one or two quotes from the President or other executives.
The last paragraph is about your institution. Although it may sound more like an advertisement than the rest of the release, it should still be as objective as possible. This paragraph is usually a template used in all press releases.
GETTING THE NEWS OUT
Sending a press release can sometimes be just as complicated as writing one. You can (and should) broadcast it across services such as Business Wire's Education section, but you should also send it to selected editors yourself.
Contrary to what many people do, you cannot just blindly send releases to any editor you can find since not all editors are interested in all things. You have to target the editors just as you would target your market. Local and niche publications (both print and online or electronic) are always good bets.
After you have selected which publications you would like to send the release to, it is time to set up a database of editors. When setting up the database, be sure to include as much information as possible. Besides the name, address, e-mail, fax and phone number of the editor, include such items as the preference for receiving releases (e-mail vs. snail mail), a brief description of the publication (this means research), dates of publication, and a contact history.
Now, you may ask, "How do I find the editors?" This also takes more work and more time, but is well worth it. Some publications have fine print of the editors' names and phone numbers. E-mail newsletters are usually edited by one person. His/her name is almost always included in the e-mail. If both of these methods fail, call the publication and ask for the name of the appropriate editor and address.
Keep in mind, that although your newly created list is already targeted, not all your press releases will be appropriate to send to every one. For example, if you made a charitable contribution to a local, not-for-profit organization that is only well-known within your area, local publications may be thankful for the story, but national publications will see it as a nuisance.
Other dos and don'ts when sending press releases include:
Don't send attachments when sending e-mail releases. Also, use plain text only - no HTML!
Do send a cover letter explaining how readers would benefit from your news.
Don't follow-up with a phone call to "see if they received the release".
Do give thorough information if an editor calls for a follow-up.
For more information on public relations, please see the resources below. Good luck!
ABC SPAIN BCN in Barcelona
Acting International
Bridges: PRTD
Center International d'Antibes
Deutsch-Institut Tirol
English USA
Farmhouse Cultural Center
GTM: Global Textile Marketing
Marcia Yudkin's Web site - Lots of free advice on getting published! http://www.yudkin.com/
I-pr Discussion List - Free discussion list about public relations. Great information and contacts. http://www.audettemedia.com/i-public_relations/
Here's a look at unique hosts (roughly the number of unique users) per month visiting studyabroad.com:
May 2000: 99,502
May 1999: 51,974
April 2000: 93,204
April 1999: 61,277
March 2000: 108,291
March 1999: 64,205
February 2000: 121,078
February 1999: 63,855
January 2000: 95,653
January 1999: 66,263
December 1999: 68,538
December 1998: 27,121
November 1999: 98,813
November 1998: 32,156
October 1999: 99,847
October 1998: 72,774
September 1999: 80,074
September 1998: 52,416
August 1999: 70,356
August 1998: 39,209
July 1999: 60,520
July 1998: 49,774
June 1999: 56,408
June 1998: 37,692
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