1.What motivated you to establish a web presence? First, let me give you a quick overview here, as I work more than one online business.I have many, in-fact. But all of them are within the same industry. The 'natural products industry'. When I began my newswire (soap-wire.com), I later implemented a press release distribution business (naturalnewsmedia.com) to compliment the offerings of the newswire, and to be able to reach out to other industries, further expanding my reach. I later created a flagship newswire (naturalnewswire.com) as I wanted to encompass the entire natural products industry. So I am in the midst now of merging the two newswires together onto the natural newswire site. And lastly, I am a rep for a new line of ToxicFree products (vervae.vivatoxicfree.com), with plans in the works now to launch 30 minute infomercials in March for their VivaCare™, ToxicFree™ Anti-Aging Skin Care line. So now that you know a bit more about my businesses, let me explain my motivation to establish my web presence.
Being that half of my business is in distributing press releases, being connected to the internet and having a website presence is a must. That was my number '1' driving factor. Number '2', was to be able to create a help section for small business owners wanting to write their own press releases, outlining in detail as to what format the media expects a press release to be delivered in. Since both newswires needed a searchable archive of press and news articles for journalists, reporters and the public at large, establishing a web presence was critical.
2. What is the overall goal or mission of your website(s)? The mission of the press release distribution website (naturalnewsmedia.com), is to be able to reach the small business owners who are unable to afford the costs involved in sending out press releases to the media. The mission of both newswires (soapwire.com) and (naturalnewsire.com) is to deliver the news, using the best delivery system - gathering the information into one location creating a central repository of industry news, organize it, categorize it by topic, make it searchable, update it daily, and provide an email delivery system suited to reporters' desires while keeping them in the information loop, and allowing them to manage the information. I share a mission with the toxicfree company whose products I represent (vervae.vivatoxicfree.com). "Certified ToxicFree" products eliminate the use of many toxic or carcinogenic and poisonous chemicals found in commonly used personal care products which are known to cause many of the ever-growing health-related issues we face today. And to establish one million ToxicFree™ households by year-end 2005.
3. What is/was your first year like? LOL - I'm still working my first year! My first year will be complete February 23rd. But, I can say this..... I've never been so dang tired in all my life! LOL (again). Like most small business owners who do-it-all themselves...I work a minimum of 12 hour days. And that still isn't enough time to get done what I need to do.
4.What is the most unique aspect of your business? As to the unique aspect of my press release distribution business (naturalnewsmedia.com) Natural News Media is unique in that we are NOT a one-size-fits-all press release distribution service. No matter the industry or niche a business is in, we will customize the media distribution list to 'fit' your company product and/or service needs.
We're not just another "Mainstream" PR company offering to email blast your press release to just 'any' media. That is what sets us apart from other press release distribution companies- we 'hand-pick' our media sources. The uniqueness of both my newswires (naturalnewswire.com) and (soap-wire.com) is that they are the first (and only) online newswire service to cover the entire natural and organic products industry. Also one of the first to implement XML feeds to major news sites with the industry's breaking news, plus provides access to a one-stop, searchable news archive.
The unique aspect of the ToxicFree products (vervae.vivatoxicfree.com), is they are the only line of products to be 'Certified ToxicFree'. The ToxicFree Foundation follows a series of strict steps before giving out a "Certified ToxicFree Product" seal and includes scrutinizing the ingredient statement to ensure there are no toxic, carcinogenic, poisonous or harmful ingredients to a human's health. They also Examine the source, the supply and the extraction process used for the natural materials in each product. (This is important because some companies may have natural ingredients, but extract them with a dangerous chemical).
Whereas a 'Natural or All Natural' product claim means nothing. Like ‘hypoallergenic’, "natural" can mean anything to anybody. ‘There are no standards for what natural means’. "They could wave a tube [of plant extract] over the bottle and declare it natural. Who’s to say what they are actually using?"
5. From where do you draw inspiration?From seeing the success of other business promoted through my services. By tracking the sites posting and writing about a press article I sent out, seeing our news feeds appear on major news sites such as MSNBC, Moreover, and the BBC. From analyzing my website statistics and seeing how the huge blue-chip companies such as L'Oreal, Proctor and Gamble, and others are watching my newswires to stay abreast of industry news.
6. How do you market your site(s)? Aside from search engine submissions, I market my newswire's a bit differently than I would a traditional website. My main objective is to get the news from my newswire's published onto other news sites. Yes, it’s still important to have them appear within the search engines themselves, but there are far more news sites I can market too than search engines. Since my newswires also offer XML feeds, I am constantly submitting my XML feed to the weblog directories. Since so many are now turning to reading website content via their RSS readers, its imperative for any website that updates its content regularly to offer their content via an XML feed.
7. What’s the best advice you have ever received about website development? That the search engines favor a website that is being constantly updated and posted to far more than one that has just been sitting on the web for years whose content never changes. You can get higher rankings a whole lot quicker by updating your site on a regular basis.
8.What are some of the trends you are noticing in your industry? 'The natural products industry' is one of, if not the-most hottest industry right now. But one of the most important things I've been noticing within the industry, is the companies deception behind their products. And the public's inability to know the difference I see many many huge blue-chip companies wanting to jump on that bandwagon as they see this as a profitable industry. However, most companies (large and small) claiming 'natural' on their products and in their marketing materials aren't even close to it. What's worse is that the public does not know they are being deceived by these 'natural' claims.
9. hat is the one thing you would like readers to know about you? About your company? For the past 10 years, I have been involved in the 'natural industry' in one way or another. As a soap-maker, a publisher, a supplier and my most recent ventures. I am passionate and dedicated to informing the public, and exposing the truth behind toxic ingredients found in skin care, personal care, household cleaners and how repeated exposure to these toxins are affecting our health. I have dedicated a weblog (Living-ToxicFree.com) to this very subject and try to update it on a daily basis. Come have a visit, I'd love to expose you to the truth!! :)
(For more information on Kathy Tarbox and her online businesses visit www.NaturalNewswire.com, www.Soap-Wire.com, http://www.NaturalNewsMedia.com, http://Vervae.VivaToxicFree.com, and http://www.Living-ToxicFree.com).
© 2006 - Heidi Richards is the author of The PMS Principles, Powerful Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business and 8 other books. She is also the Founder & CEO of the Women’s ECommerce Association, International www.WECAI.org (pronounced wee-kī) – an Internet organization that “Helps Women Do Business on the WEB.” She can be reached at www.HeidiRichards.com.
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