I sent out my first press release today. I really don’t know what I’m doing, so I tried to pattern my release after another very successful press release. Hotsoup.com put out a press release on Oct. 17 of this year. It caused a huge spike in traffic. Here is the Alexa chart that shows the spike.

Just like hotsoup, I loaded my title with high profile names. I tied in a current event, Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes’ wedding, to draw extra traffic. I used BusinessWire to do the release. It cost nearly 800 dollars. I hope it will generate enough traffic and links to pay for itself.

Here it is:

Did Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes or Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner Make a Wedding Memory Book from iMemoryBook.com?

PROVO, Utah–(BUSINESS WIRE)–About half of all marriages end in divorce. Couples who keep a wedding memory book might have a higher chance of succeeding. Did Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes or Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner make a wedding memory book? No, but they should have. Paul Allen–one of the original founders of MyFamily.com–in talking about the importance of a wedding memory book said, “These have the potential to lower the divorce rate! During hard times, couples will be able to go back and remember why they love each other.“ Could it help Tom & Katie last longer than Tom & Nicole? Could Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner survive longer than the Hollywood norm? Probably. Take for instance Derek and Wendy Thomas (Provo, UT) who are quickly approaching their first anniversary. Time is flying by, but the memories of their courtship and wedding are not. Early in their engagement, Derek and Wendy decided to make an iMemoryBook wedding memory book to record their story.

Derek wrote his perspective of how he and Wendy met and fell in love. The two were originally set up on a blind date. “I was excited,“ wrote Derek, “but I didn’t really want to show it yet.“ Eventually, he showed his excitement and affection for Wendy; their relationship progressed and developed.

Without reading what Derek had written, Wendy recorded the same story, but from her point of view: “I thought for most of that first evening, his name was Brian.“ Fortunately, she figured out his name and their relationship began.

After recording their own stories, the couple used iMemoryBook’s invitation system to invite their friends and families to contribute memories and advice. Over the course of their engagement, they watched as over 50 people from around the nation contributed to their wedding memory book. More than 100 pages of photos and memories were compiled in about 2 months. As a finishing touch, the couple added their engagement and wedding photos. Derek and Wendy‘s wedding memory book was completed shortly after their wedding.

Almost one year later, their wedding memory book still lies on the coffee table in their living room. Guests and visitors pore over the photos and memories of the proud couple while Derek and Wendy relive their story, falling in love all over again.

iMemoryBook version 2.0 was just released to the public on November 15. Neal Harmon, iMemoryBook’s founder, commented on its release: “With the Christmas and wedding season approaching fast, now is a great time to make a wedding memory book. As of November 15, starting your iMemoryBook doesn’t cost a cent. When your story is complete, you can use iMemoryBook’s press and bindery to print your professional wedding memory book.“

Note: Anniversary, funeral, personal history, and baby iMemoryBooks are also available.

(a) Paul Allen no longer works with MyFamily.com.

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American Promotions Inc. is a Utah based business that provides imprinted apparel, promotional items, and logoed gifts. They have been in business since 1996 and have many reputable clients including Tahitian Noni and Omniture.

Over the past year American Promotions has dedicated a large portion of their resources to develop an industry leading website. It has over 4600 products and produces a consistent flow of internet orders. With this foundation laid, American Promotions is now looking to hire an internet marketer on a results-based compensation plan. Responsibilities will include, SEO, PPC management, article & press release distribution, and email marketing. Experience is preferred but not necessary.

As a new hire, you will be given a paid membership to Provo Labs Internet Marketing Academy where you will learn the latest principles and techniques of Internet marketing.

Interested applicants should contact LaRae: larae “at” ameripromo.com (I didn’t write @ to avoid spammers).

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I presented today to Team iMemoryBook on why we should each keep a blog. I narrowed it down to 3 reasons:

1. To Learn:
We are all learning valuable lessons every single day. We learn from personal experiences; from successes as well as failures. We learn from those we work with. We learn from what we read and what we hear.

Blogging is an opportunity to record these lessons. In writing them down; we recognize, analyze, evaluate, and internalize these lessons. Through this simple act of writing, we elevate our understanding and level of expertise to a whole new level. Many bloggers have even reached the point of being considered “The Authority” in their perspective field. All of us can become experts in what we do, and blogs are a great tool to get us there.

2. To Network:
In blogging, we acknowledge the source of our lessons learned by linking out. We link to other blogs and websites in order to show their contribution to our learning. As we link out, the owners of the other blogs and websites take notice. Others begin to read our blogs. Online conversations develop that, over time, become relationships and networks. Many experienced bloggers consider their blog to be their most valuable asset–in terms of networking–that exists.

3. To Generate Business:
Meaningful blogging results in links–lots of links. Links result in high search engine rankings. High rankings result in lots of free internet traffic. This traffic, if leveraged correctly, results in business. A well established and well known blogger can drive unimaginable amounts of traffic. For example, when the book Call to Action was released, Seth Godin (one of the most powerful bloggers) wrote a short blog post about the book. Within hours, the book was sold out and back orders were being placed by the thousands. Before long, the book was a New York Time’s best seller.

Our individual blogs might never have the power of Seth’s, but what leverage they do have will be extremely valuable.

Tell me why you blog. Do my 3 reasons cover it?

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I love Mexican food. It’s cheap, fast, relatively healthy, and it tastes amazing. I love the salads offered by places like Cafe Rio, Bajio, and Durango’s Grill. I recently moved in to an apartment near Costa Vida in Provo. One of my friends had told me that Costa Vida is similar to Cafe Rio. I was excited to have it so close to home.

I walked with some friends over to the restaurant. Other than sharing a building with a bowling alley, it seemed like a really nice place (well kept and nicely decorated). I ordered a mango chicken salad. I watched in approval as the man behind the counter hurriedly built my salad until he passed by the tomatoes without putting any on my salad. I quickly stopped him, “Can I have some tomatoes please?”

He responded, “Sure, but they cost an extra 95 cents.”

“Why?” I inquired.

“The mango chicken salad,” he explained, “doesn’t come with tomatoes. They are an extra.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. All the fast-food places put tomatoes on their 4 dollar salads and I was buying a 7 dollar salad that didn’t come with tomatoes! I replied in disgust, “Fine, but load them on heavy.”

“I can’t,” he replied. “It’s 95 cents for every scoop.” The scoop wasn’t much larger than a soup spoon!

I was ready to turn and walk out of the restaurant, but my friends had already ordered and I didn’t want to make a scene. “Forget it,” I said. “I guess I’ll have it without tomatoes.”

As I ate my tomatoless salad, I looked around the restaurant. I noticed all the thought, time, and money that had been invested into making me–the customer–have a wonderful experience. Everything from the lighting, the decorations, and the big-screen TV were there to make my experience positive; but the only thing that mattered was that I didn’t get what I wanted because of someone’s stupid tomato policy.

I recently read How to Become a Marketing Superstar by Jeff Fox. It’s a quick enjoyable read for anyone involved in marketing. I don’t remember his exact way of putting it, but he teaches of the damage done by stupid policies. It will be extremely important for us at FamilyLearn Inc. to only have one policy: create a wonderful experience for our customers.