Have you every tried to put together a press kit for a one-time event? How about distributing ongoing project information to the public? After you tried to get a story written in the Los Angeles Times, and some promotional time on the television or local cable networks, what was your next step?

Creating Internet public relations requires some careful planning. Members of the press are a diverse group with wide-ranging areas of interest. Accordingly, online press kits or website promotions need to have some factual information about the executives and products. The Internet can be an excellent tool for not only providing such information to journalists, but they also could save your staff and the press from handling routine questions. In many cases, there is no reason why a PR person needs to answer ever inquiry about a fund-raising chairman's professional background or the date of the last celebrity banquet. Why not put that information on the web and make it easy for journalists to find?

It's important to understand the difference between treating writers and editors as a valuable addition to the marketing team, or treating them as an afterthought. Provide information on what else has been written about you or your organization, because no journalist wants to quote the same sources. More importantly, good reporters want to learn as much as they can about a company. The timeliness of your information will be crucial to determine whether your website is static or not, so date your online material accordingly. The information should be organized in a way that's both intuitive and easy for writers to use. After all, they are just one click away from leaving your website.

Having an editor and writer-friendly website is not a guarantee of publicity, let alone good press. But providing information about your company and its products online where the press can quickly and easily find them, is a profitable decision in the long run.