Press Release Power

Public Relations professionals know that one of the most important parts of the job is media relations, talking to journalists, editors and bloggers to understand what kinds of story would interest them – what’s the point in writing and issuing news if no-one covers it? However, instead of doing pre sell-ins to see if a release you are considering might be of interest, there is now a far easier way of getting your news out there…without ever having to lift the phone! Free PRESS RELEASE distribution websites have been getting more and more popular in light of the current economic climate. But, which sites are a scam, which actually offer you the free PR distribution service you want to get your release online and which offer you even more, such as links and syndication to other sites? For the SEO community, press releases have been used as a vehicle to help link building efforts, but do the free distribution services actually help build links? We’ve done the leg work, spending a mont...

Marketing via a press release is one of the oldest techniques in the book. It’s also vastly misunderstood. Far too many people get press releases and guest posts confused, and try to submit one in place of another. Press releases, even those aimed at marketing, are a very specific kind of document. A press release can’t just be a blog post in a fancy suit; it needs to meet several goals and match a known format to be accepted on most press release distribution sites. The point of a press release is to be one single document you send to a wide variety of sources. If those sources all publish the document, that’s fine, it’s clearly a press release, not meant to be unique. The real goal, however, is for journalists at those sites – be they newspapers or online journalists like HuffPost or Forbes – to cover your topic. You’re getting attention to your business, building awareness, and getting people to check out what new product you have coming down the pipe. Making a Good Press Release A...