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What
is Press Release?In general terms press release is a
written announcement for a new website or product launch and submitted
to media. For online press release there are many sites and required
some skill to write an effective press release.
Investment Dictionary:
Press Release
News that is sent out or released by the company making the news. If
it's an earnings press release, the release will discuss the financial
results of the company for the recently completed quarter and may
provide comments from management. Press releases often list valuable
contact information that can assist you in your research, such as the
company's web address, information contacts and address information.
How to Use Press Releases and Social Media to Maximize Your Marketing
Budget
New social media platforms seem to pop up every week it seems, and each
one offers entrepreneurs, businesses, law firms, or publicly traded
companies a unique opportunity to grow their business… if
they
know how.
As we begin the second decade of the 21st century, that may be the
biggest “if” in marketing because it ties into so
many
different facets of how to communicate with customers and clients.
If you know how to write your posts and links effectively.
If you know when to use current events to tie into your company.
If you know how often you should post so your prospective clients
don’t feel spammed.
And perhaps most importantly, if you have quality material to share
with your targeted customers.
What press release professionals have long understood is the idea that
press releases are often the most cost effective and substantial
marketing strategies available because they can be search engine
optimized to make it easy for customers to find them. Today’s
general public is smarter than it was 20 or even 10 years ago. It
understands when it is being “pitched” and it has
learned
to filter through anything seen as too obnoxious.
Since the prospective customer uses the search engine of their own free
will and comes across an online press release because the release
material is tied into what they are looking for, they don’t
feel
like they’re reading an advertisement. An effectively written
press release makes all the difference.
In February, the press release distribution company PRNewsChannel will
do its best to encourage business owners, companies, and law firms to
bring their businesses into the social media age by giving away a free
online press release distribution (a $150 value) every Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday of the month. The winners will be chosen from the
PR newswire’s Twitter followers and will include a free
search
engine optimization.
How to Use Press Releases to Gain Exposure For Your Website?
By having a third party such as a journalist write a story about you,
your brand message becomes more credible and effective. Their coverage
offers an impartial endorsement that tells their readers you are an
honest person, and that your services or products provide substantial
value.
Understanding How The Media Works
Our society is very time-poor, and this fight for attention includes
our journalists and writers. They have to scan through literally
thousands of articles, ideas and proposals a day to pick the best ones
that will capture the reader's attention. If we want to stand out among
the thousands of articles a journalist will receive daily, we first
need to understand what they are looking for.
Most journalists will ask - where's the angle or the hook to this
story? What is going to appeal to my readers that will make a great
story? For example, if the heading of a story reads, "Man takes dog for
a walk," then people will not be interested. But if the heading reads
"Man takes flying dog for a walk," that story will grab the reader's
attention.
There are 10 basic types of media 'hooks' a journalist will look for
when reading an article. Note that not all have to be applied at the
same time.
1. What's unique about this? What's different about this story? There
has to be a unique angle to most stories, unless the story is looking
at an emerging trend (in which case the reporter will want several
examples).
2. Successful - Reporters and readers love rags to riches stories
3. Great story - The story behind the story (such as Justin Herald's
success as the founder of Attitude T-shirts)
4. Controversial - Is there something that will grabs peoples'
attention? Are you willing to comment on something that others will not?
5. New statistics - The media loves this!
6. Commentary - Piggybacking off other stories - you comment on other
stories
7. Story that is relatable - A broad appeal to the masses (such as the
Spotless stain-removal book)
8. Underdog story - The small guy up against large companies
9. Humor - Funny or interesting stories or events that make people laugh
10. Appeal to people's emotions - Tugging on readers' heartstrings,
such as a charitable appeal
The media wants a personal human touch to a story, so create everything
around YOU. It's not about your business, because a great story is
created around a person, not a company. In the beginning build a strong
profile of yourself, which will help you create a story around your
business.
How to Start with Press Release
Start slowly and from smaller local media out lets and then
make
them big.I mean to say start with local news papers and community
magazines. They always need new content and so eager to print your
articles and other content. They are eager to introduce local
personality as that provide them with real local news.
Five-step process:
1. Start with your local newspapers, community magazines and radio
2. Distribute your press release to state newspapers, major
magazines and trade and association publications
3. Move onto national newspapers and blogs in your market.
4. Try radio stations for brief phone interviews
5. Try to arrange television interviews on news or talk shows
With these 5 steps slowly but firmly you will establish yours and your
business credibility and after a duration your business and
you
become well know in the public. In the process you will generate
tremendous free publicity for your business that can never be possible
with money. Start locally,gradually cover your state,then target the
nation and finally reach the global audience through different media
out lets.
How to Use Online Press Releases To Bring Visitors to Your Nonprofit
Website
Even though the media are more fragmented than ever, with many
newspapers going out of business but online news sites flourishing,
press releases can and should be a major component of your media
strategy. Put your press releases online and draw not only the media,
but also general readers, potential donors, and volunteers to your
nonprofit website.
Write Press Releases Frequently
Take a page from the business public relations playbook, and write
press releases frequently. In The New Rules of Marketing & PR,
David Meerman Scott suggests that an organization develop a press
release strategy, and send press releases at every opportunity. Here is
a list of possibilities for a nonprofit organization.
Send a press release when you:
* have a new take on an old problem
* develop a new program
* serve a unique population or mission
* have interesting information to share
(nonprofits
should think about any studies they do, or surveys they perform)
* if your CEO or other prominent staff
or board members speak at a conference
* win an award
* produce a product or a helpful
publication
* get a big donation or grant
* reach a goal in a fund raising campaign
* send volunteers to help with a crisis
* have expertise on a topic in the news
You can probably think of a lot more possibilities. If not, check out
the online press rooms of some large national nonprofits to see what
they are writing press releases about.
Distribute Press Releases Widely
Use an online distribution system to send your press releases to a wide
audience. This needn't cost a lot and, even if distributed to a limited
geographic area, just having the press release on the distributor's
website will boost your placement on the major search engines.
Your press release is also likely to be sent out in the alerts that
search engines such as Google send to anyone who signs up to receive
news that contains keywords that are of interest to the reader. For
instance, I receive Google news alerts on the words, "nonprofit" and
"philanthropy."
Popular Press Release Distribution Services include:
* Business Wire
* Marketwire
* PrimeNewsWire
* PR Newswire
* AlterNet (focuses on environmental,
human rights, civil liberties, and social justice)
* AScribe
Post the Press Releases in Your Online Press Room
Write and post press releases frequently. They will provide a reason
for the search engines to crawl your site and index your press releases.
Search engines love frequent updates. In the same way, a frequently
updated blog on your website can encourage indexing by the search
engines. Be sure to post the press releases in reverse chronological
order, but, when you have enough, you can also provide groupings of
press releases filed by keyword or topic.
Optimize Your Press Releases by Using Keywords and Keyword Phrases
Search optimization is a highly specialized area, but even the search
amateurs among us can learn how to do basic optimization.
Research your keywords to see which would work best for your press
release. You can do this at the free version of WordTracker and at
Google Adwords.
You will want to choose keyword phrases in your press releases that do
not necessarily receive the most traffic. On the most popular keyword
pages, it is very difficult to rank highly (preferably within the first
couple of pages of results). Pick a keyword phrase that is a bit less
popular and your press releases may rank more highly.
For instance, the phrase, "child abuse" (according to Google Adwords)
received 2,740,000 searches in one month. But "child abuse prevention"
received 49,500 searches. If you have a free brochure on how to prevent
child abuse, you might do better using the latter phrase. You could
also optimize for several phrases such as "prevent child abuse," "signs
of child abuse," etc, all of which have lower numbers of searches.
Think about the various ways someone who was looking for this
information would search for it. What words or phrases would he or she
put into the search box?
Place your keyword phrase in these key places in your online press
release:
* Meta Tag (ask someone familiar with
tech issues
where this is if it is not obvious within your website system). Look at
the top bar of your web browser on any web page to see where that Meta
Tag shows up and how it is usually formatted.
* Meta Description
* Meta Keywords
* Title of the press release
* Subtitle of the press release
* First paragraph of the press release
* In the subheads that you use to break
up the text of the press release.
* At the end of the press release
This is no time to give up on press releases or to think that you
should just send them to a few reporters. These simple procedures
involving your press release strategy will result in a surprising
increase in Internet traffic to your website. You'll reach reporters,
plus a whole lot of other people who can spread the word about your
nonprofit.
Suggested Resources:
The New Rules of Marketing & PR, David Meerman Scott.
Strategic Communications for Nonprofits: A Step-by-step Guide to
Working with the Media, Second Edition, Kathy Bonk, Emily Tynes, Henry
Griggs, Phil Sparks.
Search Engine Marketing, Inc., Mike Moran and Bill Hunt.
Related:
* Sample Press Release for Nonprofits
* Attract Journalists with a Press Room
on Your Nonprofit Website
* Online Marketing Guide for Nonprofits
More About Media Relations
* Attract Journalists with a Press Room
on Your Non...
* Attracting Attention from the Media -
How to Get ...
* Press Releases
More About Website Optimization
* Website Optimization in Ten Easy Steps
Press Release Help
The following page is designed to help you write your press release,
plus give you tips and story ideas to capture the attention of local
journalists and make your story stand out from the rest!
While no one can guarantee your press release will be published or used
for an article, there are things you can do to improve your chances.
The biggest obstacle to most press releases is the release itself.
Capitalize the first letter of all words in the headline (with the
exception of: "a", "an", "the", or prepositions such as: "of", "to", or
"from"). The combination of upper and lower case makes it easier to
read.
Does the press release's lead (opening) address or answer the basic
tenets of journalism:
* who
* what
* when
* where
* why
* how
Some reporters have limited online access. As a courtesy, always
include a contact method for reporters who prefer to have materials
mailed to them by conventional means.
Include press contact information below the text of the news release. A
reporter reading your release should be able to make a decision about
your story in the first screen of the message. Don't waste that space
with contact information. They will scroll down to find out who to
contact if they want to follow-up with you.
When you write your press release, remember your audience. It isn't
your customers. Your audience consists of journalists. Journalists are
in the fact business. Their goal is to provide their readers with a
complete portrait of whatever they're writing about.
To appeal to the fact-oriented mind of a journalist, forget marketing
emotional appeal. You need to give them the facts about your product or
service, hard data that shows why your product or service is good and
news-worthy. Then let them decide for themselves. If you forget this,
there's no way they'll run your press release.
Don't trust your word processing program to catch errors in grammar and
spelling. Have a few individuals read the release before submitting it.
Do not use HTML tags, bold type or color text which may not transmit
consistently across all computer platforms. Our system will remove such
tags.
Top 10 Rules for a successful submission:
* Make sure the information is
newsworthy.
* Tell the audience that the information
is intended for them and why they should continue to read it.
* Start with a brief description of the
news, then
distinguish who announced it, and not the other way around.
* Ask yourself, "How are people going to
relate to this and will they be able to connect?"
* Make sure the first 10 words of your
release are effective, as they are the most important.
* Avoid excessive use of adjectives and
fancy language.
* Deal with the facts.
* Provide as much Contact information as
possible:
Individual to Contact, address, phone, fax, email, Web site address.
* Make sure you wait until you have
something with enough substance to issue a release.
* Make it as easy as possible for media
representatives to do their jobs.
How To Write A Press Release AND Get It Published
Article by Steve Nash
Also See " How To Write a Press Release That Increases Search Rankings "
Article Summary:
This article contains a checklist to writing a press release. And it
includes the single most important ingredient of a press release, that
will dramatically improve your chances of getting your news published.
Article: How To Write A Press Release AND Get It Published
Writing a press release (or news release) AND getting it published is
not difficult.
I say this after struggling for some years to get any of my press
releases published.
I stumbled on the most important factor for getting a press release
published right after my first release got published in a UK Internet
magazine.
I then decided to piece together all the advice, all the tips and
tutorials I'd read, into a single checklist, to make writing my next
successful press release easier.
The press release checklist below is the result.
Like all checklists, it's brief and to the point. So if you need to
understand more about a particular concept I recommend that you read
the article Appendix (see below).
Remember, good press releases -- i.e. press releases that get published
-- are great ways to get invaluable promotion for your business or
website.
So learning how to write a good press release, and then writing them,
is definitely 'worth it.
Recognized Internet search engine marketing pro reveals How
to
improve and increase search engine ranking using press releases
Read on.
=> Press Release Checklist
o Step 1 - "What's Your Story?"
o Step 2 - Think Like A Journalist
o Step 3 - Mechanics Of Writing A Press Release
o Step 4 - Example Layout Of A Press Release
o Step 5 - Is Your Press Release Ready?
o The missing ingredient - K-I-S-S
o Appendix: Expert press release resources
An explanation of these steps follows. (Remember, you can learn more
from the resources listed in the Appendix.)
=> Step 1 - What's Your Story?
1.1) Find your story, and develop it!
1.2) Position yourself as being different(develop different angles).This means thinking about:
- holiday and event tie-in articles
- tips, articles, advice
- politically and socially important editorial tie-in articles
- new, unique products, Internet innovations and developments
- human interest angles
- interpersonal relationships on difficult issues
- unusual events, unique personal accomplishments, unusual creative
ideas
- humor and wisdom, fun and tragedy
=> Step 2 - Think Like A Journalist
2.1) What reasons would an editor want to publish your news (what
benefits are there for them?)
- is it relevant?
- is it mildly interesting?
- is it newsworthy?
2.2) Make the main benefit the headline
(Your headline has one purpose: to get the attention of the editor, to
get him/her to read your release - use the words YOU, NEW and/or How To)
2.3) Remember the subtext
2.4) Remember KISS (keep it simple stupid!). Write for scannability;
write short, punchy paragraphs
2.5) Remember to answer these questions:
"Who? Why? What? Where? When? & How?". Ideally, you would
answer these questions in your headline
2.6) Write the press release so it can be put into a magazine, with
just a few simple edits. (IMPORTANT)
=> Step 3 - Mechanics Of Writing A Press Release
3.1) The Headline (or title) of your press release is vital (Some say
that most of your time should be spent on writing a powerful headline.)
3.2) Your opening sentence continues what you are talking about in the
headline
3.3) Tell your story in headline and leading paragraph
3.4) Use specific, powerful (and true) testimonials - use convincing
case studies; use a powerful guarantee, and draw attention to it
3.5) Make sure you use no more than 5 bullet points
3.6) Change passive words to active; use the words YOU; and link
selling points
3.7) For each sentence you write, ask yourself 'So what?'. And remove
the sentence if you can't think of an answer
3.8) Edit your copy ruthlessly, over and over again!
3.9) Finally, make sure there are no attachments, no HTML, no .DOC
files. (Everyone is wary of email viruses these days, including
editors!)
=> Step 4 - Example Layout Of A Press Release
This is a simple example of what a press release should look like (more
or less):
<Title - Headline> -- Benefit (tell me more, 36-40 chars)
<For immediate release> <Simple contact>
<Sub-heading>
<Leading Paragraph> -- What? Why needed? How it will help
(40-75 words)
-- Include quotes
<Main Paragraph(s)> -- Who aimed at (the facts). Who
cares?
<Final
Paragraph>
-- Summaries; or call to action
<Full contact details>
(Want to look at an example? Visit sample press release
Note: this example didn't get much media attention, because it simply
wasn't newsworthy enough.)
=> Step 5 - Is Your Press Release Ready?
1) Is your press release published on your website?
2) Better still, do you have an online press pack?
3) Do you know what to do or say if a reporter calls?
Phew! That's a lot to take in, I agree!
So can you guess what the main problem is, with doing all of the above
...Your press release will be L-O-N-G (long).
=> The missing ingredient -- KISS
Yes, the vital ingredient to your press release, the one factor that
WILL increase the chances of getting your news published is to:
Keep It SHORT Stupid (yet another KISS !)
Not convinced? Ask yourself these questions, then:
* How many of these press releases do
you think editors get to read every day?
* How many long, badly-worded releases
will they
read before eventually becoming instantly put off just by the length of
a press release?
* And how much more likely do you think
a press release will be read if it's a SHORT, quick read.
Keep your press release short, simple as that!
So there you are: another promotion tip that *you CAN* do, to promote
your website or business. Just follow the checklist below, to make sure
that your next press release gets published:
* Have a story to tell
* Think like a journalist
* Format the press release properly
* (And keep your press release short!)
Press Release Format Guidelines
Press Releases - Business, organizational or personal news intended for
the Media.
Press releases are best suited for our Targeted Media and Wire Service
Distribution.
A press release is a written communication that purports to report on
an event, circumstance or occurrence by a third party, and is provided
to the news media for the purpose of promotion.
Business, organizational or personal press releases are different from
a news article in that a news article is a compilation of facts
developed by journalists and then published as news content within a
given media outlet.
A press release, on the other hand, is designed to be sent to
journalists and or media outlets (newspapers, magazines, broadcasters,
etc.) in order to encourage them (the reporter or actual media outlet)
to develop news articles on the subject. A press release is generally
biased toward the objectives of the press release’s author
and is
most often viewed as raw materials by the media when creating news
content.
Since the advent of the Internet the lines between
“news”
as compared to a press release are getting blurred, but the purpose of
a press release, within its related format, is to reach out to the
media to get them to report on your particular message, with secondary
“direct to readership” benefits associated with
overall
Internet based publicity.
The Press Release Format
You must report in the “third person”. Just like a
news
release, a press release purports to report on an event, circumstance
or occurrence by a third party. When writing a news release, be a
reporter and report on yourself or your business.
Third Person Example: “According to John Doe, the next
version of
Webster’s Dictionary will include two new slang terms that
were
identified in his research as being part of …”.
Inappropriate Example: “I, John Doe, was informed that the
next
version of Webster’s Dictionary will include two new slang
terms
that I identified in my research as being part of
…”
Press releases are most effective when they are under 500 words,
generally two to three paragraphs, preceded by a clear and attention
grabbing headline.
Remember, this content is intended to be use by the media, so be
accurate and reasonable detailed.
(Begin with the text immediately below)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Headline
Be creative and keep it to one sentence. Capitalize the first letter of
all words but do not use all upper case letters. Exclamation marks
(“!”) conveys that your release is advertising, not
news,
and it’s the credibility of news that generates the good
publicity.
Paragraph 1
Physical location (country, state, city), Month, Day, Year - Begin with
a strong introductory paragraph that captures the reader’s
attention and contains the information most relevant to your message
such as the “Five W's” of (W)ho, (W)hat, (W)hen,
(W)here,
and (W)hy, when applicable. This paragraph should summarize the News
Release such that if it was the only part seen by a reader, it would
tell your entire message, and it should include a hook to get your
audience interested in reading more.
Paragraph 2, 3, 4, …
These paragraphs should contain more detailed important information,
and make up the body of the release. Pick up with the information
provided in your first paragraph, including quotes from key staff,
customers or subject matter experts. Make sure you use correct grammar
so as not to affect your credibility negatively.
As for content, make sure to keep in mind that you are writing a press
release to grab the attention of the media. It is very important to
maintain factual accuracy, make sure you are cleared to use quotes or
information about businesses, and most importantly have an angle that
will appeal to journalists (often by connecting your release to current
events or issues). Effective releases usually utilize a strategy known
as the inverted pyramid, which is written with the most important
information and quotes first.
Try to keep the press release to fewer than 500 words total. Remember,
succinct and to the point works best.
The body of your release should be more than one paragraph. The final
paragraph should restate and summarize the key points of your release.
Additional 1
Provide avenues for the reader to obtain additional information, demos,
samples, etc., and it is important to Internet links. WebWire®
provides special data submission fields for company/agency name,
contact, telephone, email address, website location, etc. and other
online connections (links).
Additional 2
Include trademark acknowledgments, product or event timelines,
availability, logistics, etc. in paragraph form.
Additional 3
Background information about the company featured in the release, if
appropriate, as well as any applicable safe harbor statement or
disclaimers.
Additional 4
With a WebWire submission, include contact information about the
release (name, title, email, telephone, etc.) within the appropriate
online form. Make sure it is the person who can answer questions about
the release.
(End with these characters immediately below)
A Sample Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rockwell Collins Helmet Mounted Display Selected For AVCATT
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (August 09, 2009) - The U.S. Army, through the
Program Executive Office of Simulation Training and Instrumentation,
has awarded Rockwell Collins a $23.8 million contract for the Aviation
Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (AVCATT) Helmet Mounted Display (HMD)
modification and upgrade program.
"This is a great example of how Rockwell Collins integrates multiple
disciplines to provide the best solutions for our customers," said Ron
Hornish, vice president and general manager, Sensor Systems for
Government Systems at Rockwell Collins. "In this case, our expertise in
helmet mounted displays and simulation and training made us the right
choice for the AVCATT program."
AVCATT is a mobile, transportable, virtual simulation training system
designed to provide Army aviation with the capability to conduct
realistic, high intensity training exercises and mission rehearsals.
The system allows pilots to train and rehearse through networked
simulation in a collective and combined arms simulated battlefield
environment.
The contract calls for Rockwell Collins to provide the SimEye SR100A
HMD, a more compact, lightweight, high-resolution upgrade for its
already proven SimEye XL100A, which is presently used in AVCATT.
Developed based on feedback from the warfighter, enhancements include
higher resolution, upgraded head tracker technology and reductions in
head-borne weight and overall size. The SimEye SR100A HMD allows pilots
to feel as if they are part of an environment as opposed to simply
viewing a scene during training.
Rockwell Collins will be integrating its HMD -- incorporating an
integral IS-900 head tracker -- with its EPX-50 image generator. By
optimizing overall system performance of the HMD technology, Rockwell
Collins will ensure the success of the visual displays for the AVCATT
trainer.
The work for the AVCATT program, which was awarded under the Rockwell
Collins' Simulation, Training and Instrumentation Command (STRICOM)
Omnibus Contract, will be completed in the company's Carlsbad, Calif.
and Orlando, Fla. locations.
Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL) is a pioneer in the development and
deployment of innovative communication and aviation electronics
solutions for both commercial and government applications. Our
expertise in flight deck avionics, cabin electronics, mission
communications, information management and simulation and training is
delivered by 19,000 employees, and a global service and support network
that crosses 27 countries. To find out more, please visit
www.rockwellcollins.com.
Contact:
Jane Doe, Media Relations
janedoe@xyzPR.com
(212) 555-1212
A FINAL NOTE: WebWire is a highly trafficked Website and is part of
what is commonly known as the “Four Ps of
Marketing”;
Product, Price, Place and Promotion (with WebWire being part of
“Promotion” via press release distribution). This
one part
of the marketing mix, press release distribution, does not guarantee
that your release will get utilized by the media. Press release
submissions are part of a process, and as such, should be viewed as a
complement to other marketing efforts such as advertising, search
engine optimization, live publicity, etc.
How to Write a Great Press Release: A Sample Press Release
Template
What is a press release?
A press release is pseudo-news story, written in third person, that
seeks to demonstrate to an editor or reporter the newsworthiness of a
particular person, event, service or product.
How is a press release used?
Press releases are often sent alone, by e-mail, fax or snail mail. They
can also be part of a full press kit, or may be accompanied by a pitch
letter.
What is the proper press release format?
Here's a sample press release template you can use to format your press
release correctly:
Note: The
three #'s mark the end of the press release.
What should I put in my press release?
Stop right now and click here to read
our in-depth
advice about packaging yourself as newsworthy. This is an important
step – so don't skip it!
Let's stick with the theme presented in
that report:
you run an vitamin web site specializing in weight-loss products.
Through the process described in the report, you've nailed down a nice,
newsworthy topic – teenagers and how they deal with issues of
weight. But that's a broad topic, not a story.
In the report, we provided a number of
ideas for
potential stories. Let's pick the first one and craft a press release.
The story: What do kids think about a
"thin is in" society?
As you sift through your message boards
looking for
quotes, you see a trend appearing. There are lots of messages
criticizing Hollywood actresses and pop singers for being too thin.
Many girls are saying that seeing these women make them feel bad about
their own bodies. A number of the boys are pointing out that they don't
find ultra-thin women appealing.
Now you've got your angle -- your hook
that will grab a reporter's attention:
Teenagers think that a "thin is in"
society pretty much stinks.
Now let's get writing.
Press Release Headline
Before you write a word, remember this:
The reporter isn't
interested in helping you make money or driving visitors to your site.
He's looking for a story that will be interesting to his readers and
pleasing to his editor. He could care less about your great selection,
super customer service and commitment to quality. He wants to know only
the info that will help him craft a good story about teens and their
weight.
Take your ego out of it. Take your
natural
inclination to sell, sell, sell out of it. Look at your story with a
cold, objective eye.
OK, let's get to our press release
headline.
State your most exciting news, finding
or
announcement in as few words as possible. Emulate the headlines you see
in the newspaper every day.
Bad Press Release Headline:
NEW WEBSITE THAT OFFERS
HERBAL WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAMS LETS TEENS SPEAK OUT ABOUT WEIGHT ISSUES
Good Press Release Headline:
TEENS: ULTRA-THIN MOVIE, POP STARS SET BAD EXAMPLE
Don't worry, you'll get to plug your
website soon
enough. In the meantime, you've just thrown a meaty hook at the
reporter.
The Press Release Subhead
Subheads are remarkably useful tools,
yet usually
overlooked by press release writers. Basically, the press release
subhead gives you the opportunity to flesh out your angle and further
hook the reporter, without stepping on the drama of the press release
headline.
Here's a headline/subhead combo I might
use for this press release:
TEENS: ULTRA-THIN MOVIE, POP STARS SET
BAD EXAMPLE
Website Forum goers Weigh In: Teens
Don't Find Ultra-Thin Celebs Attractive;
Girls Say Negative Self-Images
Reinforced by Hollywood's Super-Skinny
The Press Release Lead
It's Journalism 101 -- the lead
paragraph includes
the who, what, when, where and how of the story. If the reporter were
only to read the lead of a good press release, he'd have everything he
needed to get started.
There's no room for BS, hype or sell.
Just the facts.
Bad Press Release Lead
Recently on
theplace4vitamins.com, an online store dedicated to selling the best
herbal products, teenagers had the chance to say what they thought
about weight loss and whether a society that pressures young people to
be thin is a good thing or a bad thing.
Good Press Release Lead
America's teenagers are
angry at Hollywood for glamorizing ultra-thin bodies, and many girls
say they feel too self-conscious about their bodies as a result of
watching TV, movies and music videos. The findings are gleaned from
more than six months of ongoing discussion and debate at the website
theplace4vitamins.com. According to theplace4vitamins.com President
John Smith, anger and resentment toward the Hollywood ultra-thin runs
deep, particularly among teenage girls.
The Rest of the Press Release
The balance of the press release serves
to back up
whatever claims were made in the lead and headline. In this case, you'd
pull some quotes from the message boards (an aside here: if you really
were to pull quotes in this fashion, you should only use the poster's
name or identifying information with his or her permission. Otherwise,
simply say "a 14 year old boy said..." or "a 16 year old Midwestern
girl added..." Also, if this technique appeals to you, be certain that
a disclaimer appears on your message boards notifying posters that all
posts become your property and copyright). Use enough supporting
material to make your case, and to demonstrate that, whatever angle
you're promoting, it wasn't something you slapped together carelessly.
Next, a quote will help put in some
perspective:
"I was surprised by the
level of anger expressed in these messages," Smith said. "Teenagers are
far more clued into this issue than most people would imagine."
Or, you might ask an expert for a quote:
"This demonstrates once
again the need to teach young girls and boys about how to develop a
positive self-image," said Jane Doe, author of "I Like My Body Just As
It Is". "theplace4vitamins.com has done a true service by bringing
these attitudes to the public's attention."
Finally, spend a sentence or two
describing your company and what you do:
theplace4vitamins.com was
founded in 1997 to provide consumers with a wide choice of vitamins,
supplements and herbal products. The site offers a range of articles,
research materials and message forums for the health conscious consumer.
This paragraph is known as the
"boilerplate" -- an
old newspaper term meaning a block of standard text that's used over
and over again (e.g. the explanation of symbols on the stock price
page). In this case, it's text that you might use at the bottom of all
your releases.
Place your boilerplate right above the #
# #'s.
One more trick: below the ###'s, add a
line that says something like:
If you'd like more
information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with John
Smith, please call Pat Brown at 555/555-2222 or e-mail Pat at
pr@theplace4vitamins.com
Some Key Things to Remember
* Stay away from
hype-bloated phrases like "breakthrough", "unique", "state-of-the-art",
etc.
* Always write it from a
journalist's perspective. Never use "I" or "we" unless it's in a quote.
* Read lots of good
newspaper writing, such as the New York Times or the Washington Post to
get a feel for the style.
* Shorter is better. If you
can say it in two pages, great. If you can say it in one page, better.
How to Use Press Release Distribution Services
Press release distribution services do exactly what it sounds like they
do: they distribute press releases. How do they work? A company or
public relations agency drafts a press release about a new service,
medical breakthrough, product, or event. The company submits the press
release to a distribution service. The press distribution service then
sends it out to subscribers—journalists, media outlets, and
interested researchers—either by email, fax, or wire service.
Press Release Distribution Services
The most well-known press release distribution service is PR Newswire.
Founded in 1954, the company reports that more than 70,000 individual
journalists and 22,000 media outlets currently subscribe to PR Newswire
for Journalists. Subscriptions are free for individual journalists,
provided there is some affiliation with either a media outlet or
website.
The website also reports millions of non-journalist users access PR
Newswire for research and multimedia tools like press conference
cybercasting. In addition to press release distribution and online
conferences and events, PR Newswire has affiliations with Canada
NewsWire and international press release distribution services.
Corporate and University Press Release Distribution
Not all institutions distribute press releases through a service. Some
corporations and universities also maintain internal press release
distribution services. Nike, for example, has a special website called
Nikebiz just for press releases and latest product and company news.
There are 13 separate press offices at Harvard, each of which
distributes news releases either by RSS Feed or by browsing the website.
To sign up for corporate or university press release distributions,
visit the website and look for a Media link, found either in the main
navigation menu or in the footer at the bottom of the page. Some
websites use words like "Press" or "For Journalists." If the website
offers an RSS feed, subscribe. Otherwise, sign up for email
notifications or just check the website regularly for new press
distributions.
Read more at Suite101: How to Use Press Release Distribution Services:
Releases Generate Stories, Starting Point for Research
http://resourcesforwriters.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_use_press_release_distribution_services#ixzz0ikwwIdrB
Press Distribution as a Starting Point
Press release distribution services and individual email press releases
can serve as a starting point for story ideas. No matter how good the
press release, though, always do additional research. Remember press
release submissions are written by public relations people, and their
goal is to put positive light on the subject, not to provide actual
journalism. PR companies distribute press releases in order to give
basic facts and ideas for stories, they are not full stories in
themselves. Use press releases for statistics, angles, or potential
interview sources, but don't rely on them for full stories.
Read more at Suite101: How to Use Press Release Distribution Services:
Releases Generate Stories, Starting Point for Research
http://resourcesforwriters.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_use_press_release_distribution_services#ixzz0ikx2SEsk
Press release
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
A press release, news release, media release, or press statement is a
written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media
for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value.
Typically, they are mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to assignment editors at
newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television stations, and/or
television networks. Commercial press-release distribution services are
also used to distribute them.
The use of a press release is common in the field of public relations,
the aim of which is to attract favorable media attention to public
relations professional's client and/or provide publicity for products
or events marketed by those clients. A press release provides reporters
with the basics they need to develop a news story. Press releases can
announce a range of news items such as: scheduled events, personal
promotions, awards, news products and services, sales and other
financial data, accomplishments, etc. They are often used in generating
a feature story or are sent for the purpose of announcing news
conferences, upcoming events or change in corporation.
A press statement is information supplied to reporters. This is an
official statement or account of a news story that is specially
prepared and issued to newspapers and other news media for them to make
known to the public.
Origins
One anecdote on an origin of modern press releases is about an incident
in 1906 involving Ivy Lee,[ who is often referred to as the first real
public relations practitioner. At that time, Lee's agency was working
with the Pennsylvania Railroad, which had just fallen victim to a
tragic accident. Ivy Lee convinced the company to issue the first press
release to journalists, before other versions of the story, or
suppositions, could be spread among them and reported. He used a press
release, in addition to inviting journalists and photographers to the
scene and providing their transportation there, as a means of fostering
open communication with the media.
Elements
While there are several types of press releases (such as the general
news release, event release, product press release, financial/earnings
releases and, more recently, the social media release), press releases
very often have several traits of their structure in common. This helps
journalists separate press releases from other PR communication
methods, such as pitch letters or media advisories. Some of these
common structural elements include:
* Headline — used to grab the
attention of journalists and briefly summarize the news.
* Dateline — contains the
release date and usually the originating city of the press release.
* Introduction — first
paragraph in a press
release, that generally gives basic answers to the questions of who,
what, when, where and why.
* Body — further explanation,
statistics, background, or other details relevant to the news.
* Boilerplate — generally a
short "about"
section, providing independent background on the issuing company,
organization, or individual.
* Close — in North America,
traditionally the
symbol "-30-" appears after the boilerplate or body and before the
media contact information, indicating to media that the release is
ending. A more modern equivalent has been the "###" symbol. In other
countries, other means of indicating the end of the release may be
used, such as the text "ends".
* Media contact information —
name, phone
number, email address, mailing address, or other contact information
for the PR or other media relations contact person.
Video news releases
For more details on this topic, see video news release.
Some public relations firms send out video news releases (VNRs) which
are pre-taped video programs that can be aired intact by TV stations.
Often, the VNRs are aired without the stations' identifying or
attributing them as such.
TV news viewers can often detect the use of VNRs within television
newscasts; for example, many movie-star "interviews" are actually VNRs,
taped on a set which is located at the movie studio and decorated with
the movie's logo. Another frequent example of VNRs masquerading as news
footage is videotapes of particular medical "breakthroughs," that are
really produced and distributed by pharmaceutical companies for the
purpose of selling new medicines.
Video news releases can be in the form of full blown productions
costing tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands. They can also
be in the TV news format, or even produced for the web.
Recently, many broadcast news outlets have discouraged the use of VNRs.
Many stations, citing an already poor public perception, want to
increase their credibility. Public relations companies are having a
tougher time getting their pre-edited video aired.
VNRs can be turned into podcasts then posted onto newswires. Further to
this, a story can be kept running longer by engaging "community
websites", which are monitored and commented on by many journalists and
features writers.
Embargoed press release
Sometimes a press release is embargoed — that is, news
organizations are requested not to report the story until a specified
time. For instance, news organizations usually receive a copy of
presidential speeches several hours in advance. Product or media
reviewers are commonly given a sample or preview of a product ahead of
its release date. In such cases, the news organizations generally do
not break the embargo. If they do, the agency that sent the release may
blacklist them. A blacklisted news organization will not receive any
more embargoed releases, or possibly any releases at all. They may also
be compelled to honor the embargo via a legally binding non-disclosure
agreement.
However, it is very hard to enforce embargoes on journalists, as there
is constant pressure by editors to scoop other news outlets. It is
unlikely that a PR agency will blacklist a form of media, as other
clients may want to be featured in this publication. This problem is
sometimes overcome by controlling the timing of a release via email
rather than relying on the journalist to do so.
See also
* Electronic press kit (EPK)
* News conference
* Public relations (PR)
* Spokesman
(If you want to know about above topics in detail justn post
your comment in the Guest Book and if you want to discuss about Free
traffic and free advertising resources with like minded people then
just registered at out Forum.You will get a chance to post your offer
as a classified ad in the Forum as there is a section in the Forum
where you can insert your ad)
Why Use Press Releases
The most common reason to use a press release is because it is the
standard method of communicating your news to your intended target. If
you don't know there is structure for writing a press release :1st a
Short precise headline.2nd Short to the point message.3rd an opening
paragraph about what the news actually is. Because of this format
structure it is easy for a annoyed assistant editor to
quickly
scan your release to see if it's relevant to their needs. If it is
relevant press release as per assistant editor then the body of the
release contains additional information as well as contact information
of business owner or a pr person.
Every editor has learned to detest and rely on press release because
Press releases have been the standard method of broadcasting news for
.Some News paper like the Los Angeles Times receive up to 3,000 or more
press releases a week, and they diligently peruse each and every one
when properly submitted. A press release is what an editor expects to
see. Press Release is the primary method of communicating your news to
media editors, regardless of media format.
Whenever it is necessary you must use a press release if you
want
to get the word out to the media about your news or product launch.
Being Newsworthy
In this communication era most small business owner became aware of the
press release and so most media editors and their assistants' desks are
over flooded with press release notes. Unfortunately these small
business owners are not pr persons so they write an advertisement
disguised as press releases but have no value as a news or not
newsworthy so what media editors do is dumped such press releases in
the dustbins. One more reason for increasing in press release notes are
e-mail,instead of fax the press release can be send by e-mail and so it
became damn easy or anyone. As a business owner you must learn how to
write a good press release which is newsworthy and acceptable by news
editors
.
Being newsworthy means writing a properly formatted press release(see
above 1st,2nd,3rd again) which includes an engaging headline
that
announces something new. It's supposed to be news or news story, not an
advertisement, and must be worded that way.
Examples of newsworthy press releases:
• Company Launches and Mergers
• New Product Launch (consumer good, website, etc.)
• Joint Company Partnerships
• Staff Hiring/Appointment
• Public Company Performance (audience growth, number products
shipped, etc.)
• Legal Lawsuit or Court Victory/Settlement
• Recall of Product and specifics
• Public Gathering/Convention Event
• Protest Rally (local news)
• Charity Event
• Political Announcements and Endorsements
Either you write your own press release or hire a pr firm or just
taking help of press release distribution service,in any case your only
reason to send a press release is when you really do have something to
announce.
Send your press release only to relevant publication and medias or your
press release will be discarded by editors. Your press release must not
seems like an advertisement. Every media has ad department and press
release is related to news so if your press release seems like
advertisement ,editors will dump it in the dustbin. You must write a
standard press release which is newsworthy.
Free Publicity with Press Release
What is a Press Release?
A press release is generally called news release. Writing a
press
release is not difficult as actually a article about something new,a
new product,a new launch,a new site,a new development etc which is
news,and writing a short article about this news in a manner as a
journalist write is press release. The main goal of a press release is
to highlight an interesting new event which is newsworthy e.g. new
product announcement,a new site,winning in the court about some
dispute.
Costs of Press Release
Press Release is actually free if you can write and
distribute
yourself but if you hire professional it is relatively inexpensive to
prepare and distribute. Compare the price of a full page ad in
different publication and small coverage in other medias. Even your
local newspaper can charge thousands of dollars for a small ad.
Research shows that a press release have generated more free publicity
than a combine paid ad campaign done in all the medias.
After you distribute your press release ,it is picked up by news medias
and who find your press release suitable with its media ,feature your
press release as news story and free publicity is generate for your or
your website. It is possible that your news story can show up
in
more than one news papers as well as in news talk shows carried on
major networks such as NBC or CBS. Suppose you want to publicize your
press release to specific niche than it can be done and hit editor's
news feed who write for specific niche. If you want world wide coverage
for your products or service then news release or presss release the
best marketing tool.
The benefits to sending out news releases include:
* low cost
* increased visibility for your company
* high demand for press releases
* added credibility for your organization
* new customers
* new investors
* free publicity
A Single Press Release Can Skyrocketed Your Website Traffic?
You and me both have heard about Press Release and we both
know
now that we can promote our sites using press release. But it is true
that still many marketers do not know the real potential of press
release and many still either do not use press release at all or do not
use it properly.If you are one of the marketer or webmaster who has not
use press release for promotion then you may feel like banging your
head on the wall or table after you read this true storey.
I built a review blog about traveling related niche(very fine sub niche
and do not want to reveal the niche) about 3 years ago. The blog has
only traveling related product reviews. Frankly it was very hard work
as my part because I wanted to post only high quality genuine content.
There are lots of site across the internet which have too many
duplicate content and I did not want my blog to be one of them. I
wanted to provide unique content and high quality service and products
to my readers so that I could get repeated traffic and genuine comment
from my readers and also could increase the readers' base. The writing
review had taken lots of time as before making my blog live,I wanted
that there was enough content.
Finally when I made my blog live I just want to expose my hard work to
as many people as I could as well as also wanted to generate as many
sales as I could. I had many options for promoting my blog, like my
subscriber lists,banner ads,link ads,PPC,contextual ad networks,article
market,classified sites,press release etc etc. I generally use article
marketing and in the past I had got very good results for my other
sites and that is with article marketing alone!So I started to write
articles but after writing 2-3 articles I got tired because of the hard
work I did during past weeks to create content for my blog
and so
I gave up temporarily and decided to take rest during weekend and visit
my friends and family.
Fortunately before living I did an amazing thing and that was I wrote a
press release for my blog. I had not done it before and so I did not
know how to write,what to write and what should be the structure as it
was 1st time for me. So I goggled and found some press release sites
online and then browsed some press release and I even found a tutorial
about 'How to Write A Press Release'.So finally I wrote the press
release about my blog
I wanted to use online free press release sites and free
press
release distribution service like PRweb but as I was pressing for time
I knew I had to go for professional press release distribution service
so instead of using free service I decide to pay for extended paid
service which was providing guarantee of same day distribution and so I
paid and went for my mini vacation!
As soon as I came home from vacation on Sunday night I was eager to
check the result from press release distribution. It is natural as I
had paid $250 for the service. I wanted to check if I had got some
visitors to my blog through press release(Remember I had not use any
other method of promotion because of tiredness)so logged into check my
states and to my surprise(actually I was so excited almost saved myself
from falling out of the chair)there were hundreds of visitors had
visited my blog within the 1st few hours of distribution of press
release. The blog had also received thousands of new visitors during
these 2 days and lots of comments as well. Now I was absolutely excited
wanted to know if I had made any sale through this traffic or not but
the products I had reviewed on my blog were not from an affiliate
network like cj or paydotcom so I had to visit each merchant and had to
check sales individually.
I had collect the data from each merchant's site. During 1st
rush
hours only I had made 5 sales for a product. Various products had got
different response but there were continuous sales progress. On
Saturday total sales were 17 and between Saturday night and Sunday
night there were another 21 sales and so total sales through press
release within 2 days were 43 and I had earned total $3457.60 in net
commission. Not bad for only an hour of work!
After 4th day the traffic from press release diminished a little bit
but was still producing enough sales. Some publishers contacted me who
wanted to publish my press release in a newspaper and magazine. My
press release release was also featured on some high page rank site and
it had link to my site so search engine spider followed the link and my
absolute new blog was indexed in the all major search engines within 24
hours. After some days the traffic from press release was dropped to a
few visitors but I had got very high ranked for some of the great
keywords(Remember my content was unique and original and I had spent
lots of time to create it) and so search engine traffic started to
increase at an amazing rate. In short I had got an exceptionally good
result with a single press release. press releases at first sight!
After this incident I became fan of press release and I use
press
release regularly and it is one my main strategy to drive targeted
visitors and lots of targeted traffic to my blog or website.
Let
me remind you that you can also submit a press release for an existing
website or blog(It is ok if it is not new release),the only condition
is that your site or blog should have some news worthy
changes,events,new jv etc.
How Can Use Online Press Releases To Make Non-Profitable
Website Profitable?
Now a days medias are divided in different sections.
TV,radio,newspaper magazine etc and all have subsections like news
chanel,movie chanel etc.Because of this division some newspapers had
gone out of business and many are still on age of being closed down but
surprisingly there is development in online news sites' section. I mean
online news sites are thriving and becoming more & more popular
each & everyday. You can take advantage of this popularity by
using
press release in your business promotion strategy.
Use Press Releases Frequently
To make your non profitable site profitable use press release
frequenly. Make a strategy for your site and small business or home
business about press release. Now a days the new rules of marketing and
PR ,author David Meerman Scott writes that each and every small
business or home business and site should have a firm policy about
press release and never give away any opportunity to release a press
release. In short you should use every newsworthy event in your
company,small business or home business or on your site to send or
submit a press release to all the relevant medias. You can even use
professional press release distribution service to take immediate
advantage.
You can send a press release on these occasions. This is just
examples & you should be more creative...:
-Your site has solved and old problem or
adapt a new approach to an old problem.
-Your site has started a new service or
an additional feature is added.
-You have launched a new product.
-You have survey or poll results which
are useful to others.
-You or one of your staff member has
attended a conference about your business or industry.
-Your site or business has won an award.
-Your site or company has release a new
catlog or price list.
-A loan or grant has been passed for
your company or business.
-You have signed a new JV with other
company or site.
-You have donated a consideration amount
of money for charity.
-If your site was down then you can
state the reasons for the cause.
-Your site has achieved a higher ranking
in search engines.
-You have applied a new marketing
strategy.
In short grab each and every news worthy event or
occasion and send press release about it.
As I wrote above these are just some examples and you can be creative
and find many more situations where you can send press release. If you
can not think of then the good idea is to visit online press release
sites and browse some press release and I am certain you will get lots
of ideas.
Press Releases Distribution
Distribute your press release properly and try to reach as
large
audience as possibly can. You can use the online press release
distribution service to reach large audience and it will not cost a
fortune. As I said before you should use press release frequently and
so you should have a system to distribute press release properly
Where possible you should use your main targeted keywords(Do not try to
include all the keywords. It is not possible and if you try you can not
write an effective press release. Just a one main keyword or maximum
two is more than enough) because it is possible your press
release can be sent in the alerts. For example search engine
like
Google provides such a free service and you can sign up for particular
alerts on keyword bases. So when your press release is picked up by
Google and if Google spiders find a keyword worth alerting to
subscribers then an alert has been sent to all the subscribers who
subscribed to get alerts for that particular keyword.
There are many Press Release Distribution Services(I have
included most of them on the next page)but here are a few of them:
- Business Wire
-PR Newswire
- Marketwire
- PrimeNewsWire
- AScribe
- AlterNet (Their center of interest is
social justice,civil liberties,environment & human rights )
Press Releases & Your Online Press Room
As I said before grab each and every opportunity to send a press
release. As you may know search engines like fresh new content and so
the search engines' spiders crawl the online news and press release
related sites regularly because of new press release and news
submission frequently during the whole day. You can say that
some
of these sites have something new(content) added every minute. Your
press release has your site's link embedded so when search engine
spiders crawl the site you have submitted the press release,they follow
the link and also visit your site and so if your site is new then it
get indexed very quickly and if your press release is for an existing
website,and if the site has been optimized properly and content is base
on keywords or targeted to keywords then chances of higher ranking in
the search engine is there.
As I said above all major search engines like fresh and regularly
updated content so if you are frequently writing and posting press
release then why not post them on your blog as well. You have already
done the hard work so actually it is free content for your blog. There
are 2 ways to do this.1st. Create a Press Release category in the
existing blog and post all the press release there.2nd.You can create a
new blog absolutely themed on press release and post all the press
releases there. You can even give your blog a name something like 'Our
Press Release/s'.You can even allow other bloggers and webmaster to
submit their own press release on your blog(Frankly this is new idea
about creating a separate blog for press release and I have not applied
it till now but I am sure it is going work and near future you may find
one of my blog on the press release).When you allow others to post
their press release on your blog,you get free and fresh content and
search engines will spider your blog regularly. And if you have some
SEO and SES knowledge then you can easily get higher ranking for such a
blog.
Use either way to post your press release on your blog but remember to
post your press release in reverse chronological order(Last entry
first).
You can write your press release content with targeted
keywords.
You do not have to perform a new research for keywords as if your site
content is optimized and keyword targeted the you have already done the
research. Just pick up one or two good and highest converting keywords
and target your press rlease content with these keywords. There is no
high quality professional SEO and SES knowledge will be necessary,just
follow the basic principles of SEO. But with this little more work you
can expecdt your blog to rank high in search engine results.
Instead of targeting single keyword target a keyword phrase. This way
you can exclude the most competition with other blogs and sites.
If you are absolutely new to SEO,you can get more information and basic
knowledge freo SEO & SES section.You can use the online word
tracker's keyword suggestion tool(FREE) and Google Adwords' keyword
research tool(FREE,TOO).The links for both is down the page.I have also
included these both links in related section as well as in the Online
Tools Section.
You should choose the less competitive keyword phrases although those
phrases are less searched by the surfers. Because it is hard to rank
high on most popular keywords and keyword phrases. Instead go for less
popular and so less competitive keyword phrases so chances of ranking
higher in the SERP will increase.
Let me explain you with an example. Suppose you are writing a press
release about new money making product. Then if you try to target a
keyword phrase 'make money' then you will be competing with millions of
other blogs and websites(Many newbies do this and make mistake of
targeting this keyword phrase in the PPC/Google Adword and so loose the
money).As an experiment just open the Google and type this
phrase
'make money' in the search box and hit the enter or go button. You can
easily see how many websites and blogs are competing with one another
for this keyword phrase. Now instead of doing this if you target the
keyword phrase 'legal ways to make money' then you will have minimal
competition and chances of ranking on the 1st page will be higher. This
is just an example. You should be creative,and find all major variation
for your keyword phrases. Think if you are a person searching for your
site or product,what will you type in the search box?The word tracker's
keyword suggesatin tool will be helpful in this situation.
Where to place your keywords & keyword phrases in your press
release?:
-In theTitle (of the press release)
-In the Subtitle
-In the First paragraph
-In the subheads( use to break up the
text of a PR)
-In theMeta Tags
-In the Meta Description
-In the Meta Keywords
-At the end
Just never ever neglect the task of writing and submitting your press
release because of some hard work involved. Never ever satisfied by
sending your press release to a few journalist or reporters. Take
enough time to distribute your press release at all possible media
outlets(Online + Offline).If you can afford then take advantage of
professional press distribution service. In short a good press release
can change the financial future of your entire business. Your website
will get lots of free targeted traffic with regular press releases.
Press Release: Why SEO Experts Should Not Use Press Releases
Rumor has it that press releases are the next big
thing in
the SEO business, and many companies are spending top dollars trying to
write the next big press release announcing the next big balloon
breaking technology. But is this really the next big thing?
By definition, a Press Release is a kind of news item released by the
company on whom the news is being reported. As such, you will have to
compete with all the other press releases and hope that your will get
picked up.
Why Will Your Press Release Be Trashed?
1) Unless you are writing a press release about Microsoft, Adobe, Sony
or one of the other mega-companies, or at least about a company that is
relatively well known, forget about it. Journalists and news editors
receive thousands of press releases a day and there is no way that they
will waste more than a quick glance. So why should you pay a company
seven to eight hundred dollars for them sending your press release to
thousands of editors and journalists when they are going to junk it
anyway?
2) Unless you are announcing a truly revolutionary product or
technology (which I assume you are not since you are only interested in
using the professionally paid and written press release to boost your
search engine rankings), whatever you make up or announce such as some
new free deal or new portal offering something unique, your chances of
being picked up are very slim. Yes, the PR companies will tell you that
they have vast experience in writing Press Releases that will make
yours stand out and get picked up but this is not accurate. The only
way your PR is going to get picked up is if it truly is something out
of the ordinary or something that no one has ever thought off.
3) Unless you plan to spend millions of dollars and then just by sheer
volume your site will go ahead in the search engines, this is not a
good option. Why? If you send a large number of press releases then
these will be placed on the different PR companies websites main page.
Since most of these home pages have a very high page rank, your site
will get a boost. The question is whether this boost is worth the large
amount of money you will put into the PR companies pocket. No it is
not. Use that money to buy (though I do not recommend this) links from
high-ranked websites and you will pay less and receive more benefit.
4) Any press release, even if it has been accepted, will remain on the
different pages for just a short time, making the time and effort and
even more so the amount of money you paid fruitless.
Conclusion:
A press release is useful if you wish to contact the press and maybe
get some free publicity, but it is of no use if you wish to use it as a
tool in order to advance your website in the search engines.
Press Releases - Helping Raise Business
It has been noticed that businesses, whether small
or big,
puts in huge amounts trying to find ways to get best publicity for
their organization and its achievements. Publicity is nowadays widely
considered in company’s budgets to enhance profits.
Reaching to your customers has become more essential, and intricate.
There are many methods available on net to publicize and market your
business, but one of the cheapest methods is to use online press
release websites, as many of these offers free of cost or low-cost PR
options.
With online press release one can simply reach the targeted online
community. PR web-sites offers article submission database of free
content and reprint articles. Publishers, who are in quest of free
reprint articles and the business community, who wants to shoot their
business, make the best use of this significant resource to enhance
their marketing weapon.
Here are ten effectual tips to write well drafted press release.
1. Starting should be solid: Your title
and initial
lines should cover, what you want to convey. The remaining part of your
press release should depict the detailed information.
2. Draft it for journalists &
media agencies: The
journalists receive thousand of press releases on daily basis. The
media agencies and journalists would grab your press release and only
if, with slight editing or no alteration.
3. Consider addressee’s
Interest: The
audience’s interest consideration is most important to be
keeping
in mind that if you were a part of audience, would you be interested
like to read the press release, you have written.
4. Make it appear practical: Point out
real facts of
your company or organization, as people are also intellectual enough to
make out what is true and what is not? Present information on
product and services in what they are interested.
5. Tie the story with real facts:
Don’t put
bluff and add-ons. If you find the content using much added extras,
make it natural and real. If content seems too good to be true, turn
down the tone little, as it may possibly hurt your own credibility.
6. Use only necessary words:
Don’t use extra
adjectives, extravagant language, or unnecessary expressions like
“The most powerful”. Describe your story with
lesser words,
as verbosity distracts from your content.
7. Avoid using jargon: Limited use of
jargon could be
allowed, if you aim to optimize news release for search engines. The
finest technique to communicate your press release is to speak neatly,
using regular language.
8. Avoid exclamation: The use of
exclamation point
(!) may hurt your press release. But, if you have to use an exclamation
point, use only one.
9. Company permit: Companies are very
defensive about
their name and credibility. Get written permission before putting in an
information or quotes from officials or associates of other
companies/organizations.
10. Company Information: The press
release should
conclude with a short description of your company, which illustrates
your company, products, service and a brief history of company. But if
you are making a combined press release of two or more then two then
you should, provide information of all the companies.
Writing quality press releases is a process that requires immense skill
and experience, as every single word of a press release may be
examined. This is why many companies hire public relation firms for
official press releases and other media contacts.
Inaccurate or poorly drafted information in an official press release
can be a point to slicing a company or organization’s credit.
How You Can Use News Releases and Announcements to Promote
Your Business
Press releases are no longer just for the press. Here is how you can
use Press Releases to promote your business and web site.
Press releases and news announcements serve many different functions in
addition to being source material for journalists to write
about.
Yes, it is good to have BIG news that will motivate a writer, editor or
journalist to write about your company, product or service, but that is
no longer the only reason to create a press release. You
don’t
need big news just a good hook.
Whether or not you use a Public Relations Agency or do it yourself,
here are three good reasons why you should try to write and distribute
at least one press release every month.
1. Its Good SEO (Search Engine Optimization & Press Release
Optimization) – One of the most important components to
getting
top Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc., search page results –
appearing
high up or number one when someone searches for your product or
services is the number of external web sites that link to your web site.
Your news release appearing on an online or industry news site, at a
social networking site, on a newswire such as BusinessWire or PR
NewsWire, or even at a directory of press releases, helps improve your
site’s overall SEO. In addition to that posting and SEO
results,
many other sites and blogs may pick up that release and print it on
their pages as well, further increasing the Search Engine results for
your web site and business.
A good news announcement could show up on hundreds or thousands of
different sites!
You need to post new releases on a regular (monthly) basis. As most
major news sites only keep their press releases online for about a
month or so, you need to keep posting new press releases and news
announcements every month to maintain your SEO rating and web page
search results positions.
By SEO optimizing your new release and by embedding hotlinks in it that
link to specific landing pages on your site, you can further increase
how high up your web site will appear in the search results.
You should also make sure your press release also gets posted on your
own web site. (You will be amazed by how many businesses neglect this
obvious step). By posting your press releases on your own
site,
you increase the amount and quality of content on your site. As you
probably know, most search engines heavily weigh the amount and quality
of content on a site when assigning search results. For most
search engines, the two of the most important factors towards getting a
high search page result is the amount of quality links pointing to your
web site and the amount of quality content you have on your site. News
announcements can fulfill both.
2. Your news announcements and press releases can inform potential
customers about your company, its products, services and areas of
expertise. No longer targeted to just the press and media, good press
releases and news releases also function as marketing documents for
your organization.
Most people and businesses now rely on a web search as an integral part
of their search for products, and services. Seeing your news
announcements all over the web – at the magazines they read,
at
various blogs, and as a result of web searches, can greatly help boost
your company’s brand and product awareness in their mind. It
is
also useful to have news announcements that inform current and past
customers of what is new and that you are still successfully in
business.
3. Press may be interested in your “small” news and
may
want to include it as a standalone announcement or as part of a trend
article or column. They may be doing an industry overview or product
round up. Also, it is also useful to occasionally inform press that you
are an expert in your industry area and are available for comment as
needed. If they don’t see press
releases from
you or your company on a regular basis, you will drop off their radar
screen. You need to show ongoing, consistent news and growth or the
press will forget about you.
Better Search Engine results and great SEO, direct out reach to your
customers and potential partners, and ongoing contact to the media are
the three main reasons why you and your company need to develop and
distribute an ongoing series of press releases. They don’t
have
to be big news. Small news is fine. A new hire, updated web site, and
upgrade to your software, new partnership, maybe speaking at a
conference or industry event.
Mark Shapiro is a professional writer with over 17 years experience in
public relations and media relations. Mark Shapiro has worked with
hundreds of companies throughout the world, promoting their products
and services. He has written thousands of press releases and news
announcements. He has hundreds of articles published covering a wide
range of subjects including media relations, public speaking, internet
marketing, web video, digital imaging, etc. SRS Tech Public
Relations provides a wide range of public relations functions, from big
picture strategy planning to writing, distributing and following up on
press releases and contributed articles, pitching products, services
and solutions, and setting up and hosting show/phone briefings with
editors and analysts
The New Rules of PR: How to Use Press Releases to Reach Buyers Directly
The Web has changed the rules for PR. With the ability of millions
consumers around the world to read press releases directly on Web sites
like Google News, Yahoo! News, and via vertical market sites and search
engines, marketers must fundamentally alter the way they write and
distribute their press releases. That’s not to say that
having
mainstream media write about your organization isn’t
important.
It is. But newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV are now icing. To take
advantage of the cake, focused organizations leverage the power of PR
2.0 via press releases to distribute ideas directly to the market.
This seminar will demonstrate how savvy marketing professionals develop
a direct-to-consumer PR strategy, segment buyers and write press
release content to reach them, and distribute press releases via the
Web. The media has been disintermediated. The Web has changed the
rules. Buyers read content directly and marketers need to be talking
their language. The primary audience for PR and marketing messages is
no longer just a handful of journalists; it is millions of people with
Internet connections and access to search engines and RSS readers.
Using Blog PR to Promote Your Site
The recent trend of using the press release to promote an online
business has emerged with good reason # good press costs very little
and can do more for a business than thousands of dollars of marketing.
Most businesses use press distribution services like PR Web or PRFree
to get the word out about their news. While distribution services
certainly can be effective, they tend to miss out on arguably the most
influential group of the press # bloggers.
Bloggers mold and shape the opinions of their readers, who are normally
the most important in their particular industry, many of whom are also
bloggers. Not long after a post from an influential blogger, your news
has been picked up by several other bloggers and within days you are
all over the blogsphere. Before you know it your site is getting more
attention than it would if a story ran in the local newspaper! So how
do you get the influential bloggers in your industry to run a story
about your business?
Why Would Anyone Do a Story About Your Business?
Are you a new company? Did you just launch a new product that they
could review? Did your business win an award? Are you a group of
college kids who started a company on savings from your summer jobs?
You get the idea. There needs to be a reason that someone would want to
read about you. Bloggers take pride in the content they feed their
readers. You don't stand a chance of getting a blogger to write about
you if you don't have a story that their readers will be interested in.
Research Bloggers in Your Industry
More is less when it comes to contacting bloggers. Buy a list of 1,000
bloggers and send out a generic email to all of them and you'll likely
get no response. But send a small amount of personalized emails to the
appropriate bloggers and you'll be shocked at how many positive
responses you get.
The first step is to make a list of the bloggers that would be
interested in your story. You can generally get a feel for whether or
not a blogger would be interested in your story by reading a couple of
posts and checking out their bio. If they've done a few similar stories
in the past or they are heavily involved in your industry, there is a
good chance they'll want to hear your story. If not, leave them off
your list and move on.
The single best method that I have found to research blogs is the
Technorati Blog Directory. You can peruse blogs in your industry in
order of "authority" - how important Technorati thinks a blog is. This
is extremely useful. For example, if you are in the travel industry,
you can view a list of the most influential blogs in the world of
travel.
Another great way to find the right bloggers is to search through your
competitors press sections on their websites to see what blogs have
mentioned them. You can also find out who has mentioned your
competitors by looking at the sites that have linked to them (type in
"links:www.theirsite.com" on Yahoo!). There's a good chance that if
they found your competitors story interesting, they'll find your story
interesting as well.
Compose Your Email
The best way to contact bloggers is by email. The good news is that
most bloggers make themselves easy to access and provide their email
addresses on their blogs. The bad news is that most people don't know
what to do with said email address once they get it. Use the following
outline for your email and you'll see amazing results:
* Have a simple subject. You probably
won't get many
responses by treating your email like a press release and writing
RELEASE in the subject line. Try something simple like "fan of your
blog" or "comment about your blog." You want to make sure they actually
read your email and don't mentally mark it as SPAM when they see the
subject.
* Start by complementing them. Since
you've read
their blog and learned about them from their bio, you know quite a bit
about them. Use it to your advantage. Compliment them on your favorite
post, or how cool it is that they worked for XYZ company.
* Request them to post about you (be
direct). In
three sentences or less, tell them your story, why you think it would
be of interest to them and their readers, and respectfully ask that
they write a post about it. Be direct and to the point. They will
respect that.
* Offer something in return. You have
something that
could help them. Maybe it's a link back to their blog from your
personal blog, or maybe you could provide them with a free product or
service that could help them or their business. One way or another,
there's something you have to offer them in return for the time spent
on a post about you.
* Close with something nice. Thank them
for their
time and wish them luck with their blog and/or business ventures.
Notice that of the five components of the email, only one is about your
story. The rest of the email is spent complimenting them and offering
them something. Your chances of getting a positive response have just
gone through the roof. Every blogger, no matter how large, likes to
hear that people are enjoying their posts.
Respond Promptly and Respectfully
Not everyone is going to agree to run your story. Some will say that
they don't do that type of thing or that they don't have time. Since
you have been so nice as to compliment them, they will still usually
reply either way. Regardless of the response, be sure to thank them for
their time and wish them luck with their ventures. You never know when
they will encounter someone who needs your product or service in the
future (remember, they are in your industry) and if they have a
positive image of you and your company they will undoubtedly give you a
good recommendation.
Sit Back and Watch the Traffic Roll In
Over the course of the next few weeks you will see post after post
appear about your business. Be sure to send another thank you email to
the blogger after the post and also be sure to promptly provide
whatever you offered them in return. At this point you have developed a
mutually beneficial relationship with someone important in your
industry that can become invaluable over time.
That wasn't that hard was it? With a little research and a carefully
crafted email, any business can effectively use blog PR to drive
traffic to their site.
About The Author
Adam McFarland owns iPrioritize - simple to-do lists that can be edited
at any time from any place in the world. Email, print, check from your
mobile phone, subscribe via RSS, and share with others.
How Can a Press Release Help You Get Free Publicity?
What is a Press Release?
A press release or, news release as it is also called, is a condensed
article that is written in a journalistic style. A press
release
is not a sales document, resume, or an advertisement. The
purpose
of the news release is to highlight what is interesting and newsworthy
about your company or organization. This can include
announcing
product releases, new services, or drama within your market.
What are the Press Release Costs?
Press releases are relatively inexpensive to prepare and distribute.
Compare the price of a full-page ad from a major news publication
– generally tens of thousands of dollars. Even
local papers
typically charge several thousand dollars. For less than a
few
hundred dollars, you can receive better, more comprehensive coverage
than paid advertising. Research shows that most news releases
generate a higher return than even high powered ad campaigns.
Free Publicity
When members of the news media feature your story pulled from your
press release, free publicity is being generated. Frequently, your
story can show up not only in one major newspaper, but in three, as
well as in news talk shows carried on major networks such as NBC or
CBS. If you are looking to publicize in local markets only,
releases can be directed to those local publications and hit
editor’s news feeds who write for your specific industry. If
you
are looking for global coverage, news releases are the best marketing
tools. In a sense, a press release is a gift that just keeps
giving.
News releases not only reach journalists but they also capture
potential customers and/or investors which means that your products
and/or services can be both funded and be made more profitable simply
based on the media attention your release receives. Whatever your
target audience may be, news releases offer you a way to become known
to the public without a significant investment. Even large
corporations who spend millions of dollars on ad campaigns continue to
use news releases to maintain public interest which results in higher
revenue.
Added Benefits for Sending a Press Release
Another advantage to sending out news releases is that there is always
demand. All news organizations, to include magazine editors, broadcast,
and industry specific editors use press releases to develop the bulk of
their published news stories. From a consumer stand point,
editors who report on your news release are considered disinterested
parties, meaning that your announcement was chosen because of public
demand for relevant and useful information. Often, paid advertising is
suspect in the customer’s eye because companies are more
interested in their products selling than what is in the best interest
of their customers.
To sum up, the benefits to sending out news releases include:
* low cost
* increased visibility for your company
* high demand for press releases
* added credibility for your organization
* new customers
* new investors
* free publicity
This free publicity generated from your news release is all the better
because the media has given its stamp of approval which adds
credibility and value to your company or organization.
PRWeb Direct Services
PRWeb Direct Services provide expertise at every stage of the news
release process. From rough draft to final copy, from search
engine optimization to tracking, and finally the extensive distribution
and coverage networks, our experience and proficiency deliver results.
NewsCrafters™ Writing Services
NewsCrafters is the writing arm of PRWeb. Our staff is made
up of
experienced seasoned writing professionals who understand marketing,
news, editing and quality news release writing. We pride
ourselves on our excellent communication skills and providing you with
the best services possible. No release is final till you are
completely satisfied.
* Our writing services begin with the
$129 Rough
draft to final copy, which is essentially a rewrite for your targeted
audience.
* If you are beginning from scratch, we
offer a $325
package that includes mining your website for relevant material, a
rough draft and final copy that provides the hook needed to compete for
editorial attention and interest.
Research has shown that editors take approximately 7 seconds to read
your headlines and first paragraph. Style and content win out
over other less crafted releases. NewsCrafters are masters of
style and copy and can bring your news story to the forefront.
Publish a free press release and benefit
By posting news or articles about you and your business
in Google News or any other search engines, you stand a fairly good
chance of generating traffic to your site. The more people see you and
read about you, the more chances that a percentage of that number will
gravitate to you. The more people read about you, the higher the number
of visits you will have. Besides, just being in Google News is a really
big deal, and people know that if you are in Google News, you are worth
the space they give you. It means you are a force to be reckoned with.
You are upcoming.
Because a press release can be sent out in the form of a news article
rather than a paid advertisement or review, the cost for advertising
done through a press release is often very low, if not completely free.
If your press release becomes popular, then the results could also lead
to other websites linking to your site. Your press release would then
have also succeeded in creating the much envied
“linkbait”.
Many services online, such as “12 Press Release” ,
"World
Press Release" or “Free Press Release” will publish
your
press release totally free – therefore continuing the idea
that
you can get a great amount of exposure with little or no investment
apart from your input.
But don’t be fooled, press releases do take time, and perhaps
practice as well. First of all, you need a concise and catchy headline.
Whether it’s an intriguing question or an interesting
statistic,
you need something in your headline that will catch the eyes of both
the web journalists and the web readers alike.
Once you have written a good press release, go ahead and send it out to
as many of the best press release websites and companies and see how
much traffic you can gain for free!
In addition to submitting your press release to print and television
media, you should take advantage of the press release sites that the
web has to offer, both free and paid are available. There are many free
press release websites for you to take advantage of. They create free
backlinks to your website which helps with search engine optimization
(SEO). Just make sure you follow each site’s guidelines for
submission carefully, or else your press release will be rejected by
the editor.
The press release that gets published on one of the media outlets will
have your website link provided within it. Those who have reviewed your
release and want more information will click through the link or check
out the website.
Once the optimized press release is distributed, it gets picked up on
various sites and channels including news search engines such as Google
news and Yahoo! news. Every time another website picks up the press
release, it reproduces the release along with all of your keywords and
links. This has the effect of generating widespread backlinks (links
back to your site).
Press releases are one of the most powerful publicity tools available
today for all business owners. Use it to your advantage and join all
the other successful internet marketers who have use press releases
many times in the past with very positive results.
Press Release Marketing 101 -getting The Most Out Of Your Press Releases
Using press releases for marketing purposes for promoting anything from
new web sites to new product announcements have become increasingly
popular lately as business owners learn the powerful benefits of using
press releases.
Press releases have been used over the past few years by quite a few
smart business owners and marketers that have seen first hand how they
can help their business
get the recognition they need in marketing new products or services
both offline and online.
But a lot of businesses have been reluctant in using press releases as
they were unsure of how to properly construct a simple press release or
how to distribute them for maximum effectiveness.
Using press releases can be a very effective marketing tool and seo
strategy if constructed and implemented properly.
Learning to write a powerful optimized press release can often drive
tons of targeted traffic to your web site while providing multiple back
links that can lead to increased page rank and numerous top ten search
engine rankings for your targeted keywords.
The real secret behind writing any effective press release and to gain
maximum exposure for your new product or service is to plan your
release out carefully even before publishing it.
A poorly constructed or planned press release is just a waste of your
time and resources. You want to target the message of your press
release for the purpose it was meant for.
So, the first thing you must do before writing is to figure out just
what do you want to accomplish with your press release?
- Do you want to create some brand awareness for your web site or
products?
- Do you want to add additional subscribers to your newsletter or ezine?
—Or are you trying to promote a new product or service you
have developed or are marketing?
Once you've decided what the most compelling reason is for your press
release, you can then get down to the business of writing it.
The first thing you may want to do is sketch out a rough draft of your
press release to see how it flows. Does it provide the needed
information to get the word out and has it been properly formatted?
Most press releases have a certain format that they follow. If you're
unsure of how to format your press release correctly you can view a
sample press release template here at
http://www.prweb.com/pressreleasetips.php#template .
The number one most important aspect of your press release is your
headline.
Get it wrong and you will limit the effectiveness of your release.
Your headline is what the search engines are going to pick up on first.
The headline is what normally gets listed first once indexed so make
sure you use it advantageously. List any key points here, using your
keywords or a catchy headline so that it will grab your reader's
attention.
Also try to keep your headline as short as possible as Google gives
more weight to keywords if not surrounded by irrelevant words. Again
planning is essential.
If promoting a new site include the URL in the headline. If promoting a
product or service then include some keywords in the headline.
Some press release services use a summary box. I normally write a
catchy one-paragraph recap of my press release using some of my
targeted keywords.
Without being spammy, I will normally optimize my press release by
using some of my targeted keywords in the first and last paragraph. I
will also include some of them throughout the release for a keyword
exposure of approximately 2-5% saturation.
Tip: if you're promoting a web site, I will normally mention my URL
around three times within the release for the maximum benefit.
One of the first questions I had when I first started writing press
releases was what was considered a great release? What did it consist
of and how was it constructed?
Being curious, I emailed my contact at http://www.prweb.com/ and asked
them if they could show me a few press releases that they considered as
excellent examples.
These releases have received their editorial scores of 5 on their scale
of 1 to 5; with five being the highest.
They sent me three of them for review and you can see each one of them
here:
http://prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb136748.htm
http://prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb149213.htm
http://prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb203448.htm
Study each one of these against the press release template to see what
is required for an effective release.
Note: to get additional exposure for your press release via
www.emediawire.com you have to have an editorial score of 4 or higher.
So it is to your benefit to write the best release you can the first
time around.
Once you have studied the examples and want to try submitting you own
press release you need to know which ones are the most popular ones
being used.
Here are some of the press release services I have used and found to be
effective:
http://prweb.com
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/index.html
http://www.webwire.com/default.asp
http://www.24-7pressrelease.com
With most of press release services you can submit your press release
for free or via paid inclusion. Paying for inclusion gives you the
benefit of faster indexing into the search engine news services and
natural search engine result pages.
Normally your release will be picked up by Google news within a few
hours after its release. From there it will normally show up in the
natural search results within a few days or a week.
I have used both of these services in the past but have found that
paying them at least the minimum amount for their distribution services
will allow you to view your stats online. It will also allow you to
choose different categories for my press release to be displayed in,
giving your release a chance for wider coverage.
So using press releases can and is a very effective marketing tool that
you can use for promoting your web site or affiliate products if done
correctly.
By using press releases, I have been able to create a steady flow of
targeted visitors to my web site and affiliate programs while
generating dozens of back links to my web site.
Even though the effects of each individual press release may be short
lived, they still have provided me with both free and inexpensive ways
for getting hundreds of new visitors to my site and quite a few top ten
positions in Google for my targeted keywords.
So isn't worth while to at least check out the benefits of using press
releases in your marketing methods? A little work now could reap
amazing results.
How To Write A Press Release?
What is a press release?
News to the media, prepared in a journalistic manner and from the point
of view of the media. A press release is structured as follows: header,
headline, lead, body copy, and boilerplate. Press releases are
distributed simultaneously to all selected media by mail, fax, and
increasingly by e-mail. Commercial press-release distribution services
are also used to distribute press releases.
How to write a press release?
Decide why you are writing a press release and determine your thought.
Keep it short and to the point. Usually, press releases are no more
than one page. Print the words "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" in the top
left-hand margin in all caps.
Follow this line with relevant contact information:
- name
- title
- address
- phone number
- email address.
Write a headline and center it in bold type just above the first line
of the body of the press release. Headlines typically highlight the
most important, significant or shocking fact in the release.
Create a dateline - the starting line of the body of your press release
- that includes the city where the release is generated and the date.
Make certain the first paragraph includes all the vital information:
- The where
- When
- Why
- What
- Who
Wrap up the last paragraph with a "for additional information" line, a
place to find more details. An annual report or a Web site can be with
complete sources of information.
Center these marks, " # # #" or "-30-", at the bottom of the page to
indicate the end of your release.
Why write press release?
By effective press release writing and distribution, your company can
achieve a significant and measurable increase in brand visibility on
search engines, web site traffic & sales. Press Releases can
help
you achieve excellent rankings within major search engines. Press
releases provide opportunities for inbound link development when Yahoo
News, Google News and major news search engines list your data online.
Press release also benefits your website when you issue a release
because you are providing relevant information to those searching for
news related to your industry. It could be a prospect looking for
industry info when researching a purchase or a journalist researching a
story. At any rate, your company will be represented in the search
results, which increases the relevant traffic to your site.
How to distribute a press release?
Distributing a press release at the right time to the right individuals
is key to publicity. Detail and preparation will help you execute this
important public relations activity.
You can send the news release directly to the media yourself, using the
mail, fax, or email. When in doubt about the best option, ask the
journalists you will be sending your release to. This can have the
advantage of creating a more personal connection with the people you
send the release to. Submit your site to a few online news wires and
news websites. There are a number of sites that require payment.
However, there are a few good free websites as well.
The main wires include:
* Canada Newswire
* CCNMatthews
* Business Wire
* PR Newswire
* PR Web
Main benefit of press release distribution in Google news is that it
goes to the straight to the people who can search online news. The
communication network that is generated at Google, yahoo & MSN
and
can be by world of mouth from the people who have read the press
releases. You will know its happens because of more people visiting
your website. Your website name will become easily recognizable. Be
prepared to answer media questions regarding your press release.
How to generate profit with press release writing?
Writing press releases is one of the most important ways to promote
your website over Internet. Press release writing frequently will help
your website be noticed by the web traffic. Press releases are an
essential part of your advertising and promotional campaign online, and
hence writing an effective press release, which is newsworthy, and
attention grabbing is the most important. Only writing the PR does not
help your purpose. It needs to be well complemented with proper use, to
get the most effective result.
Get Free Traffic From Press Releases
Press Releases have continued to be an important tool for businesses,
non-profit organizations, governmental agencies, and social activist
groups across the web. Few pre-internet communication forms have
translated so easily to web publications. It is easy to add a press
release to your web site or blog. You can even post them in forums
across the web to drum up discussion on the topic. A press release
should announce something of value, be it an event, a new release, a
change, a promotion, or whatever it is, you should be sure it is well
written, interesting, and reaches your target audience.
The goal of the press release is typically publicity.
The strange thing about press releases is that few people actually
release them to the press. In cases of large corporations, governmental
agencies, or large NGO’s there is generally little coverage
of
the press releases in main stream media. For your press release to be
effective, you should make sure you send it to the appropriate
newspaper reporters, editors, magazine reporters, bloggers, and other
writers for publication with widespread audience. This could mean
finding the email of the small business editor of your local newspaper,
or of all newspaper reporters covering this beat in the country. It
mostly depends on your client, or if you are doing it yourself, your
audience. However, if you fail to submit the press release to the
various people that cover this news, it will be just another post on
the internet. It is doubtful those same reporters will seek out your
press release unbidden.
If you are working regularly with press releases, it will them be
necessary to create custom mailing lists for their distribution. If you
have multiple clients, some of the contacts may overlap, but many will
be distinct only to the individual campaign involved. So you will have
to create a custom list of reporters, editors, web masters, and
bloggers before you send out the press release, otherwise you will have
to do it from scratch every time. If you build these mailing lists
while browsing the web and doing other work, over time you can create
lists of hundreds of good sources who work in the field and can
republish the details of your press release in their newspaper,
magazine, or blogs.
If you are really seeking publicity for a client or web site, you can
also submit your press releases to TV news outlets and look to promote
a reference in a specialized report, or market analysis. This usually
works well for new gadgets and software releases, but it depends on the
weight of the information and product involved. Another way is to have
your press release read, video taped, and then posted to a video
hosting site such as YouTube or others. The budget of the account
involved will determine whether it is a highly produced script or a
guerillas marketing campaign. These are just some of the things to
consider when writing a press release, most important to remember is
networking.
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Articles Or Press Releases, Which One Is Better?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions I get from clients.
It isn't that one is better than the other. Both have their purpose.
However, the purpose for each is far different and you should not get
article marketing confused with press releases.
Of course good copy writing is essential to both a press release and
article marketing. And both are optimized to contain your keywords for
seo purposes. But the relationship between article marketing and press
releases ends there.
Article Marketing is the distribution of well-written, informative
articles to article directories in the hopes that they will get
syndicated by or reprinted on other websites and blogs. Article
marketing helps with link popularity for this reason.
Article Marketing helps with branding you as an expert in your field
and can drive traffic directly to your website if readers like the
article.
Press Releases are written to announce a newsworthy event. They are
distributed to news websites, news agencies, news blogs, newsletters,
etc. They are not the same as an article.
Most press releases I see submitted aren't newsworthy at all however.
People are using press release distribution to send out articles. They
have article marketing and press releases all mixed up.
I read press releases that sound like sales letters all the time. Pure
self-promotion is not a press release at all. It's a sales letter sent
out through a press release distribution center.
People who see these know the difference. News agencies who could be
printing or redistributing your press release to a wider audience can
see the difference at a glance.
If you do not know how to write news, you do not know how to write a
press release. Unfortunately, many of the people on the web who offer
to write press releases for money don't really know how to write press
releases either. They know you don't know the difference between a
press release and an article or sales letter either, so they get away
with charging money for the service.
Go to any press release website. read the press releases. You'll see
more than 50% are self-promotion or just articles. If it doesn't read
like something you would read in a newspaper, it isn't a press release.
You can do a press release in the first person or from the company
perspective, but you have to be announcing something that is
newsworthy. Something new happening. Something that people will want to
know about. A merger, an acquisition, a partnership, a new website
launched, (Can only be done once!), a new blog launched, are all things
that can be newsworthy and must be presented as a news item, not as a
"Come Visit MY Website Please!" article.
Press releases do even better if written as a reporter would write
about your announcement. The Reporter, (press release writer), can even
interview you and others at your company for quotes to use in the press
release.
People are hungry for news. A press release should only be distributed
if there is news to announce. Yes you want to optimize your press
release for the search engines but SEO is not the number one purpose
for distributing a press release.
Announcing something newsworthy is the first reason. You only optimize
it because it is being distributed on the web and that is the secondary
purpose for the press release, not the first.
If you want good results for the money you spend on a press release, do
them sparingly and only when you have something newsworthy to announce.
You'll get more bang for your buck, more traffic, more people reading
about you, and you'll make back your investment every time.
How to Use a Press Release to Promote your Web Site
A press release, or a media release as it is sometimes called, is a way
to make an announcement to the news media about your organization and
your web site. This could be a product release, a webinar, a new
version of software
, a new section in your web site, the latest financial results, a new
strategic partnership and so on. The list is endless.
Press releases are used by all the major companies to inform the press
about what is going on in the company. As you read on, you will
discover the different parts that make up a press release, how to write
them well and how to distribute press releases on-line including at the
Free Press Release Center.
A press release is made up of different sections. It starts with a
headline then there is a summary of the press release and then this is
followed by the actual contents and finally the contact information. A
well written press release can capture the attention of journalists and
get you good exposure. In preparing your press release you need to
consider several key things which are outlined below.
The first part of the press release is the headline. The headline is in
title case. This Means You Capitalize Every Word Except for
Prepositions and Articles of Three Words or Less and Short. Ideally the
headline should not be more than 170 characters and it doesn't end with
the period (or a full stop as the British would say). Your headline
needs to be sharp, to the point and eye catching. Some journalists see
hundreds of press releases each day. Your one needs to stand out.
The summary paragraph is a synopsis of the press release in regular
sentence form. It doesn’t merely repeat the headline or
opening
paragraph. It just tells the story in a different way.
Next comes the actual text of the press release. This is known as the
body of the press release. The first paragraph, known as the "lead",
contains the most important information. After that you need to
remember that in a press release you need to keep sentences and
paragraphs short, about three or four lines per paragraph. The first
couple of paragraphs should cover the who, what, when, where, why and
how questions. The rest of the press release expounds on the
information provided in the lead paragraph. It includes quotes from key
staff, customers or subject matter experts. It contains more details
about the news you have to tell.
At the end of the press release you need to include a short back ground
paragraph about your organization. You then need to list the contact
person's name and phone number. You should include a phone number so
that journalists can contact you easily without having to wait for your
to reply to emails.
One very important thing to remember when writing a press release is
that you are writing for journalists and not for potential clients,
consumers or visitors to your web site. Journalists use press releases
as a starting point for a larger story or feature. Press releases
written as sales pieces will be completely ignored.
It can be very difficult to get your press release noticed by a
journalist. It is a sad fact, but many press releases are quickly
tossed in the trash without being studied. Journalists have deadlines
and a job to do. Press releases help them do that job, but unless your
press release stands out it will be in tomorrows garbage collection.
You need to get the journalists attention. The press release needs to
be good. It needs to contain news. And most of all it needs to be
better than the other 200 press releases the journalist saw that day.
Once your press release is ready you need to distribute it. A good
starting place is the Free Press Release Center. The power of FPRC is
in its keyword linking. With each press release the you can choose a
keyword and a URL (different to your main site URL) which will appear
as a link (using the keyword as the anchor text) in your press release.
This gives you free links to your site using the anchor text of your
choice. Plus it is in a natural context, i.e. the text of their release.
A press release is a great way to get media attention for your web
site. Used well your web site news can be tomorrows headlines.
20 Press Release Tips On How To Write And Submit A Press Release
A press release is a news release or press release is a written or
recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the
purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value.
Typically, it is mailed or faxed to assignment editors at newspapers,
magazines, radio stations, television stations, and/or television
networks. Commercial newswire services are also used to distribute news
releases. Sometimes news releases are sent for the purpose of
announcing news conferences.
1. Make your press release newsworthy and not just advertising for your
business. The media wants you to pay for the advertising they offer.
2. Send your press release to the media that relates to it only.
Blanket press releases to all media is a waste of everyone's time.
3. Press releases should never be more than one page long.
4. Put your header, contact information and release date at the top of
your press release.
5. When writing your press release use short sentences and double space
your lines.
6. Your header and first few sentences should grab the readers
attention.
7. Use the body of the press release to talk about your business, and
products or services you have. One way to do that is to tell a story
about your business.
8. Proofread your press release several times. This is important. You
do not want a press release going out with spelling or grammar errors.
9. Do you have a website? Write a press release about the new products
or services you're offering on your web site.
10. Create a press release about the results of an online survey or
poll you have completed.
11. Submit a press release about a trade show or seminar you're hosting
or attending.
12. Write a press release about a no cost class you are teaching that
would be of interest to the public.
13. Create a press release about your opening of a new web site, or any
awards your web site has one.
14. Write a press release about a free internet newsletter you're
publishing.
15. Create a press release about online products or services you're
giving away.
16. Submit a press release about a business association or club you're
starting.
17. Write a press release about a famous person that's endorsing your
business.
18. Create a press release about a partnership you are creating with
another business.
19. Submit a press release about a new book or e-book you wrote.
20. Write a press release about major sponsorships you're doing online.
You can see there are many different ways to use press releases to
announce what is going on in your business. Can you think of any
others? Thanks to the internet it has become easier to create and
announce press releases online.
How to Properly Write Press Releases
The good thing about press releases is that it is much cheaper than
cooking a huge ad campaign and the results if successful is even better
than the result of an ad campaign that required an enormous amount of
money. Now press releases are actually different from a resume, an
advertisement or a sales document. It is actually an article
written with a journalist's touch that aims to highlight the
interesting and newsworthy element of your company, product or event.
In making press releases you need to consider that you are having two
target audiences whenever you write one. You need to think of the
journalists who will first asses your press release and the audience
who will read it after the journalist found it newsworthy and had it
published.
Since you still need first pass through a ruthless and intensive
judgment of a journalist, you need to make sure that your press release
will be able to convince the journalist that your press release is
newsworthy to be published. Now these people are really busy and they
really get tons of press releases each day. One thing that you really
need to work on is how to make your press release unique and different
from any other press releases that they get each day. It must be able
to catch their attention just by the first look. And you also have to
keep in mind that since journalists are super busy people, a long and
flowery press release won't appeal them. So make your press release
brief and concise. In order for you to have this achieved, I have
prepared some tips that will be very helpful when you make one.
You need to first put on your release date. This will let your
journalist when to report your affair. Contact information should
follow the release date. It should include your name and number and
other contact details. A very informative, comprehensive and yet catchy
headline must be punched in after your contact information. This should
be catchy enough without too many words such as adjectives and adverbs.
It must be able to answer at least three of the Wh and H questions. The
introduction is next and this opening paragraph must be similar to the
dateline of a news article. You have to maintain the simplicity and the
newsworthiness even in this part of your press release. This should be
able to provide the basic information about the event being discussed
in your press release. The body of your press release must expand the
information discussed in your introduction. This is where you put your
supporting facts and issues that may be of help if your press release
gets published. A line or two about your company and its mission shall
complete the last part of your press release which happens to be the
company profile. It is sometimes referred to as the boilerplate. Then
you can just put the word END at the bottom of your press release as an
indicator that your article is finished. It will also be helpful if you
will put a more detailed and expanded contact information at the very
bottom of your paper. Adding your company logo will also help your
press release to get the authentic and official look.
Submitting Press Releases to Sell Affiliate Products
Many assume that press releases are only a method used by business
owners to bring media attention to their products or companies. This is
quite true, however, press releases can also be a great way to sell
affiliate products or a product that you own. Press releases
tend
to do very well in the search engines and they provide valuable back
links to your website. In this case, you're not writing your
press release for the media but rather for the average reader.
Press releases, when submitted to the right companies such as PR Web,
will give you tons of action in the search engines. This is
because they have developed certain technologies that make their press
releases very search engine friendly.
Another advantage is that you will have individuals and companies other
than news reporters or media outlets, picking up your press release and
placing it on their website. Subsequently, not only will you
get
back links to your press release but webmasters also publish them. This
means that you are able to benefit from hundreds or even thousands of
people reading your press release absolutely free.
When a company or an individual prints your press release on their
website, you are automatically getting an endorsement and being exposed
to a targeted market. All you had to do was create and submit your
press release.
In order for your press release to be successful, there are a number of
things that you must include. You will need to include the
keyword or keyword phrase that you are targeting in the headline of
your press release. You will also want to include it several times
throughout the release. You obviously need to add links to your website
also.
It is important to remember that press releases are not simply articles
or advertisements. You do need to spend some time and learn how to
write a quality press release. In order for your press
release to
be accepted by the top press release sites it has to be of high
quality. You can’t just slap anything together, submit it and
expect to receive results. On certain press release websites, you must
receive a certain quality score before you get full distribution of
your press release. Therefore, you will have to work very hard to
ensure your press release is newsworthy and well written. If
you
cannot do this yourself, you may want to outsource this task to someone
else.
Your better press release websites are not free. Typically,
you
will need to pay at least a small fee to get a good amount of
distribution and to ensure that your website link is hyper linked
(clickable).
Releases are a fantastic way to sell affiliate products or even a
product of your own. If you give them a try, you may be
surprised
at the amount of back links that you can quickly generate and also how
well your press release and website does in the search engines. It is
important to note that this is only true if you choose keywords or
keyword phrases that are not ultra competitive.
Press Release Service - Why is it Important for a Company to be in the
News
Although some companies have an in-house PR department to manage Press
Releases, for many companies, it may not be possible to distribute the
Press Release or Press Statement to all media channels due to resource
and manpower constraints. This is where companies providing
Professional Press Release Distribution Service become essential. A
Press Release is generally used to inform the public through news and
print media of an event or issue, or information for the general
public, which concerns the company. Press releases are also a useful
tool to create visibility about a company and its activities. In the
present day and times, with the whole world connected to the Internet
and most Internet savvy individuals spending many hours every day
searching and browsing for information, knowledge, services, products,
etc, an Online Press Release Service is extremely crucial for a
company, to create online visibility on the internet, through proper
and affordable Press Release Distribution Services and gain widespread
media coverage.
Some Press Release Distribution Services companies specializing in
offering Online Press Release Service also combine Search Engine
Optimization (SEO) with very high quality news distribution, thus
making the press releases more visible to the top search engines like
Google, Yahoo, and MSN. These Press Releases come up in searches when
users search with a search term related to the client company and the
Press Release, thus creating visibility for the company. These Press
Release Service companies ensure widespread coverage of the Press
Release, drawing the attention of bloggers, journalists, and general
public alike. Press Release Distribution Services companies also ensure
that the Press Releases and announcements reach the people interested
in the client company and its activities, company news and information,
etc, and provide links in the Press Release content for the interested
individuals to follow back to the companies website, thus ensuring
targeted traffic.
To increase a client company's online Internet presence, and thus the
potential for increasing sales and revenue, the Press Release
Distribution Services employ teams of experienced professionals with
years of experience in writing and optimizing Press Releases in many
diverse areas for many companies involved in many different fields like
Real Estate, entertainment, etc. This does not mean that these
companies offer Press Release Service only for big companies or large
Multinational corporations only. Press Release Services are very
affordable and are also available for individuals like members of the
legal and medical profession, small business professionals, and small
companies too, with different packages and services available according
to requirement.
In the modern world today, as in the good old days, it is important to
remember that - "Out of sight is Out of Mind", which simply means that
if a company or an individual is not visible continuously and regularly
in the print, news, and online Internet media, the world will soon
forget they exist, and move on to something more interesting. Everyone
wants fresh and interesting news and information on a regular basis and
abhors stale news and soon forgets an individual or company, which is
not in the news on a regular basis. As a company or individual,
aspiring to be visible on the Internet, it is important and crucial to
hire the services of a company providing Professional and experienced
Press Release Distribution Services.
Press Release Distribution Services - Let the World Know
This sometimes led to untrue information about the company being
printed and circulated, and led to misinformation for the general
public. In 1906, Ivy Lee, who is referred to as the first public
relations professional, advised the Pennsylvania Railroad, which had
recently suffered a tragic accident, to issue a press release to
journalists and print media, and provide correct and proper information
to the media, before they could write some other incorrect version of
the causes of the accident. He advised the company to properly inform
the journalists and news media about the accident and present the facts
of the incident before they could cook up a story on their own. This
incident led to the birth of Press Release Distribution Services and
the Press Release Service industry.
In the early years of the previous century, Press Releases were done
through the news and print media, radio, etc. In the last decade of the
previous century, with the boom in the use of Internet, Online Press
Releases caught on, giving birth to the Online Press Release Services
and Press Release Distribution Services industry. This industry is
booming today because the Internet is accessible all over the world and
not limited to a certain area, country, or continent. An Online Press
Release issued by a company in the USA can be seen and read by any
individual, anywhere in the world, at any time. The world today has
become a global village and that is why it is important for a company
to be known and recognized all over the world, and not just in its own
area, country, or continent.
There are many companies with varying degrees of experience and years
in the industry offering a multitude of services and packages. Many of
these companies only work with large companies and multinationals, but
many others also provide excellent, dedicated services to individuals
and small companies too. Press Release Distribution Services is also
used as an online marketing strategy, through targeted press release
distribution and has become an essential tool for staying competitive
and well known in today's market. Online affordable Press Release
Services include news and information delivery to a multitude of
channels that reach specific audiences including industrial media,
potential clients and investors, newswires, and more on a regional,
national, and global scale.
In the current competitive market, every one, be at a successful
individual, or a multi national company, requires solid Press Release
Distribution Services. Whether it is a successful individual like
Britney Spears, Madonna, or President George Bush, or a company like
Ford, Coca Cola, or a small company in Texas, or Delhi, all of them
require Press Release Service, to properly present their image, provide
information, news, and views, ensure visibility, and also to ensure
that the general public gets the right information at the right time.
Press Release Services provided by these Professional and experienced
Press Release Distribution Services also include writing the Press
Releases, and assisting the client companies and individuals in writing
a Press Release in the proper format and with proper words in the
content. A properly formatted and worded Press Release is as important
as the proper distribution to the right channels and media. An
improperly formatted or improperly worded Press Release has a negative
impact and may damage the companies / individuals image and reputation.
That is why it becomes crucially important to select the right Press
Release Distribution Services Company, which provides all services, and
at an affordable price too.
4 Ways to Create an Interesting and Appealing Press Release
Whenever you are ready to launch a new online venture, a great way to
drive targeted traffic
to your new website is to write a great press release. When writing a
press release it is important to keep a few things in mind to avoid
having your press release labeled as shameless self promotion.
Even though the press release is a form of advertising, it is important
that it does not sound like advertising. A good press release should
sound like a third party that has nothing to gain by the press release
informing interested parties of a potentially interesting website or
online business
.
The first thing to keep in mind when writing a press release is that
you want to convince the reader that you are providing valid,
researched, information rather than presenting your opinion as fact. A
great way to show the reader that the information contained in the
press release is legitimate is to provide statistics. Hard numbers and
facts will help give the press release some credibility. When providing
statistics stick to simple numbers that help illustrate or back up
statements made in the press release that will not be to confusing.
Secondly, make sure the press release is written in an interesting
manner. Be entertaining even when facts are being presented. Write your
press release in the same manner as a news article or something that is
going to be read for entertainment reasons. A dry press release
containing nothing but facts and figures is not going to make
interesting reading and will not create the same buzz that a creative,
entertaining press release will.
Third, when writing your press release do not constantly mention your
domain name or website. Most press releases will have a contact area
for media and that area will give you the chance to provide the
relevant domain name. Mentioning the website domain name by providing
the full URL once in the body of the press release is also acceptable.
Having the domain name present in the press release anymore than that
will make the press release seem like nothing more than a way to get
free promotion and will be ignored by many of the people you want to
read the press release.
Lastly, do not stuff your press release with keywords or sales jargon.
Remember, a press release is not a sales pitch. It is completely
possible to promote yourself, your product, and your website without
sounding like an online sales
person.
Press Release Writing- an Important Tool for Link Building
A press release or a news release as it’s called is nothing
but
simple statement carrying news about the schedule events or
announcements of an organization. Press release writing is
meant
for online media distribution.
As more and more people are looking for online news to get information,
there is a stiff competition among web sites to come on high ranks on
search engines hunt. Along with quality SEO content writing, link
building is an important tool to optimize your web page according to
Search engine tools. And especially inbound links are vital to help in
getting high ranks. There are different ways to increase link building
such as by directory submission, article submission, blog submission
and finally press release submission. Correctly optimized press release
writing can build link equity. Press release writing can be used as an
effective search engine optimization marketing tool.
If you wonder how to write a press release, then no need to worry.
Writing a press release is not that tricky only if one follows the
standard format. Press releases should always contain relevant as well
as noteworthy news concerning the organization. Writing quality press
releases has its own advantage for your releases can be submitted on
other relevant sites and this helps in more number of viewers which in
turn generates high rank from search engine optimizer tools. If your
news item is managed to be displayed by search engine biggies like
Google and Yahoo, your website rank increases automatically without any
effort.
Keywords are very important in any SEO content writing and Press
release writing is also no exception. The selection of keyword should
be based on extensive latest research. It should be mostly looked for
yet less competitive. A keyword-rich content on press release is
precious for your business. An appropriate keyword density level
(between 8 to 15%) should be maintained. A correctly optimized press
release ought to have keyword links in it which helps getting high
ranks from search engines. While writing a press release, you should
try to use keywords in backlinks (i.e. links back to your website).
This is another way to promote your website.
After writing press releases, another important task is to submit these
releases. You can send the text in form of mails to newspaper and web
editors. However a more a more efficient way is to submit the press
release writings into the online press release services for the search
engines often spider those service sites. If your content is original
and well written, the chances of getting high rankings by search
engines are better.
After the press release is distributed among online media, make sure to
publish the press release writing on your website and put them into an
RSS feed, it will act as an endorsement to reach out to more number of
viewers and a is considered as a smart move for optimization purpose.
Optimized press release writing will coerce your potential clients
which in turn will help increasing your business.
The 4 Major Problems Found in Press Releases
The Four Biggest Problems Found In All News or Press Releases
Press releases, sometimes called news releases are powerful promotional
tools, they often reach people across the country, or even the world at
zero cost.
A press release is typically free in print publications; multiple
newswires will broadcast your news item over the Internet, occasionally
for no charge, often with a fee.
If they are going do what they do, however, press releases must be
composed of powerful writing. In only a 500 word document, these news
releases can reach
Here are 4 pitfalls which you'll want to work around:
1. Being Overly Sales-Oriented
On the surface, a press release is about information. It's job is to
create hype of your your service and product and create an image of
your company and yourself as standouts in your particular niche. It
ought to sound like a factual story; an excess of storytelling, flowery
writing, or first and second-person styling will remove the
authoritative nature of your press release.
2. Not being self-promotional in the article
The ultimate outcome of a news or press release is encouraging the
readers to purchase from your business. It should always lead back to
you, your business, your services and products, and your place of
business. Keeping that goal in your mind, your news needs to be more
compelling than a traditional "Grand Opening!" That is OK to have when
you're embarking, although some more thought-provoking options are
discussed in Tip number 4. Attempt to finish the press release with an
action phrase.
3. Being too infrequent
A news or press release should never be considered a singular event;
rather, send them out often to attain a cumulative benefit. once every
month is a proper frequency to maintain and establish awareness. Also,
make sure to distribute them to many newswires. Depending on whether
yours is an online business, a brick-and-mortar business, or both, you
have a bunch of choices like local news paper(s), trade publications
and magazines, and online news or press release services. For the
greatest wide-reaching advertisement effect, then send it to multiple
places.
4. Poor selection of release date
More often than not, the nightly news is all related to a particular
has reader's attention from the start. The editors be automatically
more into the press release because it is similar.
# Tie in with a special event in your town, a religious holiday or
other special day. Your calendar is always full of special events like
awareness weeks and recognition months, and other special times. It is
usually easy to find one of these to connect to your service and
product.
# Write about a current controversial subject. Or make a controversy,
by challenging something an expert has recently done or said.
# Reveal a scam. People love to complain about scams!
# Use your document to announce a free report, white paper, or guide
you have recently published. (Be ready to deliver the freebie)
When created properly, news or press releases can be powerful marketing
tools. If you don't want to write your press releases yourself hire
someone skilled in writing press releases and get in the habit of
submitting press releases on a regular basis. Dedication to this
particular piece of marketing pays off in greater exposure and bigger
profits.
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