When I first got started in the world of Internet Marketing we were given a lot of different things that we should do to help out our business. If we wanted to get traffic to our website we should write articles and send them to article directories, send out emails with our autoresponders, meet people so we could have Joint Venture opportunities with them.
And with all that was thrown in to do press releases. But you really don’t hear a lot about them now, well I didn’t until I read an article the other day.
Press releases are very effective in announcing news to the outside media and news world. Most are syndicated by RSS feed to other web sites, blogs and RSS readers.
They are usually shorter and straight to the point making them easier to read and pick out information from than lengthy journals, so people who want to find information for business purposes will find it easier by searching Google news to find the most relevant press release.
Press releases are most effective when they are under 500 words, generally two to three paragraphs, preceded by a clear and attention grabbing headline.
Anytime your story gets picked up by web sites (and in particular news web sites), it creates an inbound link which helps with your site ranking. A few years ago you could almost guarantee a media person would call you if you posted your release in an online newsroom like Prweb.
When your press release resides online, whether it’s through a service like Prweb or you’ve just put the release in the media room on your site, you need to treat this release just like you treat a web site and optimize it using keywords and techniques that are “web friendly”.
For most newbies starting out, if you want to use press releases I would pick some of the free services available. That way you can kind of get a feel for how they work, then when you feel comfortable you can try the paid ones like PRweb. A few things you want to remember are to make sure it is professionally written and you have something newsworthy to say.
There are many free sites you can use like 1888PressRelease.com, 24-7PressRelease.com, Express-Press-Release.com and Free-Press-Release.com to name a few. Just do a Google search for free press release sites to find more.
Press Releases are still around and there are still a number of people who use them. I am not one of them but it still looks like something that could help with getting more traffic to your website and that is the name of the game. It may be something I need to try.
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Yes, there are still many people using press releases, and they still work well.
To have the most effect from them, you will want to learn how to properly write one, as they are not the same as writing an article that we normally do.
May 3rd, 2009 at 9:14 pm
I thought that to be successful with press releases your needed to pay for one of the big services. Thanks for suggesting the free ones. I suspect they won’t be as powerful, but it is another avenue that can serve to get traffic. And that’s what I want.
May 4th, 2009 at 5:50 am
Good solid advice, Andre – and some great free PR sites thrown in to boot – well done! Press releases really are a great way to drive traffic if you have something truly newsworthy to tell the world.
Doug Champigny´s last blog post..3 Powerful Internet Marketing Resources To Download For Free
May 4th, 2009 at 8:42 am
Hey,
That’s a very good question. Press releases are still very much a big part of listed companies method to communicate with journalists. However I have posted a variation on how to get maximum visibility on your news on the web. Please comment if you whish… jesperastrom.com/social-communication/releasing-news-through-social-media
Best regards,
Jesper
Jesper Åström´s last blog post..Social Networking and CRM
May 7th, 2009 at 11:08 am
I have never use a press release. I have heard of them. Looks like I should take a look at some of the free ones you suggested.
What is the “media room on your site” that you referred to in your post?
May 7th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
I haven’t done it much lately, but I had good success with free press releases. Google pick them up, certainly if it appears to be fresh content!
Fred
Fred Lotgering´s last blog post..Delavo™ coming May 17th
May 7th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Very cool info Andre,
You are correct in that you really don’t hear too much about Press Releases any more.
I agree in that they are still effective and a very good way to get some additional traffic and backlinks (always good).
Thanks for the list of the free press release sites. I have heard a lot about PRweb, but the others are ones I haven’t heard of.
Thanks,
Brett McEllhiney´s last blog post..How do I find ideas for my niche blogs?
May 7th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Hey Lonnie, media room is just my fancy attempt to jazz up “blog”. Guess it didn’t catch on very well. LOL.