8 replies to this topic

[Fresh]

Hi!

I know how article submission plays an important role in attracting links and growing a site. But what's involved with a press release? I read about companies that will supposedly send my release to many thousands of opt-in customers and news media. Sounds too good to be true. Anyone know of good honest press release services? I want and need to get the word out about my site/services asap.

Feedback and experiences appreciated.

Thank You.

[Jill]

Welcome Fresh!

I know how article submission plays an important role in attracting links and growing a site.

Not really. It was a good idea a few years ago, but then the spammers took it over, so today -- not so much.

But what's involved with a press release?

Pretty much same thing. Was a good idea years ago till the spammers killed it.

It's still a good idea as far as traditional "getting the word out," but you actually have to have something to get the word out about. Just talking about your products or services isn't press-worthy material however.

You may want to read our publicity forum for more info.

[jehochman]

I still get good results with press releases, but the investment is significant. You need professional quality copywriting. You need a story that's worthy of coverage. You need to develop a targeted list, or pay somebody like Bacons to distribute your release.

If you make the investment, you can get picked up in online publications that generate worthwhile links. The free or cheap online services are essentially worthless.

[RiYo]

Jonathan, what do you consider a 'cheap online service' if you look at a price. The reason why I ask, is that a friend of mine was asked by a company (well known in the Netherlands) if he was interested in this kind of service: you pay them approx $65 and they distribute it.

I have no idea if he generated any extra revenue because of the article yet. He was very happy as his pressrelease popped up on the second page in Google within a week for keywords he choose. But I must admit that he only told me about this experiment afterwards, when I asked for his keywords it turned out that hardly anybody is searching for them according to Keyw Discovery.

I have a meeting planned with them next week, just see how they do when we will be using highly competitive keywords!

Richard

[toprank]

The problem with many press releases is that not only are spammers attracted to them as Jill says, but people who couldn't write their way out of a wet paper bag. Most wire services are "OK" at editorial quality, but there are too many relases being distributed to get it 100%.

Press releases are simply a tool. The better you are at using the tool, the more you get out of it.

It is rare to get a lot of value out of a single press release any more, especially if you're using it as some kind of direct marketing tool - i.e. to generate leads/sales from the one press release. It is often more effective to do a series to build awareness and credibility and to mix in direct response messages as you go. Where you'll get the most value is when the release gets picked up by prominent publications/blogs. Just be sure to embed links and even create landing pages for better conversions and tracking.

[Scottie]

Our own Qwerty wrote and released a press release about his week and his cats enjoying their birthday present. It was accepted and given a "high quality" rating.

[ToolInventor]

Look for good, lovely, news value in the release. And you'll have great luck with it.

If the news is dull, better skip press release this time.

[jehochman]

Distribution for $65 is cheap. You should measure the results and see if it helps. I've never seen a surge of web traffic on a cheapo release. When we place a story in PCWorld, the effect is noticeable.

[john892]

I would also say that $65 is rather cheap. You will probably get your press release submitted to a few free PR sites and that is it. I say this because it costs at least around $30 - $65 just to get a good to alright placement for your press release in PRweb