14 replies to this topic

[ATR33]

Hello and thanks in advance,

I need to submit a press release for a non-profit organization I volunteer for (from time to time) and the budget is $0. I know of many websites I could use (most especially prweb.com) but to get into Google, Yahoo and MSN news you need to pay.

Do you know of any tool that will distribute also to those channels (Google, Yahoo and MSN news) at no cost?


Thanks/regards

[Michael Martinez]

All the distribution sites I know of charge fees for guaranteed inclusion in Google news results. However, you might actually do better to talk directly with your local media. Instead of sending them a press release, just write them a nice note explaining what's newsworthy.

Many television stations and newspapers now have "Submit a news story tip" or "Submit a feature story idea" forms on their Web sites. I've had pretty good success using those forms through the years.

They cost you nothing and, in my opinion, are more likely to get attention than a stock press release distributed through an Internet service.

[ATR33]

I see...

Thanks for you reply; so, none of the press release websites that have a "free submit" (and I have seen a few) are worth trying?

Thanks

[Randy]

It depends upon your definition of "worth trying" ATR.

The general idea behind press releases is to get your message out to the Press, with the Press then picking it up and getting your message out to the real people who make up your target audience. If this happens the odds are your release is going to get picked up by G/Y/M News anyway since many Press sites are what they keep an eye on.

There's certainly no guarantee that any of it will happen from a free Press Release, but it never hurts to try. You're not going to do any harm by getting the word out. It is however wise to determine and track who actually picks up your release regardless of whether you use a free or paid service. This way you may be able to feed releases directly to those who are picking them up because of an interest they've shown, effectively removing much of the Paid vs. Free Release question from the equation.

[jehochman]

If you invest $500 worth of time to write a good press release, why wouldn't you spend another $80 - $500 to make sure it gets distributed widely? If you want to be cheap and do the distribution work yourself (which is OK with me) then you should generate your own custom media list. Identify all the relevant media outlets and reporters and send each one an email with your press release attached as a simple Word document. Make sure you send to an address that invites news stories. On the website it will say something like, "send your news to." Don't spam.

Does this sound like a lot of hard work? Yup, it is.

[Michael Phillips]

Hi there,

I used to work for a web-site that got fantastic results from PR in the UK, which also had a great impact on their SERPS because they then got links for authority sites such as newspapers and the BBC.

However, they certainly didn't achieve any of the above by submitting to PRweb et al. To get good online coverage for your story you need:
1 - A good story to tell. I know this sounds obvious, but unless your story offers something new I.e. new research, then journalists will not write about it.
2 - build relationships. Good PR is founded on building relationships with journalists / your target media. A PR agency may help you do that if you can afford it. In the short term a PR agency is expensive, but if they know their stuff they will more than pay their way in exposure. That said, if your story is good you won't need it.

Overall, there is no harm in submitting to PRweb etc, but I wouldn't expect any front page headlines off the back of it.

Hope this helps

Michael

[ATR33]

If you invest $500 worth of time to write a good press release, why wouldn't you spend another $80 - $500 to make sure it gets distributed widely? ........

Does this sound like a lot of hard work? Yup, it is.

Because the non-proft I volunteer for (from time to time ) has $0 budget. I am trying to get the best exposure with what I have that's all.

Thanks for your input anyway.

.........
2 - build relationships. Good PR is founded on building relationships with journalists / your target media. .....

Overall, there is no harm in submitting to PRweb etc, but I wouldn't expect any front page headlines off the back of it.

Hope this helps

Michael

OK thanks for your message. All we have is time. Do you have any tips to suggest about your item No2? Building relationship with the media?

Thanks/regards

[Michael Phillips]

Hi there

In terms of targetting, I would suggest the following:

1 - Make a list of the media you most want to be featured within. Its worth thinking about "reach" and "relevancy". I.e. its great to get a mention on the big sites or newspapers (reach), but also think about the niche publications that may get you a better qualified response (relevancy).

2 - Once you have your list, make an effort to read the publications and get to know the editorial angle taken by the journalists. You will start to notice when the journalist uses third party sources for data or for comments. Think about what you would say to the Journo if they wanted you to say something new and interesting. How would you substantiate what you say (i.e. do you have data from a poll on your site)

3 - Now short list the journalists you think are most likely to talk to you.

4 - Start building press releases and send them out. Getting a journo to notice you is not easy, but be persistent. Remember, you need to be an authority on your area, you may need to write a Biog on yourself or your spokes people.

I apologise if any of this is obvious, I hope it helps

Michael

[jehochman]

Because the non-proft I volunteer for (from time to time ) has $0 budget... Thanks for your input anyway.

I like the way you elided my comments about how to do it yourself at no cash cost.

You seem to be looking for some magic free thing that is valuable. I assure you it doesn't exist. You either need to pay for distribution with money, or with your own time and effort.

[ATR33]

Hi there

In terms of targetting, I would suggest the following:....



Michael

Thanks Michael it does help - a lot!

[copywriter]

There is a way to get news into Google News at no charge. We had a post on this a while back. Let me see if I can find a link to it.

[copywriter]

OK, there's this one.

And this one.


There are others. Just search this forum for Google News.

[Michael Martinez]

ATR33 was just asking how to get a press release into Google News. Those links discuss how people can get Google News to pick up their article feeds, which is a different matter.

[jehochman]

You can create your own feed, send it through Feedburner, and then Google will automatically pick it up. This gets your news feed into Google Reader searches. It won't necessarily get you into Google News. Anyhow, check Feedburner because it's free, and it's helpful.

I don't think you can get stuff into Google News unless an editor runs the press release in some sort of independent publication, or unless you use one of the paid services. Think about it. If it was free or trivially easy to send stuff to Google News, they would get spammed to death.

From Google News:

Google News is a computer-generated news site that aggregates headlines from more than 4,500 English-language news sources worldwide, groups similar stories together and displays them according to each reader's personalized interests.

[ATR33]

ATR33 was just asking how to get a press release into Google News. Those links discuss how people can get Google News to pick up their article feeds, which is a different matter.

Well any exposure would do at this point (not just Google News) since the budget is $0.

I've got some good tips so far...thanks all