| Of all
the methods of Web Site Promotion, the
Press Release is by far the most
beneficial tool available. It is also one
of the least used tools. When thinking of
Web Site Promotion, a web site owner or
his delegate has to consider what method
of promotion will bring the best results.
But, a majority of these people fail to
recognize the significance of the Press
Release. Press Releases are one of
the few documents that can be submitted
one time to one location, but be
considered for publication in millions of
other locations. Press Releases submitted
to a quality News Distribution Service
are routinely reviewed by a bunch of
Journalists. Journalists from all forms
of media consider use of Press Releases
in their publication. It is probable that
a Press Release of significance will get
selected by numerous Journalists for
inclusion in their publication or media
as a Press Release, as well as used for a
subsequent news feature. How many times
has Google generated a Press Release that
creates news features on television,
radio, print publications, and all over
the Internet? In case you aren’t
sure the answer, every time.
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| Now,
most of us will never write a Press
Release of such significance as to reach
all forms of media like a Google press
release, but a simple Press Release from
an unknown stands a pretty good chance of
getting significant distribution. A Press
Release published on the Internet,
immediately upon publication generates
attention to your business or web site.
How? Most of the News Media select Press
Releases for inclusion to their Internet
news publications. Most of these News
Media sites also are Free Content
Providers to millions of other web sites
by offering free news feed linkage from
the News Media site. Not all of the sites
using such feeds are going to select the
specific feed that carries your Press
Release. But, what if only one in ten do?
You cannot pay for banner ads or search
engine placement that will give you as
much promotion in a single day. Press Releases
are one of the few documents that get
published in other media that immediately
attract attention to your business or web
site. Newspapers, Newsletters, Magazines,
and a large amount of company bulletin
boards frequently pick up and publish
Press Releases from News Distribution
Services. If your Press Release is picked
up for publication, the first day of its
release will probably be the strongest in
the print media. However, newsletters and
magazines usually are not a daily or
weekly publication. So it’s possible
that two weeks or a month after its
release, your Press Release will get
another strong viewing.
Press
Releases are one of the few documents
that get published to numerous locations
without much effort. One single Press
Release, submitted to a quality News
Distribution Service is considered for
publication in millions of media
publications, read by tens of million
readers. So, even if only one of these
publications picks up and publishes your
Press Release . . . Do the math!
A Press
Release is the best method of increasing
Search Engine Ranking by linkage. Once a
Press Release is published by any of the
News Media, it is archived in a
searchable database. This placement of
your link into a high ranking, high
traffic media site is priceless. Test
this for yourself if you wish. Simply
prepare and distribute a press release.
Within two to five days, do a search for
your web site. If your Press Release was
accepted and published, you will find a
number of links from the media that
published your Press Release back to your
web site. And, what if one of those media
sites just happen to be Google or Time
Magazine? We can wish and dream,
can’t we?
What do
you have to do to get your Press Release
published? There are only two rules to
successful Press Release distribution and
publication. 1. WRITE WELL. And 2. SUBMIT
IT WELL. There are no Editors that like
poorly written anything. Poorly worded or
full of grammatical errors gets one
thing, the trash. And, regardless of many
peoples opinion, the News Distribution
Service utilized is very important. You
can submit a press release about Jimmy
Johnson getting caught eating boogers and
subsequently getting promoted from the
Mailroom to Building Maintenance, as long
as you follow the proceeding rules.
To write
a Press Release well, you have to
understand the use of a Press Release. A
press Release is not a Sales Brochure. A
Press Release is not for telling stories
about your weird Uncle Alfred. A press
Release is to tell the world some
newsworthy event has or will occur. And
believe it or not, your web site or
business probably has such newsworthy
events happening all the time. Once you
have ascertained that you have such an
event to tell the world about, you have
to write your article properly. Not only
do most places you can submit your Press
Release to require it be in a certain
format, but they also expect it to read a
certain way.
A Press
Release should start strong with an
informative title, followed by an equally
strong first paragraph. The first
paragraph should contain answers to Who,
What, Where, When, and Why. Subsequent
paragraphs should be used for interview
quotes and or supportive content. Having
done that, there is one more important
element to a proper Press Release. There
is no such thing as an anonymous Press
Release. Press Releases contain all the
specifics relative to the person making
the Press Release. There are some Editors
and Journalists that actually want to
discuss the Press Release content, and
your Press Release will not see the first
glimpse of publication if they are unable
to contact you.
This
article has not prepared you for writing
and distributing your Press Release
properly. Doing so is not my intent. The
sole intent of this article has been to
raise your awareness regarding the value
of Press Releases. I recommend that you
consult a professional, read a book on
the topic, or find a friend that works in
Public Relations to help you for best
promotion of your company or web site
using Press Releases. But, if you are
willing to put forth the effort, you will
find the Press Release one of the
strongest promotional tools available to
you in any media.
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