Online Press Releases
The traditional way of distributing press releases is to get contact information for the media and mail, fax or e-mail press releases to them. That can still work, but there is now another option: online press release distribution.
Copyright by Cathy Stucker, The Idea Lady(tm)
The traditional way of distributing press releases is to get contact information for the media and mail, fax or e-mail press releases to them. That can still work, but there is now another option: online press release distribution.
Online distribution does not replace the traditional methods, it is an enhancement. And it offers benefits that you don’t get with standard distribution.
The purpose of sending press releases is usually to get your story covered by the press. That is one possible result of online press releases, but not the only one or even the most important one. Online press releases also enhance your online presence and give you at least a short-term boost in the search engines.
Many online press releases are archived for a long time, and they will continue to show up in response to search engine queries. And, they may be posted to several sites, each of which may send traffic to your Web site.
I make it a habit to ask people who contact me how they heard about me. One person who called to offer a consulting opportunity said she didn’t recall exactly, but she had found me in an online search. When she e-mailed the agreement, it contained a keyed address that I had used in a press release I had posted online more than two years earlier. That press release had not resulted in any media stories (at least, not that I am aware) but it did get me an offer for a great job.
Recently, I decided to try an online press release to make people aware of my blog at http://www.MysteryShoppersManual.com/ I have a marketing partnership with PR Web Direct (see http://idealady.prwebdirect.com/) and used the basic service. The day the press release went out I saw traffic increase to the blog site, and when I check my stats, I continue to find visitors who were referred through the press release.
Although writing a release for the Web is similar to writing other press releases, one thing you want to keep in mind is the importance of keywords. Include your most important keywords in the headline, the summary and the text.
As in a traditional release, your release should be news, not an ad. Make it newsy, and it may be picked up by lots of Web sites.
To learn more about writing and distributing online press releases, see http://idealady.prwebdirect.com/ For more on publicity see http://www.IdeaLady.com/article/pr
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