I’ve had a flurry of press release projects lately. Mostly for online submission. The last release I submitted, the last time I checked, had received 267 hits from one site alone! However, many businesses think they don’t have any news to submit. That is not always true. So how do you know if you are newsworthy?
You can submit press releases to both online or offline media whenever you hire a new employee, release quarter earnings, have a website redesign, add a new product line, partner with a nonprofit–any number of similar situations. It doesn’t have to be something really grand, it can be any simple change.
Take that information and format it into a press release. Talk about what has occurred, why it has occurred, when it has occurred and where, if applicable. Then start submitting. If you submit to offline media and the news is something small, you might want to just submit the press release to your local media–even though your business is online. Just mention to the media that you live in or are based in their coverage area. Local media loves to have a local tie-in. Expect at least a mention in their business section.
For smaller news items online submission is the way to go. Take advantage of the free submission opportunities offered by online submission sites. The sites are put out there and are searchable so you’ll want to make sure you have your keywords in there based on search terms applicable to your announcement. Some of the sites also allow you to include one link in your press release so you can also be building backlinks to your site. So it is well worth the effort.
If the announcement is a small one stick to the free submission service. However if you’ve got something significant to say you might want to invest in the paid placement.
What do you have you can announce? Look around you and make a list and create a press release for each thing you can think of and start submitting.