There are so many ways to promote yourself on the web through ads or link exchanges or commenting on other people’s blogs and hoping to catch their attention. However, often businesses forget about the little one-page tool called a press release. Combined with other services your press release can accomplish so much beyond simply contacting offline media.
It helps zero in on your message
If you engage in do-it-yourself public relations you know how powerful a press release can be in getting your message out. A press release takes your message and puts it in a succinct package ready for consumption by media professionals, bloggers or the general public. It tells everyone why you are newsworthy. It’s like: “Yeah, I’m newsworthy. What, you didn’t know that? Oh, wait here’s a press release that tells you why you should care.”
It’s a good way to build links
I know that there are some that will argue that this isn’t a good purpose for an online press release, but there is little dispute that a properly optimized press release will turn up in search results and usually pretty high up in the ranks. This is, of course, assuming you have something newsworthy to put out there. So why not capitalize on the bit of link juice and the attention it brings?
It’s an excuse to put your contact info out there
OK as a journalist this makes me bristle because it is self-promotion and starts to veer away from newsworthiness as far as the intent. But the fact is, if you write a press release you need to put your contact info on it. Everyone wants and expects this–including journalists who need it if they want to contact you about doing a story based on the press release. So this is different than say, what you should do to market yourself in social media. If you tried to put your contact info in all your Twitter or Facebook posts or blog comments you’d lose friends fast, but with a press release it’s supposed to be there.
So how do you use press release services to your advantage?
- Choose some highly reputable press release services
- Hire a press release writer to draft a professional press release for you and define what you should be announcing
- If you are writing your own press release make sure to have someone else look it over and give their opinion
- Find some popular press release submission sites and submit your press release or invest in press release services to submit your press release
Press releases are an efficient way to get your message out while saving you money in your marketing efforts. Have you found press releases helpful to your public relations strategy?