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The Power of Press Releases - Why They Work and How to
Make Them Work for You
If you've done any internet
marketing at all, or participated in any direct online advertising, then you
have probably heard of the press release. If you have done none of these
things, then this article will be a powerful eye-opener to you because the
online PR is one of the most powerful and cost-effective promotional tools you
can use today.
What is a press release?
You can think of a PR as a
highly-focused and newspaper-like article that is promoted and syndicated for
you. Unlike free articles, the press release, once written, is a paid
distribution. You choose a press release service such as PR Web or PR Leap, pay
their submission fee, and the press release service will publish your PR on
their site and syndicate it to dozens or perhaps hundreds of online news sites
as well.
Why is a PR so effective?
Consider the concept of article
marketing. You write an article, like this one, and publish it on a site like
EzineArticles, articlebase, hubspot and so on. This is a free service,
generally, and your article is then read and possibly syndicated by other web
users. It's a great way to build back links and to establish you and your
business' authority on your related subjects.
Now, a press release is similar
to this, except that because you pay a PR service to distribute your article,
you get much faster and bigger results. Like a free article, a PR can contain
useful information, a link to your website or other online sources and even
your mailing and contact information. It is a very fast and effective means of
drawing attention to yourself and your company.
What makes a good press
release?
Now we come to the heart of the
matter. A PR must be treated a bit differently than an article or a blog. It's
generally thought of, and rightly so, as a more serious and professional
publication. In many cases, in fact, a good press release will get picked up
and published in print as well as online.
It's a lot more difficult to
get away with amateur writing, poor content and sloppy grammar in a press
release. The expected standards are much higher for a PR and the audiences who
read them do so with a certain expectation of being informed by a serious
source.
So unlike a blog entry, which
can be very informal, or an article which can be humorous while being
informative, a release should be thought of as a real piece of journalism. It's
important to write it carefully or have it written by a professional who knows
what they are doing. Let's look at the three core features of a good release:
1.
Content quality: Keep the quality of your PR's content very
high. This means not only compelling writing that is designed for the human as
well as the search engine, but it also means stick to a specific point. Make
your press release about one topic related to your company or what it is you're
trying to get noticed.
2.
Be accurate: it's a good idea to include statistics, figures and
facts to support your news item when writing a press release. But make sure
these bits of information are correct. It's a good idea to even cite your
sources whenever possible. This gives your PR credibility and you as well.
3.
Grammar is important: This seems simple but it's quite critical.
Carefully write your press release, spell check it and then review for
grammatical errors. It's not a bad idea to have someone else review it as well.
Even if you do not do this, give yourself a day after writing to review it
again, just to get a fresh perspective. Remember, once the release goes live,
you can't edit it.
The rule of thumb for a good
and effective press release is accuracy and credibility. If you throw something
together that is sloppy or incorrect, it can have long-reaching negative
effects on your traffic and your reputation. You want each PR you publish to
strengthen the message of the next. If you are careful, and take the time,
efforts and pay the price to create high-quality press releases, the effect on
your image, traffic and financial bottom line will be better than you can
imagine.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_W_Cook
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