When you submit a press release to one of the free press release sites, like PRLog.org or PressReleasePoint.com, you might be afraid your release will get drowned in the sea of press releases you’ll find on those sites. The bad news is you’re probably right. But there’s some good news, too. There are things you can do with your releases, both before and after they’re published, not only to increase the likelihood that they’ll get read and used by others, but to make sure your friends, fans, and acquaintances see them, too.

1. When you write your press release, make the topic one that pertains to your website or its products but make sure it contains information that can be useful to anyone.

2. Keep your press release relatively short; 250-700 words is the ideal range. Make it too long and it won’t get read, too short and it won’t have enough relevant info.

3. To make your release official-looking, put a dateline at the beginning: Sept. 26, 2010 - Lehi, Utah –. Keep in mind that some sites automatically put a date at the beginning but not

your location. So always include the location but look at other press releases on the site before you submit yours to see whether the date is automatically included or not. Most press release sites have a Preview feature you can click to see what your release will look like before you publish it. Use it to check the look of your press release thoroughly.

4. Always include your company name or website in the headline. A press release isn’t an article. In an article, the topic is the most important thing to put in its title. In a press release, WHO the press release is about is just as important as WHAT.

5. Put an About section at the end of your release. Make it about you and your company. Include your website. For you, this is the most important part of the press release.

6. At the end of your About section include your contact information. This is important. If it’s missing, no one will know to go to your website or call you.

7. End the copy (text) of your press release with ###. It’s the professional way to signal editors and readers that it’s the end of your press release. The rest is the background information in your About section and contact info.

8. Finally, to keep your releases from going uselessly into cyber-oblivion, wait until you receive notification that your press release has been published, then link to it from your blog, your Facebook page, and your Tweets. In fact, you can use it more than once as long as you do it a few days or weeks apart.

Below is a table of free press release sites you can use to spread your press release around. Thanks to www.PressReleasePoint.com for this list.

Posted by StoresOnline on August 30, 2010 at 10:36 AM under
marketing-blog
• 6 comments
Comments

Comments

  1. Roger K. on August 30, 2010 at 6:40 PM said:
    Very useful tips, and great list of press release sites. What are your thoughts on keyword hyperlinks within press releases that point to your website and/or products. Good idea? Bad idea? Or the ever popular "it depends"? ;-) Thanks, Roger K. GimmeMyDomains.com
  2. Dominic Bria on September 9, 2010 at 3:31 PM said:
    Good idea as long as you don't go overboard. They're great as backlinks but if your release is filled with them it looks messy and desperate. I would use no more than 3 or 4 in an average-sized release and make sure they're well-spaced and, most important, RELEVANT. Thanks for the comment!
  3. Scaune on January 3, 2011 at 1:17 PM said:
    What do you think is important: the press release itself or the links will follow.
  4. Ben K on January 9, 2011 at 4:51 AM said:
    As a Stores Online Australian Customer can you recommend a list of Australian Media Release sites. And whoudl we put our releases on these US sites as well
  5. StoresOnline on January 13, 2011 at 4:17 PM said:
    @Scaune - While the press release may get seen by someone doing a search on that topic, the greater value will probably be in the back-link. That's because when you get enough of them, they start to make a big difference in your search rank.
  6. StoresOnline on January 13, 2011 at 4:19 PM said:
    @Ben K - PressReleasePoint.com has special sections for specific countries, including Australia (www.PressReleasePoint.com/Australia). Beyond that I haven't seen press release sites that limit submissions to a specific country. If you only want to capture attention in Australia, just be sure to include the word "Australia" in your press release multiple times. Also, check out press release possibilities in more local publications. Some have online editions you can get into if you can't get into the print version. Just make your release newsworthy, as opposed to being an advertisement.
Leave a Comment: