[stacyfox]

Hey everyone,

I have my news.google.com page set up to track specific things I'm interested in - in addition to the headlines for US News, World News, Sports, etc. For instance, I do a lot of work in the surviving foreclosure niche, so I have a headline feeder which gives me the latest foreclosure news so I can pass it on to my list.

I also have special feeds set up for "SEO" and "Internet Marketing." One thing that I have noticed is how often a press release rather than a news story will show up in this category. For instance, today this press release showed up:

New Guide Released By Master of Internet Marketing by Morgan James

I don't know anything about that or the product, but you can see, this is a press release submitted to Press Release Distribution & Free Press Release Submit @ 1888 PressRelease.com

This is a free press release service. So, next time you want to publicize your site, consider putting it out on press release sites. Google, Yahoo and other news agregators pick these releases up and distribute them to interested parties.

Stacy

[Admin]

Hi Stacy,

You are absolutely right about Press Releases. I used to use them quite a bit, but I am finding the need to get back into writinf them and posting them. Matter of fact, we just sent one Press release in for Duelz.com over at PRWeb.

I have a list of about 20 free PR distribution sites or free submission sites. I'll dig them up and post them tomorrow.

Some say PRWeb is just about the best paid PR distributing service on the net, but they've really jacked up their prices in the last year or so, even for the lowest grade. So, I've decided to test PRWeb against the free distribution sites and see if it's worth paying the $80 - $350 at PRWeb.

I'll post my findings here in the thread once I get the results.

Seriously folks. Press releases can bring in a lot of traffic and sales if you write good ones. You can check out Steven's thread here about writing to suck people in:

It's Not All About The How To's - Marketers Space Forum

Just remember Press releases are meant to be written as a news story, and you'll do fine.

Thanks Stacy ...

[Karsten]

here is a small list:

pressreleasepoint.com
pressabout.com
free-press-release-center.info
pr9.net
prlog.org
pressreleaseforum.com
express-press-release.com
postafreepressrelease.com
pressexposure.com
speedypr.com
sbwire.com
seenation.com
myfreepr.com
exactrelease.com
sanepr.com
prwindow.com
mediasyndicate.com
webnewswire.com
businessportal24.com
press.xtvworld.com
thepublish.com
newsblaster.com
usprwire.com
i-newswire.com
pressmethod.com
1888pressrelease.com
clickpress.com
prnuke.com
24-7pressrelease.com
pressreleasemonkey.com
pressreleasespider.com
malebits.com
clicnews.com
pressreleasecirculation.com
pr2work.com
prfocus.com
epicpr.com
press-network.com
pressbox.com
freepressreleases.co.uk
bignews.biz
ideamarketers.com
pr-usa.net
newsalbum.com
pr-gb.com
caymanmama.com
digg.com
base.google.com
prfriend.com
theopenpress.com
newsreleaser.com
press-library.com
live-pr.com/en
prarticle.com
information-online.com
prunderground.com
openpr.com
prbuzz.com
prleap.com
pressmediawire.com
fastpitchnetworking.com
pr.com

[Admin]

Hey Karsten, thanks for the list.


There are other ways too to get fantastic traffic, and get noticed by the public in a hurry, and that's to get into the local and national News, or in some magazines.

Press releases work great for that because the News stations pick them up for new stories. The only problem is to get noticed by The nEws stations and magazines, you have to pay a pretty price. Yes, they do look at the lower priced listings, but not as much as the higher brackets.

I've been seriously thinking of going around this obsticle by calling some News stations and magazines directly, and slip a story to them that way.

[Muhammad Jalloh]

Originally Posted by Admin

Hey Karsten, thanks for the list.


There are other ways too to get fantastic traffic, and get noticed by the public in a hurry, and that's to get into the local and national News, or in some magazines.

Press releases work great for that because the News stations pick them up for new stories. The only problem is to get noticed by The nEws stations and magazines, you have to pay a pretty price. Yes, they do look at the lower priced listings, but not as much as the higher brackets.

I've been seriously thinking of going around this obsticle by calling some News stations and magazines directly, and slip a story to them that way.

Are there any suggested steps to take to "get" the News stations to pay attention to a press release or news story?

How should a press release be crafted to make it appealing and newsworthy? Any points to emphasize or take into consideration?

Sorry for the too many questions. It's just that I have been doing press releases lately for some of my products and projects, but I have not really gotten down to the nitty-gritties of doing it.

Thanks in advance,
Muhammad

[stacyfox]

Approach the press release like a journalist not a marketer. Write a story as if it were going directly in the newspaper (because sometimes it does). Have a compelling human interest angle. Make sure everything in the release is verifyable because some journalists will want to reinterview the people you quote.

Think to yourself "If this article wasn't about MY business, would I bother to read past the first paragraph?" If not, work on it some more.

Remember to cover the basics (the 5 W's and H): Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.

And, put a short plug for your own business as the last paragraph. Don't overwhelm the article with your ad.

Stacy

[stacyfox]

Here's a good list about ideas and angles for press releases:

Ideas for Press Releases

[stacyfox]

I just had another thought to answer Muhammad's question: go to a pr directory and search for your keyword. For instance at this site:

PressReleaseSpider - Press Release Search Engine, Thousands of Press Releases

you can do an easy search and see what kind of press releases are being issued for your kw. You will also be able to see how many times they have been viewed. A more compelling headline will have more views.

Stacy

[Admin]

Hey Muhammad,

Stacy gave you the funndamentals for doing a pree release. It has to be presented as a news event, and the best modles or examples that I know of are at www.prweb.com

Just go there and take a loo at some of the pRs to get an idea of what she is talking about.

Plus there is a specific format the have to be submitted in. Most of the press release place that you submit to will have a form to fill out that guides you through the format I'm talking about.

Here are some things you will need to submit:

Company name

Company website URL

Press Release representative contact name (Who handles calls from the press and other media)

Address of that representative

Phone number of representative

Fax number of rep

Description or summary of press release

Body of press release (the main story)

Category (where the PR best fits)

Keywords or phrases


Make sure to skip 2 lines after you finish the main body of the PR and add "###" with out the quotes. The number symbols are there to signify the end of the PR itself.

The best way to get the news stations, magazines, and other media to pick your story up is by submitting the PRs to as many PR places as you can. The paid ones get better coverage, but some of the media still scouts around at the free places too.

You can also contact the media directly by phone.

Just get your PRs out wherever possible and make yourself vissable, and the media will pick you up. The main thing is to make the actual PR a very news worthy story.

Hope this helps ...


Hey Stacy,

Great job kid!