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The Most Beneficial and Most Under-Used Web Site Promotion Tool
By: Rich Brunelle
Of all the methods of Web Site Promotion, the Press Release is by far the most beneficial tool available. It is also one of the least used tools. When thinking of Web Site Promotion, a web site owner or his delegate has to consider what method of promotion will bring the best results. But, a majority of these people fail to recognize the significance of the Press Release.
Press Releases are one of the few documents that can be submitted one time to one location, but be considered for publication in millions of other locations. Press Releases submitted to a quality News Distribution Service are routinely reviewed by a bunch of Journalists. Journalists from all forms of media consider use of Press Releases in their publication. It is probable that a Press Release of significance will get selected by numerous Journalists for inclusion in their publication or media as a Press Release, as well as used for a subsequent news feature. How many times has Google generated a Press Release that creates news features on television, radio, print publications, and all over the Internet? In case you aren't sure the answer, every time.
Now, most of us will never write a Press Release of such significance as to reach all forms of media like a Google press release, but a simple Press Release from an unknown stands a pretty good chance of getting significant distribution. A Press Release published on the Internet, immediately upon publication generates attention to your business or web site. How? Most of the News Media select Press Releases for inclusion to their Internet news publications. Most of these News Media sites also are Free Content Providers to millions of other web sites by offering free news feed linkage from the News Media site. Not all of the sites using such feeds are going to select the specific feed that carries your Press Release. But, what if only one in ten do? You cannot pay for banner ads or search engine placement that will give you as much promotion in a single day.
Press Releases are one of the few documents that get published in other media that immediately attract attention to your business or web site. Newspapers, Newsletters, Magazines, and a large amount of company bulletin boards frequently pick up and publish Press Releases from News Distribution Services. If your Press Release is picked up for publication, the first day of its release will probably be the strongest in the print media. However, newsletters and magazines usually are not a daily or weekly publication. So it's possible that two weeks or a month after its release, your Press Release will get another strong viewing.
Press Releases are one of the few documents that get published to numerous locations without much effort. One single Press Release, submitted to a quality News Distribution Service is considered for publication in millions of media publications, read by tens of million readers. So, even if only one of these publications picks up and publishes your Press Release . . . Do the math!
A Press Release is the best method of increasing Search Engine Ranking by linkage. Once a Press Release is published by any of the News Media, it is archived in a searchable database. This placement of your link into a high ranking, high traffic media site is priceless. Test this for yourself if you wish. Simply prepare and distribute a press release. Within two to five days, do a search for your web site. If your Press Release was accepted and published, you will find a number of links from the media that published your Press Release back to your web site. And, what if one of those media sites just happen to be Google or Time Magazine? We can wish and dream, can't we?
What do you have to do to get your Press Release published? There are only two rules to successful Press Release distribution and publication. 1. WRITE WELL. And 2. SUBMIT IT WELL. There are no Editors that like poorly written anything. Poorly worded or full of grammatical errors gets one thing, the trash. And, regardless of many peoples opinion, the News Distribution Service utilized is very important. You can submit a press release about Jimmy Johnson getting caught eating boogers and subsequently getting promoted from the Mailroom to Building Maintenance, as long as you follow the proceeding rules.
To write a Press Release well, you have to understand the use of a Press Release. A press Release is not a Sales Brochure. A Press Release is not for telling stories about your weird Uncle Alfred. A press Release is to tell the world some newsworthy event has or will occur. And believe it or not, your web site or business probably has such newsworthy events happening all the time. Once you have ascertained that you have such an event to tell the world about, you have to write your article properly. Not only do most places you can submit your Press Release to require it be in a certain format, but they also expect it to read a certain way.
A Press Release should start strong with an informative title, followed by an equally strong first paragraph. The first paragraph should contain answers to Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Subsequent paragraphs should be used for interview quotes and or supportive content. Having done that, there is one more important element to a proper Press Release. There is no such thing as an anonymous Press Release. Press Releases contain all the specifics relative to the person making the Press Release. There are some Editors and Journalists that actually want to discuss the Press Release content, and your Press Release will not see the first glimpse of publication if they are unable to contact you.
This article has not prepared you for writing and distributing your Press Release properly. Doing so is not my intent. The sole intent of this article has been to raise your awareness regarding the value of Press Releases. I recommend that you consult a professional, read a book on the topic, or find a friend that works in Public Relations to help you for best promotion of your company or web site using Press Releases. But, if you are willing to put forth the effort, you will find the Press Release one of the strongest promotional tools available to you in any media.
About the Author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Richard Brunelle is CC&BW for datajam's Internet at http://datajamsinternet.com. He has been providing technical support services, building web sites, and writing informative articles since 1996.