Press Release is one of the most valuable assets of a business or a company that helps to gain organic exposure in the market. The success of the press release campaign is widely dependent on its writing quality and distribution strategies. While you may be able to write a press release after knowing its right format and the necessary elements; it can still fail to offer desired results when the distribution does not take place effectively.
To distribute an SEO press release effectively, you need to follow varied practices that start even before you send out the PR for distribution. Let’s check the top 15 tips that can help you make sure your PR distribution campaign is successful and offers great results.
Optimization of PR before Distribution
-
Follow the Correct PR Format
Optimizing your PR before sending it out for distribution is one of the effective methods that optimizes your press release and improves its marketing value. Following the right format for the PR is one of the most crucial tasks that authenticates it and separates it from other types of content in the market. Following the right format and structure of the PR along with the integral elements like the headline, dateline, intro paragraph, body, boilerplate, and media contact can help you secure maximum attention from the market.
-
Add More Visual Elements
Adding visual elements is what helps your PR content quickly gain attention from others. It is a digital age of competition and gaining attention faster can help to gain more advantage in distribution. Make sure to add visual elements like images, video clips, and graphic works which can help to describe your story better and make the content more appealing to read. Also adding images is good for media pickups as PRs with images are 7 seven times more likely to get picked by journalists and media channels.
-
Make the PR Easy to Scan for All
You already know that online users are fairly impatient and there is plenty of similar content which makes the competition even higher. The PR content must be crafted in a simplified way with a format that highlights the story. When the story is easy to read and scan; users can easily get an idea of what it is about even if they do not go through the whole PR. It is especially important for journalists and media experts since they already have much on their plates. They are quite busy and receive a lot of PRs every day which leaves very little time to go through each PR. So, you should make their task easy which improves the chance of getting picked for publishing.
-
Create an Interesting Pitch for Email
Sending out your press release to the journalists is the greatest practice for press release distribution but you cannot just simply send the PR without any context. The press release pitch email you send must come with an appealing pitch that makes the journalists believe in the content and find you trustworthy. The pitch must address the journalist or the prestigious column you want your PR to be in and explain how your story can be relevant and important for their platform.
-
Find the Right Time to Send
As mentioned before, journalists have to go through a lot of PRs every day and it is possible for your PR pitch to get lost among others. In order to secure success, it is recommended to send the pitch at the right time when it can create maximum impact. PR is highly time-sensitive and timing is crucial here to create market buzz. Usually, there is a huge rush at the beginning of the week, therefore it is recommended to send the PR in the latter half of the week. Thursdays are recommended as they come with an email open rate of 26.76%.
Distributing Press Releases to the Right People
-
Research and Find Niche Journalists
There are a lot of journalists in the market and everyone has their own niche. While some cover industrial news, some cover sports data and some might be looking for news in the music industry. You need to research the journalists who cover stories based on your industry which offers a greater chance of getting picked since it is relevant. Make sure to shortlist the journalists you want to pitch and also note down their email ids to pitch them later.
-
Select the Right Distribution Platform
Opting for the right distribution channel is also important when you are trying to secure maximum exposure from the market. Organic and DIY approaches in press release distribution are not bad but it can often feel daunting as the results aren’t much and it takes much time to reach the results. Hiring a professional agency for distribution can help save a lot of time and money in the long run. Just make sure that the agency has a huge and effective distribution network. The budget also plays a big role here so ensure to compare the cost of the package and the distribution benefits offered.
-
Keep Your Media Contact Upgraded
Always make sure to keep your contact list updated since networking is another crucial aspect of press release distribution. The contacts can change for the same person or you might need more contacts. It can be difficult to keep up with so much of contacts and find them the right way unless it is organized and updated enough. Make sure to find email finders and other online tools for convenience.
-
Mutually Beneficial Bonding with Journalists
Just like you need journalists to share your story with the world, journalists also need new and relevant stories to keep up with their hunt for new information. Try to keep a strong bond with the niche journalists which can help you secure more distribution benefits in the long run. You might even get a preference in pick-up when you actively help them.
-
Take Help from Bloggers and Influencers
It is an age of bloggers and social media influencers and if you are not utilizing them, you are doing it wrong. They are able to create a huge buzz in the market with their popularity and results are quite better than traditional methods. They can help to reach a more active and potential user base who would be actually interested in the company or the business. They help to spread the news and offer an improved presence in the niche along with competitors.
Boosting Press Release Exposure after Its Distribution
-
Follow Up Email
Your work for distribution does not end with the pitch email but you also need to send a follow-up email in case you do not receive a response. You can wait for three days and send a follow-up to remind them in case they have missed it. The worst that can happen is that they do not approve it. That’s alright as you can pitch other journalists. However, clarity is important.
-
Unleash the Power of Social Media
Social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc are currently the epitome of marketing as most online users can be found active there. Utilizing these platforms for sharing your PR can be a good idea to gain additional attention from social platform users. Not just potential customers, you might even get a huge number of followers who stick to find more details on the upcoming project. It helps to create a buzz that stays with a long-lasting impact in the market.
-
Track Your Press Release Analytics
Analytics help to monitor and measure the performance of the press release in the market based on particular metrics such as impressions, clicks, visitors, web traffic, engagement, shares, and many others. The analytics can help you understand which kind of audiences are responding to your PR content and you can reach out to them better on the next distribution. The analytics help to get critical insights which offers an overall idea of the distribution and who it is going to affect the most.
-
Post the PR on Your Website
While you can send out the PR content for distribution, no platform is going to hold onto that for a long time. With the passing of time, PR has lost its relevance in the market since it has been distributed. However, no platform offers the benefit of permanent hosting. Fortunately, you have your business website and you can host it there for an unlimited period of time. It also makes your website more informative and caters to potential audiences.
Concluding Thoughts
PR distribution is a crucial aspect for every kind of business and individual. It is better if you hire a professional for the task who can help and guide you through the process. Follow the aforementioned strategies and see the positive change.
