The number of businesses selling the same types of products and services is very high. Every business these days need some level of press coverage to make a difference and establish a unique identity for its brand in the market. Press releases are the best and safest way to garner media coverage for your brand and spread awareness about it across the world within just days.
Press releases came into existence as a tool to restore the brand's image and now it is used for various purposes like forming a positive brand image, boosting SEO, increasing sales, and much more. They are different than traditional forms of advertisements. They are regarded as news to the readers so they increase your brand’s credibility.
Press Release in Detail
Press releases are simply official statements that individuals and companies issue to provide factual information about their products or services to customers, investors, and industry professionals. Press Releases can easily boost the credibility of your brand in the eyes of the target audience, accelerating your success. You can use a paid PR agency or submit free PR to PR sites that do not charge money to do press release distribution.
• Press releases used to be published offline originally but now they are mostly published online.
• They are formal in tone and not promotional at all.
• Businesses use press releases to make the target audience aware of the latest and most relevant happenings within the organization.
• Online press releases can increase the traffic to your website.
The Features of an Ideal Press Release
Press releases are issued in two steps: PR writing and distribution and both the equally important to ensure the success of the press release. The quality of PR writing as well as its distribution matters a lot to establish a positive brand image among the niche audience. A poorly-written press release will make you lose trust and reputation in the market. Business owners are not supposed to have the knowledge to write an effective press release that complies with all the international rules of PR writing. Here are some tips for flawless PR writing:
• Press releases should have a headline that conveys what the entire PR is about in brief. It should be attractive as well.
• Your readers will not like to read super long press releases. So, it is best to write a shorter PR with 4 to 5 paragraphs.
• You should use easy-to-understand language to write the content so everyone can understand your message and appreciate it.
• Make sure to make a separate paragraph for your press release. They add credibility to your story.
• Add trendy keywords to the press release so it appears higher in the search results.
Press Release Distribution
The second step of issuing a press release is distribution. There are two ways of doing press release distribution. You can either do it on your own or appoint a professional PR agency to do it for you.
Find the Right Media Houses
If you are doing the press release distribution on your own you have to first decide which media outlets will bring you the maximum amount of exposure and audience engagement. You have to do proper research and observe your competitors to find out which media houses are the perfect choices. Choosing the right media outlet is the most vital part of your PR distribution process.
• So, the first thing you need to do is to find the media outlets that cover your specific industry.
• Make a list of the selected media outlets.
• Next, find the contact information of journalists working with them so you can send them your press release.
Send the Journalists Your PR Pitch
Journalists are one of the busiest professionals in the world. They already have so much work and on top of that, they get bombarded with hundreds of press releases every day. Still, they go through the email to find the perfect press releases as they are also looking for newsworthy stories. Still, they do not have enough time to go through all the press releases sent to them they just read the pitch to know what the content is about. If they like the pitch they read the actual press release.
• Read the writings of the journalists before you send them your press release.
• Find out what type of stories they like to cover and make sure to craft your content according to that.
• Tell them you are familiar with their writing style and the type of news they post in the pitch.
• Don’t forget to tell them how your story is relevant to their readers.
• Send the email during the work days and not on the weekends.
But after all that effort, there is no guarantee that the PR will get selected by the journalists and published in the media outlets.
The only way to make sure your press releases get published in the media outlets you want is to employ a professional PR agency that has proper expertise and years of experience.
Types of Professional PR Distribution
There are two ways you can distribute your press release. You can either go for a paid PR campaign or a free press release distribution for your brand news.
Free Press Release Distribution
Another benefit of using press releases is that there are various PR agencies that offer free press release services to the users.
• Running a PR campaign for your brand can get you over your budget sometimes. Businesses that are just starting out can find it hard to accumulate a big budget for their marketing campaign without knowing if the agency is worth it. They should hire a professional PR agency that offers free PR services as well. With the free PR service, they will be able to be aware of the distribution power of the agency.
• It can also be a good learning experience for newcomers who want to get familiarized with how press releases can boost their online exposure and audience engagement.
• Though free PR services do not offer distribution on hundreds of media outlets, they offer guaranteed publication on a limited number of but the most important media outlets in your industry. It brings you massive online visibility for your brand.
• Establishing a trustworthy image for your brand in the market is absolutely important so you can stay ahead of the competition. A free PR service can help you spread a positive brand image across the world and increase your reputation in the eyes of customers and investors.
• Press releases are distributed to increase the sales of your products and services as well. A free press release also contributes to boosting your sales without you having to spend any money. It makes sure the target audiences go to your website the next time they want to make a purchase.
Paid Press Release Distribution
Paid press release distribution is the most common practice for businesses all over the world. Paid PR distribution is the foolproof plan for any company to spread the word about their brand into the world.
• Press releases offer the maximum return on investment when they are distributed with the help of paid PR agencies. You will more than what you expect from the press release distribution with a paid one.
• Even though free PR services offer quality distribution they are not able to publish your story in a massive number of media outlets. Paid PR distribution agencies not only distribute but guarantee publication on hundreds of media outlets and websites in every specific industry.
• Paid press release services offer full SEO optimization, unlike free PR services. They will help your press release rank higher in the search results. That way your business website will receive massive traffic within a few days.
• Paid press release agencies guarantee to bring your desired amount of press coverage and audience engagement within a promised deadline. They never fail to fulfill their promises and deliver your PR campaign within the given dates.
• Businesses and entrepreneurs need to establish better relationships with journalists and media outlets to get their support in the future. Paid press release agencies are trusted sources of new and innovative news for media outlets. You will be able to establish a stronger relationship with the media by getting distributed through a trusted paid PR agency.
• There is excellent and reliable customer supports at paid PR agencies, unlike the free PR service that most of the time does not give support to the users. Paid PR agencies have 24x7 customer help that guides the users from the beginning to the end of the press release campaign.
• These agencies offer a full report about the PR distribution after the end of the campaign.
• Paid PR agencies also offer quality PR writing services to the users as well.
Free press release services have limitations but users can rip all the benefits of PR distribution without spending a single dollar.
