Press Releases

Press Releases Passe?

Are Press Releases Still Worthwhile?

Back in the old days, before the Internet made it all too easy to reach out and connect with the world, whenever a company wanted to announce a new product, partnership or any other development in their business or industry they’d do so in the form of a press release.

Copies of these releases would be mailed out to any industry journals, magazines, newspapers and TV stations that may be interested in reporting on it, and with a little luck and the right angle the releases would result in a whole lot of free publicity.

In the Internet age, though, press releases took on a whole new level of importance. Suddenly every business on the planet – along with thousands of small time webmasters who previously would never have dreamed of trying to appeal to the press – were screaming out at the top of their lungs in an effort to get a little attention.

Press releases played a big role in this. They offered a method by which a company could instantly broadcast their latest news directly to the media, who scour press releases for anything worth reporting. While most webmasters struggled to reach the front page of Google for their target keywords, a well timed press release could get their name featured on hundreds or thousands of sites in a matter of hours.

Why Press Releases Are Still Relevant

Don’t Toss Them Out With The Trash Just Yet!

Many Online Internet marketers now think that press releases have outlived their usefulness. Much like listing in directories, they see press releases as an SEO technique from times gone by, worthless in today’s Internet.
Well, they’re wrong.

Press Releases are just as important today as they always were. While the Internet is more crowded with voices today than in the past it’s still possible for a well timed, well executed press release to rocket a story into the stratosphere.

All Publicity is Good Publicity

True – So VERY True

The old saying still holds true on the Internet. If anyone is mentioning your site it’s a good thing (especially if they’re kind enough to include a backlink). There are countless sites on the Internet eager to publish new content, and many of them are more than happy to print press releases.

And it isn’t just websites that are looking to fill those blank pages. Trade journals, magazines, podcasts and even newspapers have an endless need for content, and if your release is even remotely newsworthy there’s sure to be someone out there willing to talk about it. You have to put it out there to be heard, though.

A Bargain at Zero Dollars

BE SMART AND DO IT RIGHT

While there are lots of press release services who charge a fee to publish your content there are also many that will happily promote you for free. As long as your press release is newsworthy and you meet their guidelines your release could be published today.

The Chance to Go Viral

With the Internet being driven ever more by social networking it’s easier than ever for your content to go viral. A well written, entertaining and useful press release could easily be picked up by users of sites such as Facebook and spread around by an ever increasing number of people. The trick is to find the right angle to engage people’s attention. Humor can be a great approach, as can shock tactics. Anything that gets you noticed increases your chances of being shared.

Let us help you go viral and laugh all your way to the bank!

Attracting Customers Through Press Releases

Any Good Content is Attractive

While you have to be careful to stay within the guidelines to get your press release published, a well crafted release could attract visitors directly to your site, enabling you to make additional sales. Once again the trick here is to find the right angle. Anything that convinces people to click through to your site could generate sales directly through a press release.

Press Releases Post-Penguin

Relax-Chill and Release

Finally, it’s worth addressing the state of the Internet in a post-Panda and Penguin world. Google have made it clear that they won’t tolerate unnatural link profiles. If it looks like you’ve artificially cultivated your backlinks to game the rankings you could find yourself knocked down a peg or two.
This is a tricky time for webmasters as we know we need to build backlinks to our content. Without them we’re dead in the water, and yet Google seems to be getting better at working out when we’re building them manually.

Press releases can offer at least part of the solution to this. For one thing, press release sites tend to be trusted. More important, though, is the fact that most don’t allow custom anchor links within a release. Most require you to add just a naked URL or, perhaps, the name of your site in the hyperlink. It seems that Google expects to see a range of these basic backlinks in a natural link profile, so press releases offer an easy way to disguise your artificial link building strategy.
For that reason alone, then, press releases are worth the time.

What are you waiting for? Let’s get to it!

Written by: Andrew Kelly

Award winning designer, finalist in the Australian Design Awards 2004, SEO expert. Andrew has had a keen interest in entrepreneurship for as long as he can rememeber. He has over ten years experience in digital marketing and SEO for various companies around the world and has now set up Marketplace For Entrepreneurs as an easy way to find a solution for your SEO and Design Needs. Google+