On my Blog Talk Radio show today, I had the absolute privilege of speaking with Shannon Cherry, the power publicis. I invited Shannon to be a guest, as Connie and I have spent the last few weeks discussing promoting your offline business online – and one thing that had come up was how cost effective Press Releases were for promotion – I wanted to know more.
I really recommend you listen to todays call – through the player below – to get the full benefit of Shannon’s expertise and advice, but I wanted to discuss the benefits of Free Press Release submissions and Targetted Press Release submissions.
I believe the line has blurred about why we, in the online business world, write and submit Press Releases and it wasn’t until I spoke with Shannon today, that I realized it! That was a real A-Ha! moment for me.
A Press Release is traditionally used to capture a Journalists attention so that they will report on your product and service. Shannon gave a great example of how she got publicity for the book that she and her husband authored. That publicity made the book a best seller – something that Shannon believes wouldn’t have happened if not for the Press Release.
I had lost focus on that purpose – or it had become murky because I have been focussing on getting my sites indexed and listed in the Search Engines – and online Press Releases are great for that!
Two purposes of Press Releases
Traditionally, Press Releases are designed to get your product or service (or movie, or book…. etc etc) promoted in the media. Preferably, in the media that your target audience reads. This promotion will aid in generating interest – and sales.
In the online world, although Online Press Release submission services say that your Press Release may be picked up by journalists (and I’m sure that happens, just not for me yet), the main benefit is for Search Engine Optimization.  Much like article marketing, by submitting a Press Release through these services and setting up the links in the Press Release correctly, you are generating a backlink to your website.  Remember, a backlink is like a vote for popularity – and from a content rich site like a Press Release site or Article directory, a backlink generally has a higher weight.
After listening to Shannon talk this morning, I realized that submitting Press Releases to the online submission services does serve a purpose, but that I should remember that doing so is a bit like using a FireHose to get to my target audience. Whilst I won’t discount their use, I will be revising my approach in their use.
The last thing that Shannon said that struck a chord with me was – “Measure the results”. Never submit to the multiple places on the one day, and track & measure the results from each site. You will develop a knowledge of which site is best – and for what type of information.
Where to send Press Releases
If you really want to use Press Releases to gain the attention of the journalists, you need to create your own targetted media list. Find out what your Target Audience reads, listens to and watches – then go to those places and get their contact details.
The trick here though, is not to use the ‘general’ contact details from their websites. If you know that you want to be featured in a particular column in a magazine or on a particular time slot on the radio – contact the columnist or the radio slots producer directly and ask them how to send them a Press Release. Some journalists will only accept Press Releases through fax or snail mail – and won’t it be great to know that! Remember to thank your contact for the assistance – and follow that thanks up with a card or a note of thanks!
There are several online press release sites – and a number of Free sites. PRWeb.com is certainly held up as one of the best sites to submit to – as a paid service. Other free Press Release sites that I have used include:
Press Releases – Cost Effective?
The upshot of my talk with Shannon this morning, is that Press Releases can be created and distributed incredibly inexpensively.  If you are prepared to do a lot of the work yourself, the only real costs are your time and the opportunity cost associated with that.
If you don’t want to do the leg work, hire yourself a PR person. Ask them to give you a price to do the work – Shannon was emphatic that a PR person is able to give you a quote to prepare and submit a Press Release. The benefit of using a PR person is that they already have the contacts that you will need – which is why you should engage with a PR person who understands your region and market.
If you’re interested in learning more from Shannon – she has offered a special discount for my readers off of her Membership site – Penny Pinching Publicity.
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