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Press releases are NOT dead. Crappy press releases are.
Here are the top reasons why you should be writing and distributing them:
- Bypass the media gatekeepers and let you write directly to consumers.
- Brand you as an expert in your field.
- Bring more traffic to your website.
- Give you credibility when media outlets include your releases at their websites.
- Save you time repeating details when dealing with multiple media outlets.
- Help you reach a targeted audience, regardless of how narrow the niche.
- Let you share multiple forms of multi-media within the same release.
- Attract investors and others who want to partner with you.
- Use online distribution to help with local results in the search engines.
- Serve as a main item in your media kit.
- Let you link to specific products and services you sell.
What Press Releases Can and Can’t Do
There’s a common misconception that press releases will result in a mountain of media attention.
Dan Janal, a press release expert and owner of Guaranteed Press Releases, a press release distribution service, wants people to understand what press releases can and can’t do for you before you spend time writing them and hiring a service like his to distribute them:
- They can be good for gaining an entry into Google. With the right search terms (and based on competition) you could rank well for certain keywords for a certain period of time. Google is always in flux. They change their algorithms all the time and people who get bounced from page one do anything they can to get back there.
- They can be good for getting logos of media websites. “We guarantee you’ll have at least 50 logos and links to reprints of your press release. If you’ve seen people use ‘As see on’ and logos, this is what they did to get there. Those people did not sit in a TV studio and appear on ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. They used press releases.
- Reporters will not call you. Okay, some might, but they get a lot of press releases and they skim fast. I would NEVER promise “earned media” i.e., a new article focused on you with a press release, but it could happen. Or reporters could find you in the future in a Google search. But I’d never say this WILL happen. Just like entering the lottery. Someone wins, but you go in with the idea that you could lose.