photo credit: roland
An online press release couldbe a great way to drive some more traffic to your new (or old) website. And, while you might want to use the services of a professional online PR distribution company that will automatically send out your press release to a host of online publications, journalists and bloggers, that’s not strictly necessary. In fact, there are plenty of free press release sites available if you are on a low budget or simply want to test the waters first.
Here are a few free sites to get you started.
You can easily find tons more by Googling for ‘free press release’, but don’t waste your time trying to submit to each and every free PR site out there - a small handful is more than enough.
The bigger question is of course:
How do you write an effective online press release?
Here are some tips.
1) Make sure you have something really newsworthy to say
If you do - great! If not, come up with something to announce, like an attractive freebie, special offer, competition, event or even an April Fool’s joke if it’s that time of the year.
2) Write a great headline
This might actually be the last step you do after your online press release is written, but it’s the most important one. Make sure your headline states just enough about your message to make people curious without giving the whole game away.
3) Open with a captivating first paragraph
Just like the title, your first paragraph (or two) is key. You have to strike a balance between getting to the point right away, and promising some juicy information to those readers who read on. Of course you want people to read the whole piece, but you must also realize that many won’t, and so you should get your main message across immediately.
4) Link to your website straight away and link several times
You should include a link to your website in your first or second paragraph. This is not only because many people will not read all the way down, but also because when your press release gets picked up by ‘digests’ or aggregate services they usually just include the first bit with a ‘read more’ link - and you want your link to be in that bit. Of course, you should also fit in more links as you can, without spamming.
5) Use SEO keywords
Don’t waste your time with full-blown SEO on your press release - you won’t have enough control over the published press release page to really influence the outcome. Still, keep in mind some keywords your customers might be searching for as you write your press release and use them a few times in your text. It won’t hurt!
6) Be concise
Attention is a precious commodity so you should aim to keep your online press release as short as possible. Also, keep in mind that people are generally put off by a whole screen of text staring back at them. So if you can say something in one paragraph, don’t use two!
7) Consider using direct speech
Stave off monotony and inject some personality in your press release by including a couple of quotes in direct speech from someone in your company.
8 ) List your full contact details
Don’t just rely on people following a link to your website. Include your e-mail and contact number in your press release to make it easy for potential clients (or maybe even a journalist with some luck) to contact you directly.
9) Attach an image or video clip
If you can! Some free sites will let you. Others could expect you to pay for this as a bonus service.
10) Write about your company
Add a short paragraph or two giving a brief outline of your company and what you do to the end of your press release, beneath a line that shows where the actual press release ends. This could be a standard piece that you use for all press releases you publish.
11) Choose the right time to publish your press release
Friday at 5pm is not generally a good idea! Tuesday to Thursday is typically best. Also think about the time zone your target audience is in and take that into account.
So, there you are! Get writing and give it a go!
