The Why, When, Where and How of Press Release Writing and Distribution

Confused about press release writing and distribution? We previously wrote about the best day to send a press release. This question came from someone who thoroughly understands key elements of a strong press release and just needed some advice on when to send.

Yes, the press release time and day are definitely important. However, let’s back track and talk about writing press releases. Missing the mark on press release content and purpose can kill your buzz generating efforts.

Distributing press releases online can get more visitors to your site. In fact, we’ve seen companies climb multiple spots in Google rankings by adding online press release distribution to their marketing strategy.

So, let’s talk about the why, when, where and how of press release distribution.

1. Why distribute a press release
With the age of social media, you can promote your new product or service without sending out a single press release. Businesses distribute press releases online for three primary reasons:

• Drive more traffic to their websites
• Get more publicity
• Generate more leads and conversion opportunities

“More” is the important word used in the three bullets above. As mentioned, press releases are typically distributed as a component of the overall marketing strategy. They are not generally the sole marketing strategy.

2. When should you distribute a press release
Did you land a new client? Are you celebrating an anniversary? Launch a new product? A newsworthy release is timely and relevant to your target audience and tells a significant, unique story. A noteworthy release highlights key business activities and milestones. Either way, a good release has a purpose – it’s either newsworthy or noteworthy.

3. Where should you distribute your press release
With online news distribution sites like PRWeb, PR Newswire and many others, deciding where to share your news is easy. Most online press release distribution sites can get your news straight to the top search engines, like Google, Yahoo and Bing. Add in some search engine optimization (SEO) links to your website’s landing pages, and you’ll be easier than ever to find.

4. How should you send your press release
Addressing how you should send your press release is twofold. On the one hand, this relates to sending online versus via email. The answer here is to do both. Online will help generate buzz, but you should still reach out to local and industry-focused publications (not included in your online distributor’s media list). These publications may be interested in doing a follow-up story which could boost your presence even further.

The other piece of this is quality. Never send out a press release that’s poorly written and doesn’t have any meat. If you’re questioning the value of the news, then how can you expect your audience to find your press release interesting and relevant?

What’s the Word: Sending out a press release on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday is pointless if you don’t have quality press release content and an interesting noteworthy or newsworthy story. If press release writing still sounds like too much of a hassle for you, we can help.

Do you believe press releases have no value in today’s digital world?