I wanted to throw out a quick thought, something that I have used several times in the past. I am always learning about what makes a good press release, and where the best place(s) is to submit the press release once it is written. After listening to the keynote address made by Anne Holland this morning at the Affiliate Summit 2006, I got some clear answers that I wanted to pass on to you.
Anne listed the top 5 ways for site owners to promote their site this year, and press releases marketing was the second in the list! She shared how Google, Yahoo!, and MSN all aggregate news sbmitted through Press Release and that Yahoo! in particular has a tremendous amount of readship of this news area. She gave an example of a press release Shawn Collins made that landed at the top of Google search for the term “holiday gift idea” in the month of December! Check out Google and do a search and often times if there is related news, it will show up on top of the first search result. She also clarified that you need to be sure to put the keyword you plan to target in the title of your press release…remember that!
Finally, I want to mention what Anne said about where to submit your press release. She made it quite clear that her choice of an internet press release service was PR Web. She also made it known that you need to pay for their $80 submission level which is what it takes to get you in to Yahoo! News, Google, and MSN News. She said don’t spend any less, or any more for that matter as they do offer “bigger” packages. I was glad to hear this as well as see Shawn’s success this past December. I hope this tip helps you to bring traffic to your community!
Great tip, one that is not often used for forums or community type websites! You mention getting your PR on G, Y! and MSN. If your release is news worthy, you may also find yourself with loads upon loads of off-site traffic.
When the AP picked up a story about bike lock security that broke on my forum i logged over 100,000 type in requests to my domain. The story made it into hundreds of newspapers around the world.
For real results, you need to ask yourself “Is this story news worthy?”
If your not a writer, hire one. You can get a high quality press release written for under $100, there are dozens of companies that offer press release writing. They are worth there weight in gold, if you have a story worth getting out.
Lastly, as much as i hate about.com, this page can really help your readers take press releases to the next level: http://advertising.about.com/od/pressreleases/
Great post yourself Joe. I appreciate it!