Traffic Tip # 11: Online Press Releases — How You Can Leverage the Power of the Press to Drive Targeted Traffic to Your Website
Online Press Releases - Driving traffic with your news.
How would you like to be one of “those” people who the media is talking about? If you can come up with an angle that media reporters and bloggers are interested in, you can create massive exposure for your business that results in a stampede of ‘ready-to-buy’ traffic directly to your website.
That’s the power of a well-developed publicity strategy.
Press release writing and distribution — when done right — is better than paid advertising any day of the week. Here’s why. A well-written press release or media release will cause the media to look favorably upon you or your business. It’s true for both non-profit and for-profit organizations.
Have you ever heard of the halo effect? When a prospect reads or hears a story about you in the media, they often begin perceiving you as the expert in your industry. Independent professionals who get quoted by the media are positioned in a better light than their competitors.
You cannot buy that kind of credibility with advertising.
Let me clarify the difference between a press release and publicity.
A press release is a written statement that you submit to the media because you believe you have something newsworthy to say. If a media outlet decides to follow up on your press release by calling to gather more information on your company (or cause) to do a story…the result is publicity.
If you’re going to invest the time to develop a strategy and write a good release, you should make the investment in a good distribution service to get it into the hands of those who can make good use of it. Anyone can write a press release with a little coaching. That’s how I got started.
There are several free press release distribution services available. I have only used two services, both of them paid. I like both services and wouldn’t hesitate to use either one again.
The first is PRWeb. This is a leading press release distribution service. Your investment with them will be anywhere between $80.00 and $360.00 (if you write the release yourself). The second release I wrote and distributed through PRWeb made it to #1 on Yahoo! News (after following the formula I learned from PRTraffic, by Marc Harty).
I made the investment in the PR Traffic Course a couple years ago. If you’re interested in learning how to write your own online press releases, I would recommend his latest course which is only $197.00 right now. (That is an affiliate link, and I will be commissioned if you buy through that link.) It’s more affordable than PR Traffic, and his step-by-step instructions made it easy for me to know exactly what to do.
I have written a couple of releases that didn’t make it to the first page of Google News or Yahoo! News. My mistake with those releases was getting in a hurry and not following the formula closely enough. Take it from me…you can get good results from the $80.00 level on PRWeb, but you need to learn how to do it, or hire someone who knows what they’re doing. One of the main things I like about PRWeb is the tracking functionality. You know exactly what your investment is delivering with them.
The second distribution service I’ve used a few times is WebWire.com. I’ve had 2 or 3 releases make it the first page on Google News with this service. Your investment with this service will range from $19.95 — $180.00. I like it because it’s an inexpensive way to get to the first page of Google News with a $19.95 investment, but there is no tracking at that level.
One of the benefits of online press releases (also known as an optimized press release) is the level of control you have as the publisher. Here are the eight reasons why online press releases should be a part of your approach to internet marketing for small business:
- You get links back to your website from other relevant sites
- You can rank for competitive keywords
- Research shows that content from articles or PR is 70% more believeable that advertising
- The ability to reach multiple audiences (prospects, clients, and potential joint venture partners)
- It’s cost effective (sometimes as low as $0.05 per click)
- Easy to Integrate — the learning curve is short, and there’s no software to learn. My second online press release reached #1 on Yahoo! News.
- Your message can become visible on hundreds of websites (possibly thousands)
- Indexing — well written releases are immediately included in the search engine indexes
In my next post, I’ll share a few tips on how to write an effective online press release.
If you have specific question…feel free to ask. I’ll answer all that I can. If I can’t, I’ll tell you that too!
Make it a great day!
