Life is a journey, and so is the path of a customer! Brand awareness and brand visibility are two key metrics of any business and one of the easiest ways to do this at scale is press release distribution.
This article covers all you know about how best to use a press release to drive your business and the best services out there. We have taken tens of hours to create this in-depth guide with statistics to help you gain new insights and take your business to the next level.
Topics covered in this article include:
1. What is Press Release Distribution?
2. 5 Benefits of Press Release Distribution: Boost Your Brand, Conversion and Sales
How to Cut Down Ad Cost Through Press Release Distribution
3. Best types of Press Release Distribution Services in 2022
4. How to Write Press Releases that Newswires will Never Reject
Five Most Popular Press Releases and Templates to Follow
6. How to Submit a Press Release
7. How to Use Press Release Distribution Transform Your Business Today
What is Press Release Distribution?
Press release distribution is a media communication strategy where a company uses a newswire to distribute company announcements either through journalists or by syndicating their press releases across multiple media sites.
For effective press release distribution, you need to use a reliable newswire company that helps you get your news on top authority media sites like Yahoo Finance, AP News, and Market Watch.
Press releases are considered one of the most trusted sources of information by journalists. Over 44% journalists trust press releases as a valid source of information as the release come officially from the company and not any intermediate source.
For most companies, publishing press release services serve many purposes, some of which include Reputation Management, Communication, and creating positive online footprints to effectively inform their customers while searching online.
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It is important to build an easy-to-find digital presence for you to maximize your business conversion potential. 73% of internet shoppers agreed they would search online about a brand before making a buying decision
How Does Press Release Distribution Work?
Press release distribution works in a very simple way. You submit your press release to the press release distribution company, and the company reviews your copy and publishes it to a list of relevant journalists and media sites.
For maximum benefits with press releases, there are a few strategies that are implemented will help you build your brand presence and help convert prospects to long-lasting customers.
The first thing you want to do is write a captivating press release and prepare your visual assets for the press release. The visual assets could be images or videos that can effectively complement the theme of the press release.
While you can write the press release yourself, you can as well use a press release writing service to save time while you rely on their expertise and experience in creating a powerful press release.
Once you are ready, you place your order, gain access to the PR distribution company’s dashboard and go ahead to submit the details of the press release.
Next, the submitted content is published and in a matter of hours, you can see the press release on Google when you search for the topic.
GIF illustration to show someone in our dashboard with an approved press release and searching online to see the content on Yahoo Finance and AP News as well.
Benefits of Press Release Distribution: Boost Your Brand, Conversion and Sales
- Press Releases Will Boost Your Brand Visibility
- Press Releases Will Improve Your SEO and Organic Visibility
- Press Releases Can Improve Leads and Sales
Understanding your customers’ journey before they make a purchase is very important to your business's growth and survival. Customers move from the Awareness stage to the Consideration Stage, to the Purchase stage, and next is Retention and Advocacy.
Press release distribution does an excellent job at both the Awareness and Consideration stages of a customer journey.
1. Press Releases Will Boost Your Brand Visibility
Keep in mind that 59% of customers prefer to buy from brands they already know. While your brand is great and you’ve got awesome services, the missing puzzle might be how many people are aware of your brand and all your awesomeness.
Many people miss this part of their marketing strategy by failing to intentionally publish content that positively highlights their brand when potential customers are at the consideration stage of their journey.
You can highlight different parts of your company and team to create something positive about your brand and have it syndicated online by different authoritative media sites or sent directly emailed out to journalists.
Doing this consistently, over time will ensure your business has enough information that will make you visible when searched online.
When you publish a press release about a new product launch or a new office or recruitment in your company, you have all the opportunity to highlight the core of the press release and as well use a few words to show why your company is great.
For a new recruitment press release announcement, the new team member can use the quote section to mention why he or she has decided to work in your company.
Type of press releases that can have a direct impact on brand perception
- New Product Launch Press Release
- Event Announcement Press Release
- New Website Launch Press Release
- New Hire Press Release
- Book Launch Press Release
- Album Launch Press Release
2. Press Releases Will Improve Your SEO and Organic Visibility
While many publications online are of the opinion that using press releases for the sole purpose of gaining SEO advantage, it is important to note that there is a strategy needed to achieve that.
Google over the years have developed their ranking algorithm to detect any unnatural scheme to gain SEO advantage and for so many reasons, using press releases to gain hundreds of links to a page with commercial intent will end up with a negative effect.
So the question is, how does a press release now boost your SEO?
Steps For Improving SEO with Press Releases
1. Build Brand Links with Press Releases
While link building is a complex process, there are a few fundamental concepts that almost anyone can understand and implement.
When publishing a press release you are allowed to insert a particular number of links to the post. Many people abuse this and from our in-house research, it always backfires, and people end up with lower search results for the targeted page.
If you want to be successful using a press release with link building in mind, building links to your home page is the most effective thing to do.
When you send a link to your homepage and use a brand name as the anchor text, Google’s algorithm is likely to see this as a genuine media mention as this is the opposite of what most people and it sounds natural that a brand can gain media exposure within a short period of time.
2. Do it like the Big Brands
As against the norm in SEO, one of the best ways to gain increased traffic is having a natural link profile. Think about major brands like Amazon or Starbucks and how their backlink profile is likely going to be.
As against the norm in SEO, one of the best ways to gain increased traffic is having a natural link profile. Think about major brands like Amazon or Starbucks and how their backlink profile is likely going to be.
Do you have any idea? If not, below is a table to give you some insights. - Anchor text guide/illustration
Most big brands have most of their backlinks pointing to their home page. Big brands are more likely to be trusted by people searching for questions and therefore they rank awesomely well for keywords.
Keeping it natural is the most unnatural thing to do for most SEO experts. When you are trying to build links through SEO, ensure you are using Brand Anchor Texts and not Money or Commercial Anchor Texts. Google is too smart not to understand if you are trying to game search algorithms.
Once again, keep it natural!
3. Publish Your Press Release on Authority Media Sites
This is very simple! Ensure you only publish your press release on authority media sites as this will give you the best ROI.
When you have an authority site linking out to your own website, you are sending positive signals to Google and while most links from media sites are No-Follow, it still counts in terms of SEO.
Press Releases Can Improve Leads and Sales
We have seen this happen with different clients using our services, from product launches to crowdfunding campaigns to music/album and book launches. Press releases are powerful in giving your marketing a spark.
How To Improve Sales Using Press Releases
- Investor Relations
- Customer Communication
- Brand Awareness
Imagine an investment company completes an acquisition and issues a press release to that effect. This will tick so many boxes and one of that would be both brand awareness and potential lead acquisition.
Investor Relations
Investors are key stakeholders in the success of any business and keeping them informed not only would help you secure more funds, but it will also improve your credibility.
For effective investor relations, there are a few types of press releases that will effectively help you get the job done.
A few types of press releases to consider are Acquisition Press Releases, New Hire Press Releases, Investment or Product Development Press Release, Product Launch Press Release, PRs announcing Important Milestones, and Business Partnership Press Releases.
Customer Communication
Creating digital communication assets across your own business profiles (website, social media, emails) might not be enough. Doing the same on third-party digital platforms even though sponsored by your business is great to keep your existing and potential customers informed.
Proper communication is well known to improve trust which has a direct impact on sales.
Brand Awareness
Your brand is everything you’ve got about your business. The more people can find and know about your brand the more ROI you will get for any ad spend. Press releases are incredibly useful in getting this done.
For most companies, issuing a press release at least once a month is a strategy that has worked very well.
They understand that every day more than a 1.8Billion articles are published and if they will maintain and increase their brand voice in their market, they need to do what works consistently, and press releases surely do work.
Why You Should Consider Using Press Release Distribution Services
Press release distribution is a great way to get the word out, yes, but doing it yourself is the last thing you want to get involved in. Why? It is time-consuming and doing it that way will leave you far behind in this age where speed is everything.
If you would love to avoid the stress of doing it yourself, using a press release distribution service would be a no-brainer.
The services are not only experienced in getting it done the right way, but they also have the systems to get it done as fast as possible and at scale as well.
Best Press Release Distribution Services in 2022
- NewswireJet
- EIN Press Wire
- PRWeb
- Press Wire
- PRFire
- 24-7 Press Release
- PR Distribution
- eReleases
- Business Wire
- PR Newswire
NewswireJet
NewswireJet is a top press release distribution service provider with a bouquet of PR distribution services created to help businesses get their word out fast.
The press release distribution company guarantees publication on outlets such as Yahoo, AP News, Marketwatch, Benzinga and over 300 premium media sites.
Cost and Flexibility: Starting at $99, NewswireJet’s prices are both affordable and flexible. Businesses save with multiple packages with no expiry date. To get started all you need to do is sign up, place your order, and submit your press release for editorial review.
2. EIN Press Wire
EIN Press Wire is a popular company with affordable pricing and a fast review process as well. The company has different pricing structures for single press releases and multiple bundles as well.
Also known for its quick editorial review process, EIN Press Wire can quickly help you get the word out, and you can download your report through their dashboard.
3. PRWeb
A subsidiary of Cision, PRWeb is Cision’s solution for small business owners but the pricing does not fully suggest that. While NewswireJet’s $99 offer guarantees publication on different media sites, PRWeb only guarantees publication on their own site for the same cost
PRWeb is incredibly popular and paying for their higher package can help gain inclusion in more media sites when compared to their basic package. Unlike other products from Cision, PRweb has its pricing on the website so you do not need to speak with a salesperson to have an idea of the cost.
Getting to know the price upfront is great as you can plan without having to wait. Unlike PR Newswire, you can see the PRweb pricing immediately.
The pricing starts from $99 with the highest package set at a higher price which promises publication on PR Newswire’s platform.
4. Presswire
Operating from the U.K, Presswire has a suite of services covering both news syndication and manual media outreach. Although the company has a website that looks old, the company appears to have a strong brand presence.
Presswire Pricing is billed annually with costs as high as $6,500 which for most small businesses and SMEs is a huge cost. The pricing covers the annual global media database and some amount of press release distribution units as well.
Presswire’s services include Media Database, Online Syndication, Translate and Target and Media Monitoring.
5. PRFire
PRFire is a UK-based press release distribution company founded by Sam Allcock. PR Fire publishes PRs to over 200+ US news sites and other +50 business publications. With pricing starting from $110, PR Web promises syndication to media sites and guaranteed publication on other single blogs as well.
PRFire pricing appears to be designed for both small business owners and SMEs with but comes with other additional payments during the checkout process offering additional values like editorial support and live video client support.
For the additional cost, the value is highly important as it can help clients get the best value for their money. The order process is simple as well as users will need to upload their press release article, make payment and wait for the distribution report.
6. 24-7 Press Release
Located in British Columbia, Canada, 24-7 Press Release is a popular press release distribution service with multiple distribution and pricing options. The company has a strict editorial process and guidelines as well and promises a quick turnaround as well.
24-7 Press Release over the years has published thousands of press releases helping different businesses across different industries improve their brand exposure.
24-7 Press release pricing starts from $19 which promises guaranteed publication on their website with more exposure at the higher pricing package at $389.
7. PR Distribution
PR Distribution is a U.S based press release distribution company with coverage of both the U.S and the U.K. Beyond press release distribution, the company offers bespoke publication on other media sites as well. The company’s starter starts from 25 placements which is great for a start.
PR Distribution Pricing: Starting at $99 with pricing as high as $59, 976 for the 24 PR multiple package option.
8. eReleases
eReleases is a long-standing media distribution service provider which boasts a database of 1.7 million media contacts. eReleases is a reseller of PR Newswire offering reduced pricing for media syndication services.
eReleases helps in optimizing clients’ press releases and promises a custom national PR Newswire press release service and other major media outlets.
eReleases also has a team of real editors as mentioned on their website and offer search engine optimization support as well.
eReleases Pricing: eReleases pricing starts at $299 with the highest package up to $599.
9. Business Wire
Businesswire is a Berskshire Hathaway Company specializing in Public Relations, Investor Relations and Distribution & Analytics with many years of experience in the business.
Businesswire has a complete set of services including Media & Journalist Tools and Distribution & Analytics.
Businesswire Pricing: The pricing is not available on their website, and anyone interested would need to contact their sales team for more information.
10. PR Newswire
PR Newswire is arguably the most popular press release distribution company out there. Owned by Cision, PR Newswire offers a variety of earned media services and unlike PR Web, PR Newswire pricing is not available on their website. PR Newswire provides industry-leading content and report as the most respected PR and Communication company.
PR Newswire Pricing: Pricing is not available on the company website; you will need to book a call session to get detailed information about the cost of using their service.
PR Newswire is the most expensive press release distribution service provider with pricing reported at $20,000 depending on volume and frequency of use.
How to Write Press Releases that Newswires will Never Reject
- Five Most Popular Press Releases and Templates to Follow
Unlike any other type of content, writing a press release requires skill and an understanding of acceptable frameworks. Press releases are incredibly powerful as it helps you define your communication and can be done at scale.
If you are interested in learning how to write a press release, the following tips will be helpful and can help you become a pro press release writer if well understood.
As a press release distribution company, we have seen tons of press releases written and have rejected so many as well. Many people write press releases without understanding the strategic importance and implementation of earned media.
While you can write a sales letter to create a sense of urgency and sell a particular product or service, a press release is not to be used for such purposes.
A press release among other things, helps you create trust, brand exposure, effective communication footprints and thought leadership.
Tips for Writing a Press Release
- Write the Title Last
- Avoid using sense of urgency and sales words in the title
- Include the 5 Ws. Who, What, Why, Where and When in the first paragraph.
- Include key details in the body and a quote from a business executive
- Conclude with a boilerplate
Press Release Templates
Press releases are great for one thing, they follow a standard format or template. If you know what you want to cover in your press release, you can use a format or template relevant to your subject and have a great press release in no time.
However, you can always be professional to take charge when you are writing a press release on something that is tricky or sensitive. You can expect their expertise and experience to come into play as they are able to help you avoid costly mistakes.
Five Press Release Templates To Help You Become a Pro PR Writer
You can leverage the press release templates listed below to help you get your brand exposure to the next level.
- New Product Launch Press Release Template
- Event Press Release Template
- Book Launch Press Release Template
- Music/Album Launch Press Release Template
- New Hire Press Release Template
How to Submit a Prelease: 7 Tips to Achieve Success In Your PR Campaign
- Decide Your Strategy
- Find a Press Release Distribution Company or List of Journalists
- Write a Captivating Pitch for your campaign
- Use a Hook in your subject line
- Choose the Right time and tone.
- Follow Up Strategically
- Track Placements and Results
- Decide Your Strategy
Everything starts with a strategy. Most people get it wrong when they simply go after results without first settling down to create a strategy that is both unique to their business and as well gets them results. As in all cases, the same applies to Public Relations.
