The power of using press
releases
If you’re still not convinced about the power of using press
releases and the potential affect it can have on your community,
let us provide you with an example of how a brand new site
netted its owner over a $1 million in a few
short months.
The site in question was called Million
Dollar Homepage; the idea was the brain child of a young
college student named Alex Tew. The objective of his site
was so sell a million small pixels for $1 each. After some
initial success selling advertising space to his own close
friends and relatives, he decided to launch a press release.
The press release was picked up by the national news media
and before long was being covered by every major online news
site all over the world. This only served to fan the flames
of publicity, the viral affect of using press releases meant
that this news was being reprinted everywhere from blogs to
bulletin boards.
The million dollar home page quickly realized its objective
and sold out of all of the available pixels, creating a whole
new copy cat industry in the process. Mr. Tew still receives
interview requests from local radio stations, TV programs and
traditional media. If you’re ever in doubt about the power
of using press releases, this is where to look for potential
and inspiration.
What makes a good press release?
There are some critical success factors that all successful
press releases have in common. Remember, your objective is
simple; to encourage as many people as possible to carry press
release. If your community or forum is mentioned on one major
news site or covered in one daily newspaper, it could be the
different between a successful community and one that become the
authority community of your theme on the Internet. Using
press releases wisely is a cunning skill; take the time to
understand the tips below.
- In the press release world, your headline is the most important
factor. It needs to be compelling, interesting and grab a
reader’s attention. This is because press releases are usually
listed on web sites, often the headline and the first line
is all that a potential reader will see. Take time over your
headline.
- Understand who you are writing the press release for. First
and foremost, you should have your target audience in mind.
However, you should also consider other journalists and media;
you should be trying to encourage them to pick up your press
release.
- Make sure that you’re using press releases for the right
reason. They should be used to tell the world about something
hot, something they maybe interested in. If your Thai Green
Tea Health & Fitness forum has just had a record number
of subscribers for a calendar month, this could be very interesting
news for health guide editors. Don’t fall into the trap of
using press releases just for building back links.
- Try to cover the main points of your press release in the
headline and first paragraph. Many news agencies have become
immune to press releases and the inevitable spam and blatant
advertisements they attract.
- Be factual in your press release, if you can provide stats
or independent third party quotes, such as customer statements
or a leading consultant’s view, your press release will have
more authority.
- Consider how your press release connects to other stories
or social issues that are currently doing the rounds in the
press. If your community is health food related, you might
consider linking it to a government initiative.
- If you are unsure of how to write a press release, hire
a professional. A poor press release will harm your credibility
and not provide you with your desired results.
Using press releases it’s all in the headline
Many experts proficient in using press releases will offer
one piece of crucial advice; work on your headline as it is
the most important factor for being picked up by other news
outlets. We’ve dedicated a whole section to this point as most
cases, a great headline is the only hook you have to entice
journalists to look at your press release over others.
The reason for this is because of the way press release companies
work. As you can imagine, they have a large number of press
releases in their system on any given day. As a result other
news agencies have become accustomed to skimming the press
releases and looking for interest headlines, if one catches
their eye, they will investigate it further. We can not stress
how important a great headline is when you are using press
releases.
Using press releases summary
If approached correctly, using press releases is still probably
the most powerful way to attract attention to your community.
For most webmasters and community owners, the Holy Grail for
their site is visibility, which requires general awareness
and good search engine rankings for your specific keywords.
A well crafted press release addresses both of these points
and as we have seen from the example above, it is very possible
that the printed media and other news agencies take your story
on for their own publications. If this happens to you, hold
on to your hat and make sure you have sufficient bandwidth
available.
If you do not have any experience of using press releases,
we recommend that you hire a professional writer, at least
for the first time. Try to learn the process and understand
how a press release is constructed. |
