Frank Ross at The Home-Based Business Blog:
Press releases used to be a tool strictly used by Public Relations and Media professionals.
However, that’s changed and now press releases are available to anyone who wants to use them. They are fully integrated into news streams such as Google News so their reach is now greater that it ever has been.
If you’re a home based business and have a sparse marketing budget (and who doesn’t?) press releases might be the tool for you.
Whether the home based business is just getting off the ground or it’s a going concern and just needs some new clients/customers, the press release when properly written can get you that much needed attention.
The tricky part of a press release is that a good one has to be an attention grabber. Press releases aren’t advertisements.
That means you can’t just announce the presence of your website unless that announcement is somehow wrapped up in the context of some attention getting story.
Perhaps there’s a problem that needs solving. A press release might state the problem and then slide into the solution (which your business might provide).
If that transition is made without sounding like a blatant advertisement, then you could have a winning press release.
Photo by abcdz2000.
Affiliate Expert on June 27th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Use Press release is one of the best way to get your business out on the news wire. Many home business owners do not know the power of press release. Take advantage of PRweb and the tools they have to offer to promote your business.
Angela on June 27th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Writing press releases are a great business opportunity for a freelance writer as well.
I am so glad to see someone noticed that they are not supposed to be long advertisements. I’ve read some good press releases and some bad ones. The best ones I’ve seen read like an informative article.
I agree with the person above, PR Web is a great place to post (and find!) releases.
Dan Gebura on June 27th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I found press releases and article marketing great ways to spread the word about your business the smart and non commercial way. Those are great tools to build your own authority and brand yourself.
cassy on June 27th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
A press release is a simple form of marketing and i think in making a press release, it should be simple words so that all who read your “news” can easily understand it.
Elaine on July 1st, 2008 at 11:50 am
Curiosity brought me here. I just published a guide on using press releases and used free press releases to advertise it.
So you can imagine my surprise when my release was not picked up by all the sites I submitted to.
By their nature, a press release announces the beginning or ending of something. In my case, the announcement discussed my own publication, its intended audience and what readers could expect to find inside.
I wish the sites that had turned down my release had been specific about their objections.
Vincent Valentine on July 2nd, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I think I am in the same boat as Elaine. Thanks for the tips. :)
Danny Brown on July 14th, 2008 at 8:04 am
While press releases are excellent at bringing extra traffic to a business or website, this will only happen if the information contained in it is newsworthy to begin with.
Too many web masters, Internet marketers and others see the traffic that proper press releases bring, and think that they will get these results as well. Unfortunately, just saying “My website is live / my book is published / my services are available” are not enough.
Editors at PRWeb, particularly, are very stringent in what is acceptable and what isn’t. Poor editing or grammar, for example, is an immediate turn-off:
* http://pressreleaseprblog.com/2008/07/14/the-importance-of-a-properly-edited-press-release/
Press releases that are too salesy in their approach, or use first-person narrative, are generally frowned upon as well.
If you need a press release for anything, I would strongly recommend using a dedicated PR agency or professional. They have the experience, contacts and knowledge that will make sure your release reaches your target audience.