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Press Releases And Online Marketing

The humble press release was originally a piece of content that allowed PR firms to brief the media. But since the arrival of online PR publishers and news aggregation sites like Yahoo! News, press releases and PR copywriting services have changed. 

As part of SEO copywriting and content marketing strategy, press releases are an important form of content in the marketing toolkit. They are part news, part advertising, part SEO tool.

The great thing about online press releases is that they keep on giving. One release, well-timed, to a network can give you many links back to your site, and a lot of good coverage. But it doesn't have to end there.

Spin it

No, not political spin. We mean into other content forms. A copywriting service, like Big Star Copywriting can take one press release and re-craft into other forms of content. Likewise, other content could be re-purposed into a press release.

Let's look at how this could work:

Let's say you are doing a project for a charity. That's definitely worth a press release. Then, you blog about doing the work too. Once you're done the project, you announce the launch in another press release and another blog post. That's 4 new pieces of content from your copywriting service in one project! The best part is you get 4 pieces on your site, and 2 distributed across the web.

Press releases give you access to this wider channel, letting your potential customers know who you are and what you offer.

Who are press releases written for?

This is where the current state of the media and copywriting services gets confusing. Journalists no longer rely on press releases for their stories. But, they still use them, and so do the news sites (and so do search engines). So, who is your press release for? 

Your customers.

You should be writing about something that will interest your customers. They'll be reading news sources. The journalists will be writing for them too, and will see the customer benefit more clearly if you are writing for your customers from the start.

Where to put the press

There are a few reputable press release services out there. You might be surprised at the price at first until you consider the reach you'll get. Places like sourcewire and PRweb will get you massive coverage. Set up a Google Alert to your email address to see your results arrive in real-time (fun!).

It's also a good idea to put your press releases up on your own website in your own news section with an RSS feed. More content for your site, and a good way to keep media sources and interested customers coming back.

Don't forget your own contact list

Of course, you'll have a contact list too - maybe even a media list. Email your press release out to your media list and contacts that would like to receive news. These contacts are different to your marketing email lists, so don't make the mistake of sending out 'press' material to a marketing list (that's what your spin-off content is for).

Talk to us about what our copywriting services could do with your press releases. Or, request a quote or commission a sample press release, contact us now.