Press Releases: Benefits and Tips for Writing a Press Release

Posted on Aug 10, 2010 | 0 comments

Press releases are a valuable marketing tool to help with search engine optimization (SEO) and driving traffic to your online content. In this hub I will explain how writing a properly formatted press release for online content can increase traffic and be a valuable marketing strategy for novice and professional article writers.

Most online press release providers have a free version of their service. These will get you limited functions, such as getting your work out in the pool to be discovered by publishers and webmasters, but do little for getting your already published articles exposure. Below, I have listed several PR service providers that will allow you to place an active hyperlink in your press release at no cost to you.  An active hyperlink will create a relevant inbound backlink to your content.

But first, you should watch the short video that demonstrates how a press release functions and why it should be a priority in your article marketing.

Anatomy of a Press Release

Timing: you can use FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, or HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL (specific date). I would use the first because the latter may not always be honored.

Target: Who are you trying to reach? If you want to target your content to a specific group then use, for example, ATTENTION HEALTH EDITORS, or ATTENTION FINANCE EDITORS, or ATTENTION ALL EDITORS.

Headline: USE ALL CAPS FOR THE HEADLINE. Keep your title short and make it catchy. Use an alliteration, a colon, or offer a tip.

Sub-Headline: This is optional but it can give you another opportunity to slip in a relevant keyword or keyword phrase.

Date:This is important if you are reporting news or some timely event. You may be writing about a guest speaker at the next ComicCon, something that might not be relevant to someone that finds your post a year later. Most of what I write needs no dating so I omit the date from my release.

Introductory Paragraph: Grab the reader’s interest. Answer the who, what , where, and when, but keep it short.

Subsequent Paragraphs: Here you want to include some short facts and supporting information. No more than 2 subsequent paragraphs.

Further Information: Here you want to write just enough information to get the reader to click on the link to your main article. This is the teaser, if the reader has gotten this far, it’s likely they will follow the link.

Contact:this is where you put your contact information. A name and email address will be sufficient unless you are selling a product or service and want individuals to call. If that is the case then provide your phone number, business address, and website url. Just remember, this will be posted to the general public and everyone will have access to this information.

Not all online press releases are created equal.  Some PR services with have slight variances in the composition of the release, but most of what I listed above will be incorporated.  Some services will allow additional features, such as photos or a company logo.