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Are You News Worthy

Have you ever wondered how you could gain enough recognition to be considered an authority in your niche by passers-by? As an online marketer (someone who owns a business and advertises online), you probably want things that work, and work pretty darn fast. Some of these things are “bleeding edge” technologies, and some are time tested and just keep on working.

One of the time tested, online strategies creating fast results, and instant authority is the online press release. Sure, you think I’m just saying that because you’ve read about press releases previously, and think it’s just a ploy by others to waste your time.

In fact, I agree it is often used as a ploy to make you feel like you’re wasting your time, and I’ll add that in reality, it is not a ploy or a waste of time. An online press release is a powerful tool you can use today to build both real authority and boost your position in the search engine rankings.

What is an Online Press Release?

You know what a press release; am I right?

Well hold one second, and I shed some new light for you. Online there are many new platforms and content networks syndicating your story via press releases making it one of the most dynamic and highly effective means of online advertising and digital marketing.

There are many definitions, so I’ve combined a number of them so you and I can be clear as to what we are talking about here:

“An online press release is digital distribution of a news document announcing a product, service or event. It’s intended to bring attention to the same. There is no requirement for the product, service or event to be brand new. It is typically distributed through press release platforms, and is publicly available to syndication by any online user.”

So you see now, the press release can literally announce anything old or new, and is distributed online. The distribution process creates many new links to your website from authoritative places online. These backlinks instantly boost your search engine relevance and your personal and business credibility.

Why You Need Online Press Releases

To make it clear, by publishing a press release you instantly get what some call “borrowed credibility” from the press sources. It doesn’t matter how big or small a press source, it still adds to your credibility. When your press release appears in prominent or semi-prominent places, you become a player in your market nearly instantly.

Some Best Practices

What makes a press release good to the readers and the syndicators?

There isn’t yet a secret formula proven to work better 90% of the time than anything else. However, key elements do exit to make your press release stand out from others in your market.

First and foremost, determine who should be seeing your press release. These digital documents can be spread worldwide or kept local. Therefore, it is to your marketing advantage to determine which is best for you.

Ask yourself, if my business is in Kansas City, do I really need people in Canada or Los Angeles to see it? You decide, then you begin your press release.

Then you want to pick a service to distribute it. Some of the best include Vocus, PR Web, eReleases, etc. There are many services out there, simply do a search for “press release services.” The three mentioned are among the top recommended, however, you may find some other service is better for your needs.

Ideally, you want to be able to track the distribution. This includes how many people read the release, and how many actually interact with it (click through).

Now the Nitty-Gritty

Now you have the big picture stuff done. Let’s look down to the nitty-gritty. What should you include in a press release?

Well, it must be written as something newsworthy and not as an advertisement. This can literally be anything. Some ideas include; new product release, product updates, company milestones achieved, contest announcements, event announcements to name a few. Just about anything you can frame as something people want to know about. It can even announce a blog post or a video!

Key to the press release is it must be attributed to a person or a business. In this way, you can refer to an article, a blog post, or a video as a news creator, or a news contributor. Is your mind starting to tick now? Do you see how this helps you build a big goal of credibility?

How to Write Your Online Press Release

This is simple – really. If you’ve never done one, then simply go to PRWeb or any of the big services and look up any press release in your industry. Model directly off of the already approved releases.

Find the ones that catch your attention without you really thinking about it. Those are the ones you want to model.

The other way to do this is to have it written for you. There are plenty of places to get your online press release written so you don’t have to spend the time, particularly if you hate written as much as I hate liver.

The top services allow you to include video and images. I highly encourage you to use these features. They are worth there weight in 100xs the gold. For instance, if you are announcing a product release, include an image or video of the product.

The Bottom Line

The idea that “old school” is bad, is probably the worst approach you could possibly have. The proof exists in many classic ways. The press release is just one so-called “old school” way of marketing that delivers more punch in a single blow, than most any other form of marketing.

The press release, as you have seen, creates nearly instant credibility, and boosts your search engine rankings. It does both fast. There are both free and paid distributions, so even if you don’t have the bucks to spend, the free services are still worth using to start getting your name and services noticed. You must include online press releases in your marketing plan.