Most Press Releases Do Nothing – Why Trust eReleases?

Web-based solutions – restricted to online visibility – what used to be called press release SEO – are available from dozens of providers. Prices are all over the place, from almost free up to hundreds of $$.

Google long ago stated that there’s no “SEO” value to syndicated press releases.

So why spend money on something with no real value?

To reach actual journalists;

• Start with an actual newswire – there are two who don’t specialize in publicly-traded clients: BusinessWire and PR Newswire.
• Next you need to add a targeted direct-to-journalists email send.

A PR firm can do this for you by sending your release over one of these newswires, and then can use a media database or personal rolodex for targeted sends. Most PR firms will then take more intensive actions to individually pitch media members on your behalf.

How that is different? Lots of places try to fake you out by calling themselves a “newswire” when they are not. Here’s another critical point: PR Newswire is dedicated to sending press releases.

Did you know that the Associated Press and UPI newswires use their wires ONLY for content their reporters write? Well they do. They also have services to send other stuff, but here’s the problem: The other material technically gets “sent” but it’s buried deep where journalists under deadline in newsrooms do not bother to look. That’s why we choose to go with a true, dedicated wire for press releases.

How that is different? Other PR services have commissioned salespeople whose job it is to sell and upsell you, or they don’t eat. Our editors are trained in journalism, and they don’t have the pressure of commissions.

When they give you advice, it’s because it is good advice and not some sales tactic.

How that is different? The sad and little-known truth is that many cut-rate online press-release services will send your release using addresses in “[email protected]” format. In other words, they have no contact whatsoever at the newspaper, so they send it to a generic address. Of course it gets spam filtered and never reaches an editor or journalist. But they can claim that they sent your release to the newspaper.

Do you see why some of these outfits can charge next to nothing for “distributing” your press release? They think you’ll be happy that the release was sent to lots of places, when the real success comes from people receiving and reading your release. That’s why we cultivate personal relationships with our sources, so your individual release is highly likely to reach their personal inboxes.

Please note that this is not:

• PR Web, Newswire.com, 24-7PressRelease.com, or many similar services, which are not newswires.
• iReach, which is PR Newswire’s web-only service.

Because we act as a cooperative for small businesses – which don’t do enough volume for the newswire’s sales team to engage – we receive a HUGE discount that we pass along.

Any other affordable service that claims to use PR Newswire is either sending through iReach (web-only) or doing a city/local distribution (very limited reach).

How that is different? Earlier we talked about how some companies claim they used a “newswire” or even that they themselves are newswires, when they actually did not and are not. Another game they’ll play, in order to keep their expenses down, is to negotiate some limited distribution on a wire so they can claim your release “went out on the wire.”

In reality it was to a very limited audience, but they don’t tell you that. At eReleases, we pay lots of money for special access to the full, nationwide distribution of PR Newswire, so you get maximum exposure.

How that is different? Your press release is too important to take someone’s word that it was distributed properly. That’s why we don’t just tell you that it went out–we give you the links so you can see for yourself.

Our WireWatch™ reports are available just 2 hours after your press release is published. Just click to see your press release on sites like MarketWatch, PR Newswire, Yahoo!, and many, many more.

NOTE: A single press release is not a press release campaign. Some people strike gold with the first release, especially if the newsworthy factor is high but that’s not the norm.

David Meerman Scott points out that he issued more than a dozen press releases to promote his book “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” before attracting attention.

That’s not common either, though it is tougher for an author to make a splash.

Our most successful clients usually see attention by the third or fourth press release as long as they mix up hooks/angles and try to better understand not just what the journalist wants but what the ultimate reader wants to read.