Here’s a big mistake that many PR people make when they start writing a press release. They write the release for only one audience: the media.
Twenty years ago, when most of us were snail-mailing releases, that would have been fine. But today, you should be writing press releases so people in your target audience, not just the media, can find you online.
Greg Jarboe, a PR pro who is also an expert in search engine optimization, explains:
“Among the 4,500 ‘news sources’ that Google News continuously crawls are PR Newswire, Business Wire, Market Wire and PR Web.
“When users search Google News for a term or phrase, they often find press releases as well as articles on the first three pages of results. This means that PR people can use Google News to pitch their news stories directly to prospects.”
Greg says PR people can also use Google News to reach the press. An estimated 92 percent of journalists working at newspapers, magazines and broadcast outlets nationwide go online for article research, and about 81 percent say they search online daily.
Greg has a five-step process for optimizing your press releases so they’re found by consumers as well as journalists. He explains it in an article in the May/June issue of The Publicity Hound newsletter. The issue also includes articles on how a Bulldog Kissing Booth got fabulous publicity for a dog show; what you need besides expertise to be a credible source on TV; a new women’s magazine, where to find email addresses of Wall Street Journal reporters; a website that wants articles on parenting, families and relationships; 6 tips for working with freelance writers; how to write compelling comments on blogs; where to post a writing, editing or research project for freelancers; how to know how many other websites link to yours; how to pitch “Dateline;” and seasonal story ideas for May and June.
You can order it for $10.