Introduction to Press Releases
One good way to draw attention to your site (i.e. traffic and links) is to use press releases. These are short (300 - 600 word) articles written in the third person about a news story that features your site.
One important thing to remember though is that press releases are not adverts, they should not contain advertising language or material, and should be written as if they are proper news articles. Go easy on fluffy, filler content, and include lots of facts and important details.
Press release, or PR, sites can vary quite a bit, some are free, others charge per year, some charge per release. Some sites allow lots of links to your site, some don’t allow any. If you are after some free publicity, with the hope of getting picked up by Google News (which in turn increases your chance of journalists picking up your press release and writing about it on their own sites), I have compiled a list of sites you may want to take a look at.
Now you are really excited about press releases, take a look at my 10 tips for Press Releases!
Press Release Sites
| Site | URL | Price | Allows Links | Picked up by Google News? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PR Leap | www.prleap.com | Free | Yes | Yes |
| Open PR | www.openpr.com | Free | Sometimes | Yes |
| I-Newswire | www.i-newswire.com | Free | Yes | No |
| Media Syndicate | www.mediasyndicate.com | Free | Yes | Yes |
| Press Box | www.pressbox.co.uk | Free | Redirect links | No |
| 1888 Press Release | www.1888pressrelease.com | Free | Link not active | No |
| News Wire Today | www.newswiretoday.com | Free | Yes | Yes |
