All marketing and publicity companies should rely on press releases to get news to media sources. Traditional or online sources, each can be beneficial to a client’s brand building and credibility, but with the understanding that, unlike paid advertising, they are not designed to blatantly promote a product or service.
A press release must be based on newsworthy facts. Write about a corporate milestone, new products and services, special events, and personnel hires and promotions.
Not everything is worthy of a formal press release, and those things should be left to individual announcements through alternate means, such as private email lists, blog posts, or noting on social networking sites.
With the landscape of media changing one thing remains steadfast; the driving force to get your information in front of the eyes of those who count.
So, how can press releases help in accomplishing that? Should you be paying for them, how much, and what do you get from free services.
To Pay or Not To Pay
Press release service fees can range anywhere from free to hundreds of dollars depending on the media contacts and journalists who utilize the services to find stories. While paying for press release services will get your news in front of some of the major players, free services also provide a benefit often overlooked.
According to a survey done by one blogger, there are several reasons to believe that free press release services play an important part in your marketing strategy. Although paid services will get your release in front of the major media outlets, the free services, if utilized correctly, will get your keywords within the search engines and provide another avenue for reporters and journalists to find it while searching a particular topic.
Free press release services definitely enhance your fee based press release and should be considered a viable option, or a compliment to the paid service. You also need to determine your specific goal when doing a press release; are you trying to get the attention of national or local media outlets, or are you trying to optimize the SEO of your own website to direct traffic? These are important factors to consider when developing your overall strategy.
Will it Work For Me?
Another significant fact to remember is there will always be varying results depending on the topic, the timing and the distribution. No magic bullet is possible, what may work for one, may not work for others, and the performance of a press release depends on the objectives set forth in your specific approach and how well it’s written in order to grab the media attention you are seeking.
According to the article “3 COMMON MISTAKES WITH PRESS RELEASE MARKETING:”
“If you’re worried about the branding and potential for negative publicity with a press release, then go with a professional agency for your press release marketing. You don’t have to generate the content on your own. It’s often best to use a professional service because it frees you up to manage the more important aspects of your business.”
Press Release Posting Sites:
Most of the free sites will also include the option to upgrade to varying degrees of visibility for your press release, with varying prices. Study each plan and decide which will work well in the framework with which you’re working.
Free Press Release Sites:
Fee-Based Press Release Posting Sites
ImaginePublicity 
Intriguing article.! I’ve written several press releases over the years for state government agency events – both the before and after event. Politicians love to be quoted! The fax machine was smokin’ with all of the media outlets chosen based upon geography of the “awardees”.
And…. trying to get the approval of the Governor’s office can be tricky!
However, you are always competing with the “Breaking news” events no matter that you’ve spent 10 months to a year planning the event. In this scenario, you don’t know until the last minute who will show up!!!
I’m sure Imagine Publicity has some great insights into these matters… We are all here to learn ..and improve!
Ladyjustice