2 min read Are You Leveraging Press Releases to Gain Instant Credibility?

Okay, today I want to talk about Press Releases and how they can serve to be very worthwhile when it comes to getting instant exposure for your business and website. If you are not already leveraging this marketing strategy, definitely take the time to soak up this information so you may begin reaping the benefits.
 

Alright, so generally what is a press release? A pr can be classified as a media release, news release, pr, or even press statement that may be a written or recorded communication that will be directed towards members of the actual news media to announce or promote something containing news value, pretty straight forward. What kind of media will release Pr's, I glad you asked. Press Releases can be published through magazines, newspapers, radio stations, television stations and television networks, you can see the significance and potential a press release may bring.
 

Lets get into your Ease Of Setup
 

On a difficulty scale of simple, moderate, and expecting a learning curve, press releases thankfully fall into the simple category, I'll take it. For your setup time, on average less than three hours, but ultimately it will come down to your writing abilities. Once you have completed a press release, their is no ongoing maintenance to worry about. Your cost is going to range anywhere from free to low cost, another convenience, and you can expect to see results immediately.
 

Your Basic Use
 

If you do not know already, your goal especially if you are just starting off, is to establish yourself as a leader and make your presence known. Press releases are a great way to gain some instant credibility for your business. I recommend to use actual press release distribution sites rather than through fax, mail, or email. Also it is important to remember the difference between an article and a press release. An article is generally going to express an opinion or is sharing some kind of information, while on the other hand, a press release will announce some kind of specific event, like the launching of your business for example. These press releases can bring you some very high quality leads and prospects as the people reading press releases are generally going to be already interested in business, and are searching for the right opportunity and doing research.
 

Here Are Your Basic Action Steps To Follow
 

1. You need to Choose Your Topic
 

So when it comes to picking your topic, again keep in mind you are wanting to announce a specific event. For example, the launch of your new business, new website, blog, even your new team, etc. Make sure to start with one topic, as time moves forward you can announce new events in and for your business.

Just for the your sake and because threes and charm, i will say it again, do not format your release like an article. You will end up wasting your time writing it, just to get denied by a submission site because your format was wrong. Ideas are for articles, not press releases.
 

2. Choose Your Keywords
 

Keyword optimization, I am sure if you are a entrepreneur leveraging the internet to promote your business, you are learning the importance of this phrase. Same thing here, you are going to want to pick specific keywords for your press releases, that way when someone Google's one of those keywords, your release will pop up, giving them a chance to go to your website.
 

You want to make a list of about 5 to 10 keywords specific to your topic you choose. Their is a site you can go to called free keywords.word tracker.com, this is not a affiliate website for me, this is a free keyword site that will show you which of those keywords you choose has the highest amount of searches. From there, choose the top three with the most searches, keep in mind if you are using your name as one of the keywords, you do not need to type it in to word tracker. Choose one keyword from your top three that you will use for your first press release.
 

A good thing to remember and do, make sure that the keyword you choose actually in your press release as well, this way you can rank in Google's organic listings.
 

3. Write Your Press Release
 

First Step: It would be best to create a simple outline addressing these five questionsWhat event will I announce

• When did it happen
• Who did this event involve
• Why should others be interested in reading up on this event
• Where can people find out more information
• Second Step: Your next step is going to be to prepare quotes
• Write a least two to three quotes, and again make it like someone is interviewing you. The quotes should mainly reflect on what you think and how you feel about this event.
• Third Step: Writing your Press Release
• You want to make your pr read like a news story, third person, like someone else wrote it.
• Make sure that the keyword you select is used about three to four times within the body of your release, no more than four.
• Make sure that your keyword is in the title of your press release as well.
• Aim for 400 words, that is the optimal amount for a pr.
• If your press release sounds like an advertisement instead of an news event, expect it to get rejected.
   

Fourth Step: Review, Review
 

Make sure to thoroughly inspect your press release for improper spelling, punctuation, and grammar, have someone else read it if necessary, it would not hurt. You must be wary for you will not be able to edit your press release once submitted.
 

4. Go Ahead and Distribute Your Press Release
 

Once you have proofread, and all corrections are made, go ahead and distribute it.

First Step: You are going to want to create an account for each distribution site, I will provide you with five sites to get you going. These sites are in now way affiliate to me, this is only to help you get going with some quality distribution sites.
 

Second Step: Complete your profiles
 

Third Step: Go ahead and input your Pr, your keywords, and your contact info
 

Fourth Step: Make sure you double check your information that you enter, it needs to be 100% correct, edited, all that good stuff. You have to remember that once you submit it their will be no way for you to edit it. How bad will that look when you have sentence fragments and punctuation problems in your press release.
 

Fifth Step: Your ready to submit your pr, keep in mind also that these steps may differ a little in the sites below.

I would recommend starting with these distribution sites to get you going, again these are not affiliate sites for me in any nature, this is an informative and educational article for you to use.
 

5. What you can expect
 

keep in mind that some distribution sites will actually take your pr live immediately, and some sites can take up to 72 hours for approval. The nice thing is that even if your press release is rejected, the site will tell you exactly why they cannot except it, making it easy for you to go back and revise as necessary. Also when it comes to speed, webwire has been known to be the quickest.
 

The last little thing I can give you, if possible, go ahead and add a video to your press release. This is not mandatory, but Google actually favors press releases with videos in them, which comes to me with no surprise being that Google and You tube are owned by the same people, unless recently that changed.
 

Well their you go, that is how to get you going with your first Press Release in a nut shell, I hope you find this article to be helpful, and God bless.