Free Press Releases

[mmaedelins]

Anyone have success generating leads through free press releases? If so, do you have any tips for a newbie? Thanks in advance!

 

[Mark]

How much does something like that cost? I know nothing is free.

 

[mmaedelins]

Free...unless you want to add upgrades and they are always trying to get you to purchase the upgrades (of course!).

I'm surprised you don't have press releases out, Mark! I thought you'd be the first one to write me with some advice.

 

[Mark]

I would think they would be a waste of time.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

How much does something like that cost? I know nothing is free.

Free Press Release Distribution Service - PRLog is free. I haven't used them to generate leads but for my business it works great.

 

[mmaedelins]

How so Johnny? And what kind of releases did you do?

@Mark: I'll let you know if they were a waste of time or not once I've gotten a few published.

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

Actually, there are many free press release services. I periodically use about 20 different ones. There are probably more than 100 but I doubt that most of them will help.

PRLog is one of the many to consider. Here's a sample of one I used last year:

Re leads...I doubt they generate many. Links? Supposedly, but let the SEO experts weigh in on that.


Affordable Ohio Health Insurance

 

[mmaedelins]

@Chumps... What benefits have you seen using the free press releases? Have any of your releases been used or quoted in the regular news feeds?

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

I'm not sure who has picked them up. I'm sure some reputable sources picked it up but no doubt plenty of spammy ones too.

 

[Guest]

I hire a publicist to write (or edit) and send out my releases but it is easy to do yourself... once you get a list of where to send them to. That is easy as well, but takes time. Publicists have these lists and it is basically their stock in trade (as well as being good writers.)

If you want to get press you have to offer up some NEWS... something useful and preferably something "new and different." Below is a time-tested recipe for getting ink that book authors use... but it is applicable to anyone... substitute "service" for "book" (I did not write this, but I've followed it!):

Writing Guidelines To Get Ink:

1. Write the article in either the second person or the third person, but not in the first person.

2. Do not mention yourself, or your book, in the article.

3. Do not quote experts, do not offer vignettes, and do not mention other books or studies. You're the expert; trust your own expertise.

4. The title should be short and snappy (for example, "The Five Perils of Retirement," "The Four Myths of Motherhood," or "Seven Ways to Cope With Siblings"). Capitalize it in that way: use upper and lower case letters.

5. First paragraph (and possibly the second paragraph) of the article should be the introduction.

6. The introduction should close with a line that leads into whatever the title promises to deliver. Examples: "Here are the five perils of retirement," or "The four myths of motherhood are," or "These are seven ways to cope with siblings." You can end that sentence with a colon {:]. That's the end of the introduction.

7. Next comes the body of the article. Create a bulleted or numbered list. That will be the body of the article. Each bulleted or numbered point should begin with a subhead (a mini-title), followed by a period to set it off from the text. Follow the subhead with detailed information about that point in a few sentences -- but try to keep each point to one paragraph, or two paragraphs, at the most. 8. Once you’ve finished the bulleted or numbered list, wrap up the article with a conclusion. That should be either one or two paragraphs.

9. Close with your byline. An example of a byline would be:

Debra Fine is the author of “The Fine Art of Small Talk” (Hyperion). Visit her online at ....

Note that we can't use boldface or italics -- in the byline or elsewhere in the article -- so set off the book title in the byline with quotation marks.

10. The article should be between 750 and 1,200 words. Be prepared for editors to ask you to expand, or shorten, the article.

11. Keep the article light and gently informational. Presume that the audience is those who read at the sixth grade level. Refrain from "overwriting" or creating an overly cerebral piece. If it takes you longer than 30 minutes to write the article, try choosing a different topic.

12. Choosing a topic, by the way, should be relatively simple. You want something that you can write off the top of your head without doing any research. The "five ways" or the "three myths" should take you just a few minutes to commit to writing. If you're in doubt about which topic to choose, ask yourself: What's the most general angle that pertains to your expertise (not necessarily to your book) that would interest the widest possible audience? That's the topic you want. For example, an article called "Five Ways to Use Hypnosis" will be more widely published than an article called "Five Ways to Use Hypnosis to Cure Agoraphobia." Similarly, an article titled "Five Tips for Talking to Your Teen" will get a wider pickup than "Five Tips Talking Your Teen Out of a Navel Piercing."

YMMV... but do understand that I've owned a book publishing company for 20 years (made a ton of money in it before Al Gore invented the Internet) and I know a little bit about the press, media, and "working it."

The above is pretty good advice... but nothing is carved in stone so do what works for YOU!

Does media help? Local media does. And sometimes national media will get you local medial. Here is some media I've gotten from sending out press pieces from time to time:

CNBC
Splurging in RetirementÂ*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* - CNBC

Wallet:
Seven Insurance Policies That Aren't Worth the Money - DailyFinance

Second Act:
Six Things You Need to Know About Medicare - SecondAct.com

As someone once said "It ain't braggin' if you can do it!" It's not hard to do... so go out and do it. If I can, anyone can. No magic to it. (One thing to understand...you may write or say "it" one way and the reporter totally screws it up... in print. Not much you can do about it!)

Al
I am at this ugly site.