Internet Press Release

An internet press release provides online businesses a ticket to instant online publicity. It is an effective launching pad to reach massive online crowds in a relatively short time span.

An interesting and validated internet press release is essential as editors and journalists tend to get tens if not hundreds of press releases every single day.

So how can you make yours stand out from the rest of the pack?  Here are a couple of helpful pointers :

VALID REASON FOR RELEASE

First and foremost, ensure you have a valid reason for sending out an online press release. A new product launch or an anniversary promotion are all good and valid reasons.

Do not send out a press release for no apparent reason, it doesn’t achieve any purpose. In fact, doing so would have reverse or ill effects instead.

FOCUS ON YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

Next, ensure that the press release is well optimized for distribution to the targeted audience. Note that the editor of Business Magazine is not going to be interested in the launch of your new gaming e-book.

Always see things through the eyes of your target audience, what are their areas of interests, how would they like to read the press release you have written. Although it might seem obvious, but many online business owners make the “avoidable” mistake of distributing press releases without taking into account the target audience.

PROPER KEYWORD RESEARCH

Perhaps you have heard of the phrase “search engine optimization”, but in the realm of online press releases, the dominant phrase here is “press release optimization”. Likewise, selecting the proper keyword or key phrase is one of the most important aspects of press release optimization.

Remember to select 1 or 2 major keyword or keyword phrase that is pertinent to the product or service you are offering. Keyword research tools like Keyword Elite are indispensable when searching for relevant keywords.

EFFECTIVE KEYWORD POSITIONING

The next most important step is to properly insert these specially chosen keyword or phrase in specific sections of your internet press release.

Ensure that your title, paragraph headers and body content of your press release contains all your major keywords or phrases.

Remember to repeat your main keywords at least a couple of times in the content of the press release to high-lite its importance.

When linking to your website or online business, use variations of your keywords as anchor texts instead of common phrases like “Click Here”.

MULTI-MEDIA EFFECTS

Who says press releases need to be one-dimensional,  you can add multi-media such as images, video & audio enhancements to spice up the attractiveness of your press releases. You will be surprised what a little creativity can achieve these days.

CONTENT STYLE & DESCRIPTION

When structuring your press release content, use a general and easy to understand style of writing. Avoid using technical jargon, superfluous adjectives & extravagant language as verbosity distracts from your content.

Do not use passive voice when drafting your press release, always draft it in active voice as verbs in the active voice makes the press release live.

Make sure that the contents of your press release are both factual and practical, avoid using fabricated examples as most of today’s viewers are internet savvy enough to smell a rat a mile away.

Frequently, you will notice press releases containing heaps of exclamation marks. Do shy away from using too many exclamation marks, in fact, excessive usage might harm your press release instead of doing it good. If required, just use one to high-lite its importance.

COMPANY INFORMATION

The press release should include a brief history and description of the company, depicting their products and/or services.

But before you distribute the press release to the company online newsroom, make sure you obtain the company’s permission first. Most companies are very protective about their own branding, recognition and credibility. So, remember to get written permission before adding in any additional information about the company.

DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

Deciding which type of press release distribution network to use is critical as there are both free and paid services available on the internet.

My recommendation is to select the more popular and reliable ones including wire services such as PRWeb, Business Wire, Marketwire & PRNewswire.

SOCIAL & VIRAL MARKETING ADVANTAGES

Create a social media version of the internet press release and distribute it across all the major social networking sites, encouraging social bookmarking of the press release. This will give the press release an additional social and viral marketing advantage.

TRACKING & CONVERSIONS

Nothing could be more important than to track how well your press release is doing. In order to track conversions, it is imperative to add tracking codes in the urls of the online press release to the actual landing pages of your online business.

An efficient tool to use is google analytics and the best part is that it is totally free. Use it to monitor press release rankings, traffic & conversions.

Anyone can write a press release, but writing an effective internet press release that grabs your immediate attention is by no means an easy task.

Hopefully, these simple pointers can set you on the right path to producing that head turning press release that will set the internet on fire.