Are you looking to get the news out about your brand?

Using a Press Release is a very popular way to get the story out to the media – but some say that press releases aren’t as effective anymore.

So what’s the deal?

The good news is Press Releases are alive and well… but only if you use them the right way.

In this article, we’re going to break down everything you need to know about Press Releases.

Let’s get started.

What Is A Press Release?

A press release is a short, official statement sent to the media for publicity.

Companies or PR pros draft a release to generate news coverage on issues, events, or products.

The very first press release was sent in 1906 to describe a train wreck that killed 50 people in Atlantic City. For the next 114 years, the press release has continued to be a staple of the media industry.

There’s been speculation in recent days that press releases are irrelevant because journalists now find news tips on social media.

In a way that’s true. More than 63% of social media users get their news from Facebook or Twitter, and approximately 25% of verified Twitter users are journalists. Social media is a great way to gather news.

On the other hand, 44% of journalists said they trust press releases the most when getting pitched.

So although press releases may be evolving, they still continue to be a trusted way for journalists to get stories.

The Benefits of a Press Release

Here are five ways you can benefit from incorporating them into your marketing plan:

1. Get Featured on High-Traffic Sites

When you use a press release distribution service, you can have your release distributed to hundreds, or even thousands of high-authority media sites.

Many of these outlets will publish your news item or upcoming event. This means you get publicity for your products or services, as well as a bunch of diverse links from authoritative news sites.

2. Demonstrate Social Proof

Being featured on a major news outlet is also an excellent way to demonstrate social proof on your website.

After being covered on networks like FOX, ABC, CBS, or NBC, our clients add news logos to their websites with a “featured on…” headline. Some even link the actual news article or embed the video.

Are you considering HOTH Press to benefit your clients? They’ll be impressed when you show them all of their new media coverage.

3. Improve Your SEO & Build Backlinks

Getting more backlinks is the key to ranking on the first page of Google, and distributing a quality press release is one way to get quality backlinks.

Here is a chart from Backlinko showing the importance of backlinks:

Top ranking pages have more backlinks than lower ranking pages

You can see here that, in general, the more quality backlinks you have, the better chances you have of ranking higher.

Now that doesn’t mean you just want to build thousands of backlinks – Instead, you want to focus on getting good links from quality domains, and distributing press releases can be a part of that strategy.

Editor's note

Press Releases can be a good way to build authority to your site and increase your organic traffic.

One of our customers reached out to show some of his recent results.

Here’s what he had to say:

I’d like to pass on the evidence I have that [Press Releases] do work and do improve rankings. But, you need to know how to use them.

I had no idea how well PRs worked for my site until I started using Ahrefs late last year. That’s when I discovered this:

That’s just one of the content directories that I promote using [Press Releases]. The “humps” you see exactly coincide with publishing [Press Releases] and the natural aging out of the [Press Release] pages on media sites in the network.

4. Develop Your Brand Awareness

Distributing a press release benefits your business, even if you don’t get a news story or backlink from your efforts.

Google is now indexing press releases and they appear in searches having to do with your products or services. Make sure your brand name is featured prominently throughout the copy.

5. Improve Your Online Reputation

Besides expanding brand awareness across the web, regularly distributing positive press releases with your brand in the title can help with your reputation management.

Google will index these press releases and they can often rank for your brand name. That means you can take up the entire first page with all sorts of positive news about your brand.

It’s so important to stay on top of your reputation these days because most customers will Google you long before they start reading your website.

How Do You Write a Press Release?

Most press releases follow a specific formula, and the formatting for a press release is pretty strict.

When writing a press release, here are the main sections you’ll want to include:

  • Engaging headline for the release
  • A summary of the announcement
  • Dateline in AP style
  • The body of the press release
  • A section near the end about your company
  • Contact information

Your body of the press release is the most important part. It needs to be clear and get to the point fast.

Many journalists will look to see that it contains the 5W’s (Who, What, When Where, and Why).

In most cases, they’re scanning the release so you want to make it easy to find key information.

Most newspapers and magazines follow Associated Press (AP) style.

This means they’ll probably hit delete on your press release if it doesn’t. You can find the basics of AP style here.

Press Release Distrubtion

When you use a distribution service, your press release can often get picked up and published by hundreds of news sources.

For example, with our service, we guarantee that it will be published by 300+ sources, and these are often high authority sites as well.

Check out some previous press releases we sent out that earned links from some high Domain Authority news sites:

 

 

Manual Distrubiton

You may also want to manually distribute your press release to targeted sources.

Most journalists prefer getting press releases through email. You need to ensure that your news fits into the journalist’s beat or interests. About 43% of journalists said they declined a story because it wasn’t personalized for them.

As you can see in the chart below, nearly one-third of journalists write a story based on a press release more than ten times per year. The trick is hooking them on the topic.

How often do you write a story based on a press release?

If it doesn’t get picked up the first round, don’t worry. Follow-up with the journalist afterward. It’s all about building a relationship. Even if they weren’t interested in one specific release, you may have another that might be a better fit.

Use HOTH Press to Reach National Media

If you’d like some help writing and distributing quality press releases, you might be interested in our service HOTH Press.

We offer two affordable options: Distribution Only or Writing & Distribution.

If you have a winning press release, we can distribute it to our list of major news outlets.

Otherwise, we have a team of expert writers who can take your idea, craft a killer press release, and distribute it on your behalf.

We’ve had clients featured on ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and more. It’s much easier for you to leverage our established relationships with these outlets than try to go at it alone.

And here’s the best part: We guarantee your article will get published in 300+ high authority sites around the country!

With HOTH Press, you have final approval over everything and the entire process can be completed quickly. This allows you to capitalize quickly on any emerging trends.

Check out HOTH Press here.

Conclusion

Using press releases continues to be a great way to get news out about your brand, improve your SEO, and more if you use the right strategy.

If you’d like some help writing or distributing your press releases, check out HOTH Press.