'open letter' re: successful 'press releases'.

I thought I'd start a new thread here, since it would be easier to address comments/questions/etc.

I'm a bit confused with all the hype & hooplah surrounding press releases. Especially recently it seems as I am reading, there are a number of people extolling the virtues of press releases, as a 'magic bullet' solution to google woes, and other people 'quoting' other people's articles, etc.

To the people who seem to believe press releases are good, I'd ask you to please post here what you did 'right' that produced results for you? And what specific results did you see? I realize everyone's definition of results varies -- but to me, results are leads that converted to sales, that not only covered the cost of your press release, and generate a profit.

I've personally purchased, tested, and used probably about 50-60 press releases over the last 4-5 years, which range in price from anywhere from $100 to $500+ per single press release. They've been with well known services, and then with no name brands. Some have been single press releases for businesses, others have been a series of press releases. I've implemented tracking, tried SEO optimization for specific keyword terms, designed the press releases to be 'buyer friendly', etc, etc.

The net result of these tests was that the press releases seemed to be pretty much worthless. Or more specifically, did not generate enough new business to cover the cost (time & money) in issuing them. (That being said, I still am testing new press releases to figure out how to do it 'right').

1. YES - you do see your press release in the search engine for a specific quoted phrases. So something like "Company XYZ announces launch of Widget ABC to do EFG" does show up. But generally speaking, if you have more than one competitor, doing a search for "purchase widget ABC" or "how to do EFG", etc - what 'buyers' actually look for, does not. (And even if you try and get tricky and rephrase it like 'Buy Widget XYZ', google (very easily) sees that it is from a press release site, and seems to sandbox it).

2. YES -- you do see 'some' leads/activity from the press release. I have seen some releases generate as much as '15' leads. (Clicking from the release to the actual page). But at $350/release, that means each lead costs $23 (i.e., imagine paying that in google ads as PPC). And I would only 'break even' 'if' every single lead made a purchase, and purchased MORE than $23 worth of product.

Now... It is possible that maybe I am not using the right services... Or maybe not structuring the press releases correctly... Or maybe something else.

So I'd ask if you actually have turned a profit on a paid press release (since the free ones really do seem next to worthless), to share a tip on what you did right...

Thanks!