Paid For Press Releases Vs Free Press Releases

13 replies
Could anyone tell me if there is any value in using free press releases to drive traffic to blogs, etc or are they a complete waste of time and paid for PRs are the way to go?

If it's paid for then where can I get some great quality PRs with tons of buyer traffic at a low, low cost?

Many thanks.
#buyer traffic #free #paid #press #press releases #releases
  • Profile picture of the author borsaronero
    There are few good press release out there, and they are not free.
    I don't think that they are a waste of time, but I would prefer to work on my blog, social network, engage conversation with people in my niche, give help, and establish myself as an authority.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      My experience with PRs is you get what you pay for.

      Free PRs can bring a little bit of traffic, but I have not had much success with them personally. Paid services get better attention and the places that send paid services get more notice from the media, IMO.

      As for your question: "where can I get some great quality PRs with tons of buyer traffic at a low, low cost?" I wonder if you understand how PRs work?

      You provide the "great quality PRs" and the resulting traffic is up to you and your ability to write an enticing and compelling announcement. Press release distributors put the message out there, but the amount of traffic you get and whether it is "buyer traffic" depends solely on you and how well you write copy.

      As for "tons of buyer traffic at low, low cost" - that is mostly wishful thinking. It all depends upon how good you are at getting the message across and how "in demand" your product/service may be.

      Personally, I don't send out PRs hoping to get buyer traffic for a quick sale. I do it for exposure, branding, incoming links and to drive traffic to one of my web sites.

      Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author Kevin Walker
        Hi Steve and thanks for these responses. Here are my replies to them:~


        Originally Posted by Steve B View Post


        As for your question: "where can I get some great quality PRs with tons of buyer traffic at a low, low cost?" I wonder if you understand how PRs work?

        Hi Steve, yes, I'm new to PRs and I'm trying to understand them so many thanks for your detailed responses!

        You provide the "great quality PRs" and the resulting traffic is up to you and your ability to write an enticing and compelling announcement. Press release distributors put the message out there, but the amount of traffic you get and whether it is "buyer traffic" depends solely on you and how well you write copy.

        Please see my copy above and let me have your thoughts on it.

        As for "tons of buyer traffic at low, low cost" - that is mostly wishful thinking.

        I realise this Steve and it was said slightly tongue in cheek!! ;-)

        Personally, I don't send out PRs hoping to get buyer traffic for a quick sale. I do it for exposure, branding, incoming links and to drive traffic to one of my web sites.

        Yes, I realise this and these types of results would be most welcome, but I was just testing the waters regarding potential sales.

        Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    I've gotten some decent results with free press releases. The main thing about press releases is that in the MMO field they are often not written properly. When that's the case it doesn't matter whether they're free or paid. People flat out ignore them.

    Here's a little secret. Send your PRs to offline newspapers, magazines, trade associations and other traditional outlets, even if your release is geared more to an online audience. I've had tremendous success doing this. If you want to go even further, create a media kit for your product, service, etc., and make it available online. Point people to it by mentioning it in your online or real world press release.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kevin Walker
      Since two of you mentioned and one of you hinted that a good PR needs to be well written then I'd like to share this with you which was written by me after going through a training course for writing PRs. What do you think of it?

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      The Kewco Trading Company has invested considerable time and effort to ensure an enjoyable user experience while providing timely and relevant information on how to Increase Free Buyer Traffic in Under 5 Hours. Additional updates and new features can be expected in the future. Interested parties can view the website at Making Money Online the Right Way

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    • Profile picture of the author Kevin Walker
      Originally Posted by travlinguy View Post

      I've gotten some decent results with free press releases. The main thing about press releases is that in the MMO field they are often not written properly. When that's the case it doesn't matter whether they're free or paid. People flat out ignore them.

      Here's a little secret. Send your PRs to offline newspapers, magazines, trade associations and other traditional outlets, even if your release is geared more to an online audience. I've had tremendous success doing this. If you want to go even further, create a media kit for your product, service, etc., and make it available online. Point people to it by mentioning it in your online or real world press release.
      Many thanks for this, but what do you mean by a ''media kit''? Could you give full details and examples please?
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      • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
        Originally Posted by Kevin Walker View Post

        Many thanks for this, but what do you mean by a ''media kit''? Could you give full details and examples please?
        Your press release reads more like an ad than a press release. It's actually a good example of what not to do. There's no way a massive graphic belongs in a press release. Here's an article I wrote years ago on creating good releases:

        How To Write A Good Press Release

        Writing a press release is a simple matter once you understand the rules. In this article we’ll look at those rules along with some practices that will get your release tossed into the trash or the delete file in short order. After all, sometimes it’s wise to have a heads-up on what not to do as well as how to do it right.

        A Press Release Is News
        The biggest boo-boo I see these days is presenting a press release as though it were an information article or worse yet, a promo piece or advertisement. This is a major mistake and will most often cause your release to be passed up by an editor or other decision maker.

        A press release should be written in a journalistic style. A good release has a captivating headline designed to draw the reader in. The information in the release will methodically build upon the headline and should be crafted to enlighten the reader. There’s a simple formula that’s been used for decades that allows even the novice to write a decent press release though, it often seems this format has been forgotten.

        Who
        This one is obvious. Most often the release is about an individual. When describing the main player in any release, an interesting bit of information (personal or otherwise) goes a long way in drawing the reader in.

        What
        Exactly what is the newsworthy event that warrants the release? A boat launching? A charity drive? A new product or service? Whatever it may be, brief personal details of the main player should surround the incident.

        When
        This one is pretty easy. Though I must say that I’ve been seeing a lot of releases that aren’t specific as to the exact time. Don’t commit this error.

        Where
        Another simple one that’s often left incomplete. Lots of press releases these days are describing online events. This is where the writer would mention the URL or domain name. I recently clicked on a link and read an announcement of an online Webinar, and the writer forgot to include a link to the event. Ouch!

        Why
        Why is the event taking place? Why is the individual doing what she’s doing? The answer to such a question might begin like this: In an effort to raise awareness of the plight of starving dingoes of the plains of Australia, Abigail Hollister will perform a piano concerto in Royal Albert Hall on Thursday, March 23…

        You can see that the above sample sentence covers nearly all of our questions. With the basic information out of the way the writer is left to briefly explain the plight of the dingo, a little about Abigail, and perhaps a bit about Royal Albert Hall. Once the basic questions have been answered, you can take the release in a number of directions. This allows the opportunity to do some promoting as long as the information remains newsy.

        Some Writing Guidelines:

        • Before sitting down to write a press release, determine what you want your reader to come away with.
        • Understand who your audience is and to write to them.
        • If you are providing factual information that might be in question, cite the source.
        • Keep your writing concise and avoid flowery language.
        • Write in third person in the active voice.
        • Let your media outlets know that the release is FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE by placing that statement before the body of your text.
        • If the press release is for the Web, be sure to post it to your own Website.

        And finally, remember to also keep your press release as brief as possible while delivering all of the important information in a factual and engaging style. Many editors won’t even consider a release that requires more than a single 8 x 11 sheet of paper unless it’s perfectly crafted.

        As for media kits, just do a search for them there's tons of excellent free info out there. You might also try searching press kit. In brief, it's a collection of documents that explain you or your business in a compelling way using bullet lists, brief to the point descriptions, relevant facts, etc. If you were to actually send out physical press releases you could put your press kit on a cd and include it.
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  • Profile picture of the author mufad
    Which are some of the best free and paid pr sites ? I have used only prweb.com in the past, are there any new ones that are worth a look ?
    Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author webogist
    Interesting question. i have used both paid and free PR submission sites in the past. but i must tell you that there is value in what is paid for.

    I sure got more value in terms of traffic and baclink when i paid for submission. You might consider using "ereleases" i can confidently say they deliver well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aristodemos
    I use press releases all the time and you get what you pay for (or don't pay for). Free PR sites usually have a bunch of page rank zero clone sites in their "network" that are all on the same IP. Google goes after these types of networks with a vengence, and if you're linked to them, well, I wouldn't risk it. I use PRMWire myself (formerly Press Release Monkey) and they do really well for me. You can get PRWeb for way less than PRWeb will charge you directly and they write and distribute the PR for you. I've had really good success with them, just know your market and make sure they use your target keyword in the first part of the title.
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  • Profile picture of the author Milesgeek
    It is always good to opt for the paid press release websites. The paid press release websites have a better reach, there are affordable paid websites through which you can publish your press release.
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  • Profile picture of the author J. Barry Mandel
    The problem with FREE press release sites is that they have no dependability. So one day you can post to them and the next day they are not there anymore due to a variety of reasons like:
    * Switched models from free to paid
    * Permissions changed so it's no longer possible to easily gain access

    If you really want to make something happen for your business find an way to distribute your PR's affordably.

    (see my sig for the longest running WSO in Warrior Forum history which happens to be PR software)
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  • Profile picture of the author mialucy06
    According to me, if it is good the free Press release, there will no need the paid one. So of course the paid is the best, there is no doubt about it. You should submit the press release at the right place also to get a good result.
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