Using PRWeb for Press Releases

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ldumont999

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I've been using PRWeb (prweb.com) for my press releases and I thought I'd share the wonderful experience with you all. PRWeb posts your press release by category and for FREE. True, you can "bump up" your release (by paying for it) to make your release more visable but you don't always need to do that When you write for the inspirationationl market the pool of press writers is smaller and you don't need much of a boost to get to the top of the list.

I received a number of requests to review my books and a few radio interviews from the releases I posted on PRWeb. Of course you have to know how to write a good release -- one that does not so much promote your book (or yourself) as it fills the needs of those reading the release. Example: for mothers day I posted a release that talked about being (or in my case NOT being) the perfect mom at all times ... and how this is really OK. (Love does cover a multitude of sins :) and our God is a very gracious God). I got two radio interviews from the release and was able to talk about my latest book on both of them.

Just thought I'd let you all know about this great tool for writers.
 

WriteRead

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Thank you, ldumont, for this very helpful info.

I just checked it out and added it to my favs. When the time comes, hopefully, I'll certainly make use of it.

In the meantime, will you be so kind as to enlighten me how you use it, the free and the paying options, w/o having to go thru all the menu options there?

Thanks,

Dan

Love - Always and All Ways!
 

ldumont999

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How to use PRWeb

WriteRead said:
In the meantime, will you be so kind as to enlighten me how you use it, the free and the paying options, w/o having to go thru all the menu options there?
Love - Always and All Ways!

Its been some time since I started using PRWeb so bear with me as I rack my brain to remember how to do this. I believe first you have to "register" but that is free. On the main page. Go to the tab that says "submit press release." Once there you'll have the option of signing in (if you are already registere) or of registering as new member.

From there they will walk you through it all. DO read their tips on writing a good press release. Unfortunately most people don't understand that a press release should be news - not a sales pitch. You must figure a way to connect what you want to "sell" with real news.

Louise Bergmann DuMont
Author of Faith-Dipped Chocolate & Grace by the Cup :Coffee:
 

ldumont999

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PRWeb Press Release

I have two releases going out on Saturday. One is for our church VBS program and the other is for the NJCWG - A REASON TO WRITE conference. If you return to the site on Saturday and go the "Christian" section you'll see the press releases I did. Just though you might like to see an example of how I use this. I'll be putting an other release out shortly. I was recently asked to re-start my column on Crosshome.com and I'm sending out a release to generate a bit of a buzz about that. I may tie it into National Columist's Day (June 28th) or National Chocolate Eclair Day (June 22nd) -- my column is called Mocha Light and it uses the topices of chocolate and coffee as vehicles to share insights into God's Word.

Anyway, just thought I'd let you know you could see samples of my press releases this Saturday.

Louise Bergmann DuMont
Author of Faith-Dipped Chocolate & Grace by the Cup :Coffee:
 

eAgent

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PRWeb and YOur Online Visibility...

ldumont999 said:
Its been some time since I started using PRWeb so bear with me as I rack my brain to remember how to do this. I believe first you have to "register" but that is free. On the main page. Go to the tab that says "submit press release." Once there you'll have the option of signing in (if you are already registere) or of registering as new member.

From there they will walk you through it all. DO read their tips on writing a good press release. Unfortunately most people don't understand that a press release should be news - not a sales pitch. You must figure a way to connect what you want to "sell" with real news.

Louise Bergmann DuMont
Author of Faith-Dipped Chocolate & Grace by the Cup :Coffee:
Hi All!

I'm brand new to the forum, but have been in the industry for nearly 2 decades.

In regards to PRWeb, there are a number of easy to implement elements that will greatly improve your PR results. I'll list a few here, but please feel free to contact me if you need more info. I love this part of the process, and know what it's like to be fumbling in the dark!

1) There are about a dozen elements within your press release that will pump-up its visibility. What I mean by that is you can make little changes (what words you use at the front of your Title, Summary and each paragraph in your release is one example). By doing these things, you'll get dramatically improved results.

2) Adding attachments (images, Word files, PDF files) in your press release makes a huge difference in results as well. You'll want to make those images "visible" so I recommend a minimum $40 upgrade to get that functioning (I'll explain the Upgrade levels later).

3) Make sure you have at least one web link per paragraph of your release. Each link should point to an important page on your web site, Amazon.com and anywhere else you want to drive traffic. This is a big deal, so do it right.

4) As Louise mentions above, make your press release editorially valuable. Say something rich, valuable, deep and newsworthy, if possible. Lowest common denominator stuff doesn't pull in online PR.

5) Don't be afraid to write long-form. C'mon, we're writers here! I have a number of releases that are 500-900 words in length. The more content you provide, the more Google and Yahoo have to work with (as well as those pesky journalists.

6) Speaking of which, make sure you check 5-9 distribution categories (there are a total of 279 on PRWeb. These are the channels that sends your release to editors and journalists). By tapping more categories, you gain greater chance of becoming filler somewhere. NOTE: Don't Spam editors using PRWeb! Just choose more than one category for optimum results. NOTE2: Online PR is not as much about journalists as it is about getting online visibility (search engines and blogs). Most journalists use search engines now to find their stories, and the people who buy your books do the same. Make your press release work for your online audience, and you're golden.

7) If you can, get your press release in a week earlier than you want it distributed. There are some cool behind the scenes things that happen when you do that.

8) Plan for Tuesday or Thursday distribution. In my hundreds of releases, those days seem to pull the best.

9) Don't think in terms of a Press Release. Create a Media Campaign! This is where the power is... you create momentum and credibility and brand by being in the press, on Google and Yahoo, and in the hands of journalists on a regular basis.

10) PRWeb is actually used by two guys I know of who guarantee Bestseller results. As you know, that's a systematic process to get your books moving very quickly. If you visit this link you'll see how they did it from the PRWeb position.

11) The free portion of PRWeb's service is probably not the best channel for you to promote your works. The company upgraded their systems this year, and have added so many new distribution channels (20,000 blogs, syndication channels, deals with Yahoo, Inc. and Fast Company, as well as dozens of other feed services). The added overhead has forced the company to adopt a small upgrade fee to ensure you can tap all of the available features. As someone who uses this platform in place of most of my Pay Per Click and other advertising work, it's a miniscule price to pay for the performance I receive (you can see a post on a quick 500% return on a recent press release within 24 hours of the release being launched).

There is so much more to cover, and I've gotta' get back to my day job. But I love this forum, and hope I can contribute more to your lives and success. If you need more info, please feel free to email me directly, or post a comment and I'll get back with you asap. I've written a couple of free guides on how to use the PRWeb service and online PR, and will gladly email them to you.

Warm regards,
ME
Mark Alan Effinger
RichContent.com
ThoughtOffice.com
 

janetbellinger

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I spent a couple of hundred bucks on press releases through PRWeb. They got lots of hits but it didn't translate into sales for me. It's a waste of time in my mind.
 

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PR Web is a waste of time. Really.

AW has more traffic than PR Web.

Professionals don't use PR Web, because the audiences we want to reach -- journalists, booksellers, and readers -- don't use PR Web.

You would do much much better, if you feel you must be your own marketer (and really, I think this is a dumb idea) writing a specific carefully crafted letter to a targeted and specific audience.

That means you pick individuals, you know what they want, and you present the information in the way that best meets those desires.

And, as Macdonald said, if you're doing this for a book (and really I wouldn't bother) there's not much point in a release that doesn't include the book.
 
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JennaGlatzer

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I've had some success on PRWeb. Nothing major, but-- for example-- I used to moderate an e-mail group for book reviewers. Picked up at least 100 members after I posted about it on PRWeb. I've also had some websites pick up releases about special book promotions I've done (contests, mostly). I put it in the category of "couldn't hurt."
 

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"...through myself and back again. Where? I don't know."

One of my favorite all-time tunes to play and sing... what you can do with your voice in bringing those words to life... thanks for the inspiration, Jenna.

Hi Folks,

Thanks for the interesting banter.

Here's the gig (just my seasoned position): PRWeb is not necessarily the key tool to get journalist activity for your book. I find that actually contacting the specific writers from the pubs I want to pitch works more effectively. (Though i just composed a release for a client who received 3 major articles and a television interview within 24 hours of the release on PRWeb. If your story has some sizzle, it works).

I use PRWeb.com to generate online buzz. Without getting too technical, search engines (especially Google) rank your web site based on a number of factors. A couple key ones are:

1) Who links to you, and how "real" and valuable are those links?, and...

2) How much specific content do you have related to your subject?

PRWeb solves both of those issues by "pushing" your content into blogs, syndication partners, Yahoo News and Google News, and PRWeb's own eMediaWire.com site.

Since you composed great PR content focused on 2-3 specific keywords that are also nicely dispersed on your web site (or that page you have on Amazon.com), and you have your Title and Summary really rockin'; and you have a PDF of a chapter of your book optimized in Acrobat for web parsing (because Google feeds on this content) as an attachment and also on PRWebPhotowire.com; and you released it at Midnight on Monday (for Tuesday distribution) and you understood the difference between free and reasonable upgrade contribution; and you did a PR CAMPAIGN rather than a single release (so you could stack the results)...

You're absolutely right that a single free release isn't going to get you squat. I tried that once myself.

Once.

Then I was hacking the PRWeb system one morning at 2:30AM and the founder called me and asked me what I was doing to get such good results.

Our dialogue turned into me sharing my techniques with him on how I personally make online PR pull like the dickens for a loooonngggg time.

And I continue to do so today. Folks, it (along with good blogging, sharing your voice in forums, using a little bit of PPC (AdWords or Yahoo Search Marketing), getting on Amazon.com, Powell's Books.com, hooking up with Mark Levy or Michael Drew (both master book marketers) and building momentum around your book, your vision, your passions... that's the secret.

One more thing: I HIGHLY recommend getting down to Austin Texas to Roy William's Wizard Academy. It will change your life as you learn how trends in the world develop and break-out over 20 year cycles. You'll also learn to write from a place deep, deep inside that flows naturally, elegantly to the page.

And you'll meet more of your kind than anywhere on God's green earth.

Really.

I hope this didn't come off defensive: that's the last thing I want to imply.

But it IS important to me that people understand the process, and do it correctly. Once you've experienced what I have in terms of moving content (eBooks, software, popular sports icons, products) using PRWeb, and how truly affordable it becomes over time (I still get clicks, visitors and sales from my press releases I put on PRWeb years ago), you can then focuss on what you do best: write. Or evangelize. Or tell stories.

Cool?

Excellent!

Warmest regards,
ME
---
Mark Alan Effinger
RichContent.com
ThoughtOffice.com
ExitPath.com
 
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