So you have a fine press release written, but you don’t know quite what to do with it. You decide to blast an email to your best contacts. You get no response. You pitch some people over the phone, but they’re not interested. So it’s time to go to the newswire or wire.
The beauty of newswire distribution in the Internet age is that you get both opt-in readers and passive readers. Opt-in readers are journalists and others who ask to receive press releases from newswire services. Passive readers are people who just happen to stumble upon a press release as part of their normal web surfing.
Wire service distribution will get your release on websites such as Yahoo!, Hoovers, MarketWatch and DallasNews.com (the web site of the Dallas Morning News) for a flat fee. Most importantly, it’s free eyeballs. Most newswire services will promise that they have a whole bunch of journalists signed-up to receive press releases in certain subjects, but not all services can promise wide press release distribution to web sites.
I can tell you from experience that press releases on wire services do catch journalists’ eyes. Many of us utilize personalized homepages such as MyYahoo! Press releases are distributed in general news categories such as “Internet News” and “Telecommunications News.” The press releases become intermingled with actual news stories and blend into the normal news reading cycle. And press releases, because they’re classified as news content on these sites, often end up in news search results.
Newswire service distribution to websites also results in a longer life for your press release. The wire services archive press releases on their own websites and sites like Yahoo! and MarketWatch will keep the releases on file for months or longer.
While concentrated PR pitches and in-house press release distribution lists are a must, a newswire service, like the one included in all eReleases press release distribution services, is also the most practical outlet for your press release. You want the widest distribution possible for your press release and while it may mean spending a few extra dollars, the good publicity can easily recoup that.
One last note: the Associated Press, Reuters, United Press International, and others are newswire services with editorials, not press release wires. These outlets do not publish or distribute press releases to the public. Everything they publish has been written (or “massaged”) by them.
This article, written by Ben Silverman, originally appeared in PR Fuel (https://www.ereleases.com/prfuel), a free weekly newsletter from eReleases (https://www.ereleases.com), the online leader in affordable press release distribution. To subscribe to PR Fuel, visit: https://www.ereleases.com/prfuel/subscribe/.