Thursday, May 14, 2009

PR 101 for Freelance Writers: The Value of a Press Release

You may think press releases are just for big companies, but they can benefit freelance writers too. They can help you become more visible to potential clients online. Many of us are constantly writing press releases for others. Why not take the time to create one for your own business?

Tell the world

A press release doesn't have to be about anything fancy, but it does need to be interesting enough to grab the reader's attention. It can contain general information about the writing services you provide, highlight a new service (e.g. 'ghost" blogging) or product (e.g. ebook, special report, etc.).

Benefits

Press releases allow you to reach a large audience of people who regularly read online news. They also provide valuable back links and can even result a nice search engine ranking boost. The biggest benefit is the possibility of being contacted by a print or broadcast representative for an interview. Hey, it could happen.

Writing your press release

One of the best resources for learning to write an effective press release is available online for FREE. PR expert Jennifer Mattern's ebook, "Press Releases Made Easy," has all the information you'll need to craft a professional press release.

Distribution

Knowing how and where to distribute your release is just as important as making sure the content is interesting and newsworthy. You can submit it offline, online or both.

If you choose to submit it offline, be sure to send it to any newspaper or magazine you'd like to have contact you for an interview. Make sure to find out how they prefer receiving the information (snail mail, fax or email).

Online submission is much easier. There are a variety of free and paid submission sites. Paid sites tend to reach the most people. Here are a few submission sites to consider:

www.24-7pressrelease.com
www.prlog.org/
www.free-press-release.com/
www.pr9.net/
www.i-newswire.com
www.1888pressrelease.com/
www.powerhomebiz.com/BizNews/pressrelease.htm
http://www.prweb.com/
www.pressbox.co.uk/cgi-bin/links/add.cgi
http://www.businesswire.com/
www.prfree.com
www.malebits.com
www.ameinfo.com/submitpress/
www.marketwire.com
www.prnewswire.com
www.addpr.com
www.pr.com
www.pr-inside.com
www.pressmethod.com

There are so many different ways to market your freelance writing services. Press release distribution can potentially bring you a lot more visibility.

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