Press releases can be a key marketing element for a business because of the potential for free media coverage. But while you'll find most press release writers and companies promoting press releases as the marketing golden egg, it's important to understand the pros, cons, potentials, and real uses of press releases in your overall marketing mix.

The bottom line is that I've been writing and helping to distribute press releases for years, and I'm ready to help you to meet your press release goals. (Click here to jump immediately to my services.) But if you're not already studied on this subject, I'd like to share some thoughts with you on this matter.

As you may know, Americans tend to have a "quick fix" mentality. We pay the biggest bucks to baseball players who bat .270, hit 50 home runs a year, and set strike out records along the way. We pay less to the players hitting .350 and 12 home runs a year because they're somehow less exciting. But their consistency means the world to getting wins for the team.

Likewise, a lot of businesses love the idea of sending out a single press release, getting swarmed with media attention, and setting record profits overnight. While this scenario plays out from time to time, it's not the norm, and I don't advise investing in press releases with that single goal in mind.

Press Release Benefits

There are several benefits to sending out press releases. For most businesses, this will NOT be national media recognition. A lot of businesses will pay for national distribution, not really recognizing that the recognition they need is LOCAL. If you could land your press release in a local paper, or get a feature article written on you in a local paper as the result of a press release, would that be a substantial benefit for your business?

If so, the good news is that you don't have to pay a dime for local distribution. If you're willing to check into local media outlets on their websites, you can get all the contact information you need and send your press release out to each local contact with their names and, if appropriate, even a brief note preceding the release. In this way, you have the opportunity to actually get to know your local media contacts over time, and you can become a go-to source for them when they're looking for quotes in your field of business. IF, of course, you have proven yourself to be a legitimate news source. This is why sending correctly written press releases is important.

If your business actually warrants a release to the national media, then you can use a newswire service to reach them. This can involve substantial costs, however, so it's important again that you send a properly written news release; that you send something that is really newsworthy; that you send it at the right time (i.e., if you need to, wait until your news fits with other, national news); and finally, that you can afford it. Remember, not every release will yield results no matter how well written. You need to make sure that newswires are part of your budget and that one release don't make or break your business.

Finally, whether or not your business warrants a national media release, you can still benefit from online exposure and keyword links to your website (boosting your search engine rankings) when sending out press releases through online newswire services like PR Web (the gold standard of this form of newswire). Using PR Web, I have written press releases that were actually read thousands of times and that generated hundreds of click-throughs to client websites. So if that kind of exposure is worthwhile to you, this is another avenue that you can take. Keep in mind, not all web newswires are created equal; some cost a lot, some are free. Each will provide certain benefits.

Press Release Consistency

Like any form of marketing, press releases work best when you use them consistently and build a relationship with the media. Not like a clingy, desperate person. But like a useful ally who's there to provide information that reporters want because their readers want it.

This is another reason why it's useful to put together your own database of local media contacts if that's all your business requires and to send them press releases on a monthly basis. This makes for a very affordable part of your marketing efforts, even if you only get something published (or interviews on TV and radio) every few months. Remember, compare the cost of this (and the perceived legitimacy) of this over the cost (and perceived legitimacy) of paid ads.

This consistency is also important when you're using press releases to build up web traffic. Each press release will not only get its initial day in the sun when potentially thousands of people will read it, but it will also get archived and become a useful web link to your site and a means of getting found under certain keywords. The more often you submit press releases through online newswires, the more web traffic you will build up over time.

Press Releases as Part of a Marketing Mix

Again, however, I wouldn't recommend using press releases as your sole means of marketing, or expecting this to be the home run you're after. Instead, use them as part of a larger marketing mix. Writing feature articles and submitting them to trade journals or article marketing websites is a terrific complement to press release efforts. To some extent, paid ads can play alongside these as well, although advertorials play an even better complementary role because they continue the effort to dominate editorial content. Teleconferences, public lectures, and even publishing books or booklets can further establish you as an industry expert to which the media and public will want to turn for information, products, and services.

My Press Release Writing Services

I've been writing press releases for several years and really have a strong format down. I also have the ability to develop press releases quickly enough that I can make them very affordable. I'll talk over your press release goals and develop the appropriate piece for you for just $125. Better yet, when you want to enjoy the benefits of consistency, you can buy 5 and get 1 free when purchasing them in advance. So for $625, you can have one release written for you every month for 6 months. That's like getting them for less than $105 each!

This doesn't include the cost of distribution, because many businesses will want to take my advice and form their own relationship with local media. But I also provide press release distribution for just $50 (for my time) plus the cost of distribution when you use my press release writing services. Distribution costs depend on the service being used. And of course I can simply point you to the various services so that you can handle distribution on your own.