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4 Ways the Internet has Changed the Rules of Sending a Press Release

December 1, 2008 nnyq.com edit Many small businesses are still not aware of how has the Internet changed the rules of sending a press release. Most people don’t realize that big front page stories do not come as a result of a press release - the big stories come about because of specialized pitches to a particular media organization. So what are press releases for, if 9 out of 10 are deleted or tossed by the journalists? The Internet has changed these four rules for sending out a news release:

1. Post online for content to be picked up by search engines instead of journalists.

It used to be that a press release was written to catch the attention of a busy journalist. Now when you write a press release you need to optimize the content for what your audience is searching for on the search engines. When you write a press release it should be rich with key words and key word phrases.

2. Write to attract the web surfing consumer and not the journalist.

You press release should not only be key word rich, but it should "speak" to the end user instead of a journalized without beinging a blantant sales pitch. Your message should be informational and not a "buy now" message. A good press release answers all of the "W" questions (who, what, where, when and why), providing the reader with useful information about your organization, product, service or event. If your press release reads like an advertisement, rewrite it.

3. Write longer press releases with more content - previously limited by the media because they were overwhelmed by too many.

When you write, stick to the facts. Tell the truth. Avoid fluff, embellishments and exaggerations. But, because you are not writing just for a busy journalist who is reading through hundreds of news releases you can write to appeal to the end user who has found you while searching for specific words or phrases found by the search engines in your press release. You can tell more of your story because your audience is the end user.

4. “Legitimate” news that a journalist would cover is NOT required content - promote whatever you want to within your release, not just what the media thinks is newsworthy.

If your news release provides relevant information or an announcement that addresses the key words and key word phrases that the end user is searching for - then your news release is "newsworthy."