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With the advent of the Internet, there are now 2 kinds of press release:
offline and online.
Offline press releases are those that we see in newspapers, magazines and other print publications.
Online press releases are those that are accepted by sites and are made available for viewing and use by the journalists, news feeds, IT outlets and other members of the media.
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Is press release for you?
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A press release can be a very cost-effective and far-reaching way to promote your site. However, not all sites can utlilize press release as a marketing tool. There is no specific rule as to which site is press release-worthy or not. As practioners say, anything can be newsworthy as long as you know how to present it.
To give you an idea of what is considered news-worthy, take a look at different press release sites and see what sort of press releases are posted. From there, you can craft out your own.
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Paid or Free Press Release
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The beauty of the online press release service is that you can try it for free. Some sites accept virtually all submissions while others are more stringent. Some have human editors that vet through your submissions to see if its is suitable.
Assuming your press release is accepted, it will form part of the numerous press releases under the category that you have chosen.
You can opt for the paid version where your press release is positioned on top with bigger fonts, and allowance for images. There are also services tied to print press releases; meaning, you can also have your material released in real newspapers. Of course, this comes at a much higher price. Some sites also offer add-on services like copyrighting and submission to the most appropriate sites. If you feel your site is newsworthy but do not have an idea or the capability to craft one, this may be a viable idea.
Press releases generally have the following structure:
Date Instructions: A press release can be "For Immediate release", or "For release after (date)", or "For release before (date)".
Conact Information: This is to make it easier for the media to contact you. Include your full name, address, contact telephone number and email address.
Headline: This is a statement that summarizes your release. A headline must be powerful and engaging so as to capture the attention of the journalist and of course, the reader.
Summary: Some services require that you give a 2 to 3 sentence summary of your press release. This is also called the opening statement. It answers the what, where, when, why and how of your story.
Body: This is where you tell your story. Media practitioners recommend a 200 to 350-word release. Use a strategy PR people refer to as the Inverted pyramid: Start with the most important information and quotes first. Then give the less urgent details in the succeeding paragraph.
Boilerplate: This is similar to the "About" page ina website. It is made of 2 to 3 sentences about your company or your site, or it can be about you.
Below is a sample press release I submitted. This is far from perfect, but just to give you an idea of the structure of a release.
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*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
In Love but Miserable? E-Book Offers Hope for Desperate Lovers
Singapore, December 07, 2006 - The recent disclosure by former MTV VJ/model Nadya Hutagalung that she was bashed by two former boyfriends jolted a lot of women into thinking, "If this could happen to a woman like Nadya, it could also happen to me". Unfortunately, statistics support such fears.
Here are the facts: 1. One out of 3 women around the world had been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime (Journal of the American Medical Association, vol 287). 2. A survey in China found violence in 35% of marriages and the victims are 87-90% women. 3. A Japanese study found that 32% of married women admitted to being physically abused, while a much greater percentage, 60% suffered psychological abuse. (Domestic Violence in Singapore: A Ten Year Comparison of Victim Profile by LL Foo and E Seow)
One must note that these figures actually represent those that chose to report the abuses they experienced. The greater majority choose to suffer in silence. While a lot of people equate abuse with bashing, there is a more common form of abuse: psychological or emotional abuse. A woman who is constantly criticized and put-down by her partner is suffering from emotional abuse. Same for a woman who is always feeling insecure due to her partner's constant tendency to be unfaithful.
Coralyn Hizola, author of "Hello, Good Love! The art of finding, attracting and keeping the love you want without losing yourself" refers to these relationships as a result of "bad loving". She defines bad loving as, "you are in love but you are not happy". Inversely, "good loving" is the kind of love that makes you feel good about yourself, your man and your relationships, most of the time.
Coralyn believes that all women deserve good love but because of numerous factors that come into play, such as lack of self-esteem, fear, lack of knowledge, a lot of women are trapped in abusive, lackluster, and better-than-nothing relationships. As a result, they may be in love, but they are miserable.
Her recently released e-book, Hello, Good Love (www.hellogoodlove.com) offers the modern women an easy reference to find, attract and keep the man and love that women deserve. Coralyn says, "The first crucial step is to find a good man. If you have a good man, good love happens a lot easier. Unfortunately, finding a good man is never easy. In this book, you will find easy, you-can-do-it-today techniques to find and attract what you have been searching for".
Coralyn is so confident that her techniques work that she is giving a 56-day money back guarantee. On top of these, customers who buy Hello, Good Love, would get 14 Bonus books, all on love, sex and relationships. Among the free titles are "How to be the Woman every man wants to date", "From Foreplay to Orgasm: Tips to Fully Enjoy your Sexuality", "Finding your Soulmate", and "How to handle Common Relationship Problems".
Those interested to preview the book can download a Free Preview copy at www.hellogoodlove.com/Preview.exe
From: Coralyn Hizola
Contact Number: 65-12345678
Email: coralyn@hellogoodlove.com
Website URL: www.hellogoodlove.com
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Tips for Press Release Writing
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1. News Worthy Material: Make sure you have something news-worthy to write about. Here are some examples of media-friendly materials:
 An event open to the public
A new product or service
Release of a new book or record
A significant acheivement that has a public impact, ie., a public service award
Performing an important service to the community
A human interest story
A new branch opening
2. Clear, Plain Language: Avoid excessive and fancy words such as "the best", "the ultimate", "best value". Use a language that is understood by everybody. Avoid jargons that only people in your industry will understand.
3. Concise Format: Your headlines should ideally be maximum of 80 characters.Have a maximum of 15 words per sentence and a paragraph to four typewritten sentences.
4. Active voice: Use active voice in your sentences. For example: Use "Clixbiz entered into an exlclusive partnership with..." instead of "An exclusive partnerships was entered into by Clixbiz with .....".
5. Proofing: Proof your release for proper grammar, spelling and punctuation.
6. Permission: Use relevant quotations from respected or appropriate sources. However, make sure you seek permission from companies and people before you inlcude them in your quotation.
7. Verified Statistics: Verify your statistics. Stats are a great way to lend credibility to a press release but make sure that you get them from official and credible sources.
8. Proper Format: . Used mixed case (upper and lower case) even for your headlines. End your press release with "30" or "###" to indicate that nothing follows.
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Where to post your online press release
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For off line press releases, the same structure applies. You just have to contact your national or local media and ask how you can submit a press release.
For online press release, you can start with the following sites.
The only drawback I see with using this method is that it can be tiring typing the same thing over and over. I suggest you open a Notepad with the following information and simply cut and paste as you submit to the different sites. Some sites require more, others require the basics but having all these information on hand will eliminate the tedious task of typing repeatedly.
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Your full name
Your contact address
Your headline
Your release date
Your summary
Your press release body
Your contact information
Your URL
An image that you wish to include (only applicable to some sites)
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www.prleap.com
www.free-press-release.com
www.24-7pressrelease.com
www.pressbox.co.uk
www.clickpress.com
www.express-press-release.com/
www.przoom.com
www.sanepr.com/
www.softpressrelease.com
For more Internet Marketing Techniques, click here.
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