If you have ever written a blog post or article for online publication then you are completely qualified to write a press release. Unlike articles and blog posts that are designed to inform and educate the reader, a press release is more like an advertisement.
It could promote anything that is new or upcoming in your business. An e-book, even if it is a free one that you are giving away, a release of a new web site or even a squeeze page.
Exposure from a press release builds not only traffic to your site, but links back to you site as well. This can help your overall rank in search engines, which, in turn, can increase traffic.
There are many free press release sites, but the paid sites generally are worth the expense and provide a good deal more exposure than free sites. In addition, some of the paid sites have high search engine ranking and can drive traffic directly to your sight or squeeze page.
The basic structure of a press release follows the guidelines of any good copy, online or off. You want to start with an attention getting title or headline. Use words like new, fast, 3 step to... , and others to build excitement in your title and encourage the reader to read on.
Then, in the first paragraph or two it is critical to include your most important points. Many times a reader will not read past the second paragraph, so include the who, what, where, why, when and how in the beginning of the release.
Some people will argue that you need to summarize your press release in the first paragraph, in other words, tell them what you are going to tell them, before you tell them, like you would in an article. I disagree, press releases are designed to be newspaper-like and need to be hard-hitting from the start to keep people's attention.
You can wrap the press release up with a summary and review the points you made. Also, if there is any interesting information to add that is not essential, but would just be "nice to know" put that towards the end of the release. The ideal length of only 200-500 words does not allow you to waste time getting to the important points.
End your release with a little information about yourself and a link to your website or squeeze page.
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