News Release Distribution Review 2010
This is the third installment of my running review of online news release distribution sites. If you’re finding these reviews for the first time, you should know that I’ll update this post as best I can throughout the year as sites change their offerings. Previous editions of my review can be found here and here.
This post has been a long time coming. Client work and family life keeps getting in the way, but the online distribution universe changes so fast, and I’ve received so much goodwill as a result of the previous two versions of my online news release distribution reviews that I had make the time to write this update.
Let’s take a look at a some good reasons to distribute your news releases online:
- By including a link in your release, you’re building inbound links to your web site.
- Your news is being spread beyond the boundaries of your web site, increasing the odds of it being seen by your audience.
- There is the possibility that it will be seen by new media or traditional media, leading to coverage from these outlets. This isn’t something I ever count on, but it does sometimes happen.
Disclaimer: There have been occasions where I have been given free “try out” release distributions. I do accept these because they allow me to sample different services, but I do my best not to let them sway my judgment in the review. I consider it the same as a product reviewer accepting a sample product. Disclaimers about specific services can be found within their reviews.
So, which is the best place to distribute your news releases to reach your goals? Below is a review of what I consider the best of the best, both free and paid. Feed free to add your own via comments!
Premium News Release Distribution
PR Newswire (PRN)
Cost: Varies, starting at $170 for a 400 word release
Review: PR Newswire has been around in one form or another for more than 55 years. They market themselves as being a mainstay among reporters and news organizations, and are recently pushing their ability to get news to bloggers via their opt-in distribution lists. They also do a good job of distributing your release for use on other websites. Your release will rank well on Google News for your keywords, and you’ll get plenty of quality backlinks.
The problem with PR Newswire has always been cost. They have a yearly fee that you have to pay for the privilege of paying more to post your releases. They have been known to waive that fee for small businesses, so be sure to ask if you qualify. Releases start at $170 for distribution on their city or state wire, with an additional charge for every 100 words after that. That’s for a short release of 400 words, though, and they charge you for each word after that. At that price, the distribution to the media is limited. If you want distribution to nationwide media, you’ll pay almost $650 for a single release. With all of this said, I do think PR Newswire does a great job getting the word out to the media, and as I’ll say in a number of cases during this review — you get what you pay for.
BusinessWire
Cost: Varies, starting at $180 for the first 400 words, or $175 for EON distribution
Review: Business Wire has become my “go to” service for clients who have the money to pay for premium distribution. As with PR Newswire, their service is not cheap. A basic citywide distribution will cost you at least $180 for the first 400 words, with an additional charge for every 100 words after that.
A basic release from BusinessWire will generate quality links for your release, and plenty of them. The version of your release on the Business Wire site will rank on Google and Google News, but I’ve never been overly impressed with how well it ranks. Generally speaking, the sites they distribute TO will rank better than the actual Business Wire version. The good news is that Business Wire has a long list of sites that automatically will run your release, and after your distribution they will send you a link that will show you all of those sites.
One thing I should also note is that releases I have posted on Business Wire HAVE resulted in legitimate coverage on blogs and other new media sites. What I mean by this is that rather than just posting the release verbatim, the bloggers or new media journalists have rewritten it or contacted me to learn more.
New for 2010 from Business Wire is a different pricing plan for their EON release distribution. The EON platform, launched several years ago, is designed with social media and SEO in mind. EON releases rank well on Google and Google News. You can include images and videos, and style your release using HTML. Previously, EON was an add-on to standard geographic distributions, but starting January 1, 2010, you can purchase it separately for $175. A word of caution, however: with an EON release, your release is NOT distributed to Business Wire’s online partners. It will only be posted on Business Wire’s site.
PRWeb
Cost: Packages range from $80 to $360
Review: When PRWeb was launched in 1997, its owners seemed to realize that releases would become more than a tool for sending news to the media. They were correct, as releases are now a means of pushing news to your audience and pulling them back to your web site.
The two benefits of PRWeb are SEO and price. Your release will rank very well on Google and Google News, and they do distribute to many of the same sites as PR Newswire and Business Wire. While you may not receive as many backlinks as with the two services reviewed above, you also won’t pay as much. Distributions on PRWeb start at $80, and range up to $360. My personal favorite is the $200 package, which offers a nice mix of cost and features. Additionally, they don’t charge per word, so a longer release will cost the same as a short one.
All PRWeb releases include live links, feature quotes, and a framed view of your web site below the release text. Starting with the $200 distribution, you can also utilize anchor text links, which help greatly with your site’s search rankings.
Budget News Release Distribution
Online PR News (OPN)
Cost: $12 (free releases available)
Disclaimer: Since the last time I updated my review of online news release distribution, I have begun partnering with Online PR News on their podcasting service. I have also consulted with them on marketing in the past. In return for my consulting services, I receive complimentary distributions.
Online PR News is a relative newcomer to this stratosphere of distribution services. Founded by two SEO content producers, the site naturally focuses on helping you publish a release that ranks well in the search engines. The site has installed many upgrades for 2010, and has in turn raised its prices. Free ad-supported releases are available that include one backlink, but with the low cost distribution beginning at $12, there’s no reason not to ditch the ads.
OPN has taken many cues from PRWeb in its release design, with each paid release receiving a pull quote and a frame below the release text that shows your web site. Paid releases at the $12 level can also include user images, and releases at the $49 level and up can embed YouTube videos. At the $349 level, you not only receive their maximum visibility and distribution, you also receive release editing services AND distribution via PR Newswire.
OPN does not yet have the push to other sites that Business Wire, PR Newswire, or PRWeb offer, but their prices are attractive and the OPN version of the release will rank very, very well on Google and Google News. This service is definitely worth trying out.
PR Leap
Cost: Distribution starting at $49
Review: Started several years back as a free service, PR Leap has grown into a full service paid distribution site. New for 2010 is a feature called PRTube that allows you to embed your release on a web site or blog using a code much like a YouTube video. Additional services include Google News distribution, text links, and submission to (but not guaranteed usage by) outlets like the AP and UPI. My previous experiences with PR Leap have been good ones, with their releases ranking well for my keywords.
PR.com
Cost: Distribution starting at $30 (free option available)
Review: The first thing you’ll notice about PR.com is the AWESOME domain name. It doesn’t get any better than that. The second thing you’ll notice is a slightly confusing web site set up. I don’t normally distribute using this service, so I in writing this review I needed to go back to check pricing information. It took about 10 minutes to find the pricing page, which is about nine minutes too many. The major issue is that the site has lost some of its focus on release distribution and is now also posting job listings.
Aside from the navigation and focus issues on the site, distribution from PR.com appears to be quite solid. After running some Google searches for releases posted there, I found that the site does help spread your release to a number of other sites. Distribution costs start at $30, but after perusing the options at that level, it appears that you’d really need to spend $50 to get much distribution to other sites. A free option is available, but is ad supported.
Note added 10/29/10: PRUnderground has recently increased their prices and changed the services offered at their various pricing tiers. This review is updated to reflect that change.
Cost: Distribution starting at $19.95
Review: PRUnderground is one of the more successful of the sites using a social media approach to distribution. At the $19.95 level, you get distribution to other sites, but not to social networks. Your release will also have advertising on it. At the next level, $49.95, you get distribution to other sites and social networking outlets, and the ads go away.
Distribution from PRUnderground focuses on channels such as Twitter, Facebook, Digg, and Moreover. The technique seems to work, as the releases from PRUnderground that I tested by searching for them in Google did seem to get distribution beyond the PRUnderground.com site. You can also embed a YouTube video, and a preview of your web site is shown in a frame below your release text.
Other paid distribution services: Marketwire, PRBuzz, 1888PressRelease
Free News Release Distribution
Fewer and fewer sites offer quality free distribution anymore. Here are some of the better options:
PRLog
Cost: Free (ad supported)
Review: PRLog has been around for years, and despite the unattractive layout of the site and its releases, it’s hard to beat the rankings they achieve for releases posted at this Romanian-based site.
A couple of years back, PRLog branched out from news releases and started offering job listings as well (is this a trend?), which cluttered up the site considerably. Despite my cries that I’m going to stop using the site, I keep coming back. If you can tolerate the look and feel of the site, it’s something worth considering. It’s one of the last truly free release distribution services that isn’t neutered, as they include a user-uploaded image, some customization (bolding and italics), and the first three links included in your release will be live.
24-7 Press Release
Cost: Free (ad supported), with a $49 paid option
Review:24-7 Press Release is another of the sites with free options that I have on my roster for secondary distribution. Generally for a client, I post on one of the premium paid sites such as PRWeb or Business Wire, and then I post versions of the release with different headlines on some of the free sites, such as this one.
One of the only major downsides to 24-7 Press Release is that they hold your release for a day or two before they post it on their site. However, if you pay for immediate distribution, they review it pretty quickly. Once live, your free release will rank well on Google and sometimes Google News. Links in the release body are not an option unless you pay for the upgraded release, but a link is included in a small company profile box. Their paid option of $49 includes enhanced SEO benefits such as anchor text for links within the release.
Wikio
Cost: Free
Review: Wikio is actually meant more for articles and for sharing links, but it can also be used to post your news release content. A voting system similar to Digg is utilized. When setting up your release, you can post anchor text links and format your release in many of the same ways you can when using a paid service. There’s no additional distribution beyond the version posted on Wikio, but that version does seem to rank fairly well in Google.
I-Newswire
Cost: Free (ad supported) with paid option
Review: Going the route of many of the free release sites, I-Newswire has neutered its free options and increased its paid options. Their free releases no longer include a link. That will cost you $35.
The Open Press
Cost: Free (ad supported) with a $10 paid option
Review: This is a great free distribution site, with one downside — signing up is extremely ponderous. Currently, you cannot sign up on the site. Instead, you have to send an email and request to be registered. The explanation given is that they’ve had issues with spammers. Once you go through that process, however, the site is very good. It looks businesslike, and the releases posted there rank well in Google web search. Tasteful ads are placed on your release. They can be removed by paying $10. The site’s owners truly review your release before posting it (unlike some sites who say they’re reviewing it, but really want you to pay for expedited distribution) and WILL reject releases that they don’t feel meet their standards. I know this from experience.
PressReleasePoint
Cost: Free to post on their site (ad supported) and $15 to distribute elsewhere
Review: This site sounds good on the surface — they post your release on their site for free, and for $15 they’ll post it on 50 free distribution sites. I have not tried this service, but it concerns me. Google’s duplicate content rule may come into play after the same content is posted on that many sites.
Another problem is the site itself. Previously, it had a number of layout problems. Some of those have been fixed in the past year, but what hasn’t been fixed is that the web site itself is riddled with grammatical and spelling errors. My suggestion to the owners is that they have a professional copy editor go through the site with a fine-toothed comb.
One thing I do like on their site is the comprehensive list of more free and paid sites than I can possibly list here. The list is found here.
PitchEngine
Cost: Free (no ads)
Review: PitchEngine is a bit of a conundrum for me. The site, which features a slick social media news release format, has numerous fans. However, while the version of the release on PitchEngine ranks rather well on Google, there’s no Google News distribution. The site has had it in the past, but has lost it several times. Additionally, releases posted using the free option expire after 30 days. To have them posted permanently costs $35 per month. To get the full benefit of the site, with a custom newsroom and permanent hosting, will cost you $50 per month. I’m not certain what happens if you pay your subscription for a year, post releases, and then decide not to renew. If anyone can tell me whether those releases then expire or not, I’d be happy to update this review.
The bottom line is that while PitchEngine has many loyal fans, I’m not really one of them.
Other free distribution sites: PR-USA, PostaFreePressRelease, Express Press Release
The Best of the Best
So, which of these sites do I think are the BEST?
Premium Release Distribution: PRWeb and Business Wire (Tie)
It’s hard for me to pick between these two, so I’m taking the easy way out. PRWeb does a better job of ensuring your release ranks well and generates some backlinks. Business Wire, however, will make sure your release receives loads of backlinks.
Budget Release Distribution: Online PR News
With budget distribution services, you normally won’t get a lot of distribution, so I’m judging how well the version of the release on the distribution site ranks on Google and Google News. OPN gets you VERY good rankings with both, and they’re continuing to expand their offerings.
(Honorable Mention: PRUnderground)
Free Release Distribution: PRLog
I keep trying to replace them on this list because I wish they’d do something to clean up their site, but it’s hard to argue with a free release service that offers their features, and will get your release excellent search rankings.
(Honorable Mention: Wikio)
Disagree? Agree? Want to talk about another distribution service (preferably not one you work for)? Please let me know about it in comments!
If you appreciate the work it took to compile these reviews, please be sure to “retweet” it using the button at the top of the page, or post it on one of the services below!
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Hello Steve
We are about to announce a start up publication for sustainable development on the African continent.
Have you reviewed any African services? Can you comment on Africa Newswire?
Look forward to your reply
Kind regards
Steve Oehley
@Steve – I have no experience with Africa Newswire. I checked out their pricing, and at $599 for six months or $999 for a year, it seems a little on the pricey side … even for unlimited releases. I can’t say I’m terribly impressed with what you’re getting for that price, either. If you’re going to be putting out 2-3 releases per month, that brings the price-per-release down a bit, I guess.
What I normally tell people is that for this sort of this, a geographic-centric newswire is NOT necessary. Many people assume you should use a service like Africa Newswire if you’re hoping for media coverage specifically in Africa. That’s not the case. You should not hope for media coverage from a distribution like this. It is great for getting your word out directly to your audience, and it’s great for SEO. However, if you end up with media coverage, it’s a big bonus that I wouldn’t expect.
Which service you use is really more a matter of your goals, I suppose. As I mentioned, I’m not overly impressed with Africa Newswire. The distribution they’ll get you will likely be comparable to one of the services listed above in the Budget Paid Distribution services. I’m also not a fan of the unlimited distribution pricing plan, but if you are going to be doing a LOT of releases, I suppose it makes sense.
Hello Steve,
Great review on PR distributors. You hit the nail in the head with this one. I have read many reviews that mention the same top 3 players and all rave about their services without really trying them and doing a little leg work as you did to see if the ROI is worth the money you pay.
I have used the top premium newswire sites PRweb, PRnewswire and BusinessWire and felt that they were too pricey for what they deliver. Taking into account that if your do not really have newsworthy info but are trying to get word out about your brand, It is worthless to spend so much money on these services. Only 20% of old school newswire press releases get picked up by media or journalist.
I applaud you for being the only review I have read in a long time that did not jump on the bandwagon with them and even PitchEngine. Most of all i think it’s great that the 2 Press release sites I consider the best for exposure are mentioned: http://www.onlineprnews.com/ and http://www.prunderground.com. I have used both of these services and have gotten great results for their price. It is incredible that most reviews do not even mention them both. To me it seems that these reviews are based on the fact that the major players are backed by major ad dollars and not by pure facts.
I have heard so much about Pitchengine and their social media template that they and just about all the other social media sites are using that I tried their service once. The results were very poor and the process was confusing. I gave PRUnderground a shot and they actually spoke to me via a phone call and even gave me free tips and advice. I like the fact that they use their own template and their order process is so fast ans simple. They totally deliver powerful social media releases. Sadly they are not being reviewed or recognized much by the top social media communities.
As for Online PR News. They are also a great service. The people that run the company really now their SEO. They also have great customer service. What makes them stand out also is the fact that when you go to their site, it is straight and to the point. You do not get lost trying to figure out the process. their press release writing is also top notch. Their results are good. I do think that they should eventually stray away from prnewswire and do a combination of both traditional and new social media press releases. But then again I am biased as I am not af fan of PRnewswire at all. Too many bad experiences with their services and what they promise.
@Nelson – Thanks for your comments! I had a much longer response to your comment, but then I checked your IP. When you posted it, you were logged in from the company that built PRUnderground’s site. Did they ask you to post this comment and rave about them?
No not at all. You already did that. I was just backing up what you wrote. Which I think was one of the best reviews of press release services out there. I am in the web development, design and marketing field.. We have used many PR services. We started using PRUnderground and they then approached us about re-doing their site. They were great before we even gave their site an overhaul. Yes we built the site for them and many other great sites but I still stand by what I said about both companies.
The same can be asked about your review of Online PRNews. Even with the disclaimer. We have both done business with Online PRNews (they created some landing pages for some of our clients) We both still gave them glowing reviews.
This is not about who did what for who but about what service gives you the most value and the best service. If you want to read a similar review about PRUnderground that I did not write read here: http://bit.ly/9ooBKZ.
Ohh yes and we also host theirs and hundreds of other sites. Some good some not so good. If I see a review about one of them and I feel they have a great product, Thanks to the beauty of social media I will talk great about them. If I didn’t then I would not be part of the 85% that give peer to peer recommendations.
So I will say it one more time..Online PRNews and PRUnderground are 2 of the best services out there!!
@Nelly – Thank you for clarifying. I try very hard to police the comments on this post because many, many times I’ve had people post that they “have this great distribution site they found”, and it turns out they own that site.
I noticed you don’t mention Marketwire in your review? Wondering why not…thanks!
@Scott – I did actually mention them, but it was only in passing. If you check the end of the paid distribution section, you’ll find links to “other paid distribution services”. I didn’t review them because, to be honest, I’ve never used them. I was contacted by them some time back asking to be included in this review. Their prices start at $160 for a 400 word release, so they’re in the same range as Business Wire and PR Newswire. I believe their offerings are somewhat similar. I haven’t gotten around to trying them out, but I plan to at some point. It’s tough for me because I find it hard to justify using my clients’ money to “try something out”, when we have something that’s more a known quantity, like PR Newswire or Business Wire.
Do you have experience with them?
Thanks for a lot of great information and food for thought. Do you have any advice on finding reputable SEO firms as well?
@Helen – Sure! Take a look here!
[...] You can also read our reviews featured on Build A Buzz and EndgamePR [...]
Hi,
was looking at realwire.com and was wondering if you had any thoughts or experience with their service?
http://www.realwire.com/
Hi Anton – I have not had any experience with that service. I breezed over the site, and it appears to be UK-centric. I’m not really sure how much it even costs, since I don’t know the exchange rate between the pound and the dollar.
Great article. Does businesswire have a yearly fee like pr newswire? I see that businesswire has a membership option on its site, but I can’t tell whether you have to pay an annual fee on top of the press release fees.
@Mike – I’ve never paid a yearly fee to use Business Wire, and to my knowledge they don’t charge one. I know at least one person from BW sometimes monitors this conversation, so perhaps he’ll jump in to confirm.
[...] kinds of companies including startups and those that have no interest in traditional news coverage, here’s a good read on competing distribution services from Steve Mullen at EndGame PR. It does a good job of laying out the full [...]
Mike,
Steve is right, we (Business Wire) do not charge a yearly fee.
Thank you for all of the information. I was in the process of researching different distribution channels and came across this review…very helpful.
I am new to press release distribution and recently used prlog.org and was impressed by the rankings that the press release got and it was fairly easy to use. I do have a concern regarding Google rankings though (I have worked hard to get our rankings up and don’t want anything to happen to them) and you mentioned Google’s duplicate content rule above…when does this become a concern?
Is it okay to use multiple press release distributors? I was thinking about trying pr.com and/or The Open Press…
Emma – The duplicate content rule can be an issue if you post your release to multiple distribution sites. However, unless you post to dozens, it isn’t likely to come up. The way to reduce the chances of it being a problem is to use different headlines and even different lead paragraphs.
(Sshhhh … don’t tell anyone I told you)
Steve,
Thanks for this GREAT information!! My site is getting ready to launch next week and I’m trying to figure out best options for the news release piece.
Do you find people going with one press release to a PR News or Businesswire and then other additional releases to say Online PR News that isn’t so expensive?
Again, this was such great info…..really appreciate the time you spent on putting it together.
Sally
Hi Sally – Sorry for the delay in approving your comment *and* responding. Nutty couple of days!
I find that a lot of people will choose one of the pay distribution sites to use, and then also post their release on a few of the free or lower cost sites as well. Adding the additional sites helps ensure the most possible spread.
Hi Steve,
thank you so, sooo much for taking the time to put this together. I’m quite new to writing press releases and was just putting together some recommendations on distribution services for the company I work for. Your piece has helped so much!
Thanks once again, Olivia.
You’re so welcome!
Hi Steve,
I have just a quick question if you don’t mind. Many of the distribution services send releases to newspapers based in the US, but do any send them to publications based in Canada? The reason I ask is that the company I work for are based in Canada and their services are only available in BC. Should this influence the distribution service we use?
Thanks, Olivia.
Hi Steve. I was looking for a review from you on Mass Media Distribution. They have a ton of tesimonials on their site and reviews from Entreprenuer.com, Reuters, etc. I’m looking for a chance at reporter, tv, radio interviews etc instead of backlinks, SEO and trying to decide on PRWeb vs. MMD. I see a lot of information on PRWeb, but MMD’s testimonals look real. Have you heard of them?
L – I’ve never used MMD, so the only comments I can give you are just my impressions after a quick review of their website. Their model appears to be similar to Business Wire and PR Newswire — online distribution plus they send releases to print journalists. Their prices are a bit below BW and PRN.
As I’ve said before, do not use online distribution solely for the purpose of getting interviews with TV stations, radio stations, newspapers, or even bloggers. What online distribution is good for is spreading your news around the Internet. Media interviews MAY result, but I generally consider them icing on the cake. Services that say they deliver your news to journalists do it one of three ways — either they spam the reporters, the reporters have signed up for an email list, or the service has some distribution deal with the AP wire. In any of these three situations, your release is unlikely to be seen by the reporter.
If you want to have the best chance of a media story, go with PR Newswire or Business Wire. Reporters will at least have heard of those two.
Just wanted to add L Johnverrell’s benefit that PRWeb’s testimonials are all real. Here’s a few links:
PRWeb testimonials
http://bit.ly/9rGHez
A couple customer blog posts:
http://bit.ly/bKR9vx
http://bit.ly/9EGyiQ
http://bit.ly/c57Suu
Some news clips:
Women Entrepreneur
http://bit.ly/9MIIj9
ROI of a press release
http://bit.ly/83sUkn
Shelf-life of a press release
http://bit.ly/53pOtZ
You can always find PRWeb customers on Twitter, here:
http://twitter.com/prweb/favorites
Wow, thanks Frank & Steve. Right on time. I did send a press release, today actually for the Nationwide Distribution for MMD and they sent me a spreadsheet of the outlets. (It was a lot I’ll admit) We’ll see what happens with it. We will send one through PRWeb next week. I did not see those PRWeb testimonials.They do stand out above the masses.
Hello Steve, an update on Mass Media Distribution. They are one of defendents involved in that infringment suit that also includes Ereleases. Wish I’d seen that before I made my $299 payment the other day. I’d steer clear of them totally.
Going forward, I’ll look to using PRWeb and OnlinePR News, which if you buy the $349 from OnlinePR News its like going through PRN Newswire, correct?
Hi! I am Co-Founder of Online PR News and can jump in here and answer your question! The $349 package on our website enjoys all of the benefits of the $49 distribution as well as PR Newswire distribution. When you submit with this package, you also get the PR Newswire Releasewatch report, which shows a sampling of anywhere from 50 – 200 different news outlets who have picked up and republished your news.
We created Online PR News as a source for businesses looking for guidance and personal service when submitting their news online. Shoot me an email if you have any more questions — I am happy to help! (tara [at] onlineprnews)
This has great info, thanks. Have you ever heard of or tried M2 PressWire? (www.m2.com) Our SEO consultant recommended using it in addition to BusWire for each press release, but I don’t have any experience with M2.
Hi Valerie,
I had not heard of M2. There are SO many Internet Newswires out there, it’s hard (impossible) to know about all of them. I checked them out, and their price isn’t bad if you’re going to be doing a decent number of releases. If I understood correctly, it’s $400 per year. If your SEO consultant recommends them, I’d say go for it. He/she may have had good experiences with them in the past.
Steve
Valerie,
Tara here from Online PR News. I saw your message and checked them out as well because I hadn’t heard of them either. :) You may want to double check the effectiveness with regards to SEO before spending the money. Some things that I noticed upon first glance:
– The ten or so headlines that I clicked on did not feature anchor text links or live URL links — so you would not be creating any backlinks to your site. I did not poke around long enough to see whether or not they *allow* links. You may want to ask about that before investing.
– The title tags for the individual press releases are not optimized. They are a string of random numbers — which will not help your release rank for key terms in Google News or regular search.
– The meta descriptions for individual published press releases are also not optimized.
If you REALLY want your news announcements to be an integral part of your overall SEO campaign, they need to be working for you. They need to combine newsworthiness with smart SEO tactics — and part of that is using a site to distribute your news that is specifically designed with SEO in mind.
Thanks so much, Tara and Steve, for your help!
Hi, Steve…you saved me a ton of time doing this for a client; thanks! I have also used e-Releases in the past; a fabulous outfit I don’t see listed in your 2008 or 2010 review. While they’re pricier, they also have journos on staff to write a release, etc. Wanted to share that with you.
I’m a fan of PRWeb for all my online releases just not Vocus; it drives me insane and that’s unfortunate.
Again, thanks.
Hi Jayme — I’d be curious to learn more. Please feel free to hit me up at fstrong-at-vocus.com. Also, wanted to point out that PRWeb has writers on staff offering press release writing services.
I don’t like these guys, terrible service and shotty if that service to customers, really never get any help when asking and keep getting run around on anything discussed, stay with others. Just plain terrible customer service and understandings when asking important questions.
Which service are you talking about, Jenny?
Hi Steve: Thank you for this excellent post. It was so helpful in selecting press release distribution sites to test; the follow-up comments were enlightening too. We’re fans of PRWeb but have also tried OnlinePRNews and PRunderground and are seeing encouraging results so far. Will you be doing this kind of review again in the future?
Hi Maura – Glad you found it useful. This is the third edition of this review. I generally write an entirely new version each year, and try to update the current version throughout the year as I hear things.
Hi There
First of all great work Steve on putting together an excellent resource on this subject. I am based in Europe and looking for SMNR services that focus on the UK and European markets more so than the US. Can you reccomend a service that would work well in relation to the services outlined here? I have used Realwire in the past and they have done a good job on distribution of tech related stories.
David – I generally don’t worry too much about where geographically a release is distributed. I consider the web to be non-geographical, because anyone can access any site no matter where they are (well, with the exception of China). As a result, I’m not familiar with services that focus specifically on Europe.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for a great post it was very helpful and well written. My PR rep just used erelease (which uses PRNewsWire if I’m not mistaken) a couple of questions for you.
1- We have had great success with backlinks with our first release and I know it’s very helpful for SEO but it seems to me that no one really goes to these pages or reads the releases… never any comments, etc. Are they just lost on the web? or meant to be like that?
2- I was considering PRUnderground. It seems like their pricing has increased. Copper $19.95, Gold $49.95, Platinum $199.95 Is the Gold Package the one you mention above where the ads disappear?
Thanks!
Hi Joe–
1) While the best case scenario involves lots of people seeing your release, even if they don’t the SEO value makes it worthwhile.
2) Thanks for the heads up on PRUnderground price changes. It appears the Gold package is still the one where the ads disappear.
Wanted to mention the GLINN Gay News Distribution. We have been in business for over 12 years and we are the original LGBT news service at http://www.gaydata.com. We have a news feed with over 300 sites plus email distribution. Only $35.00.
I have little experience with press releases and want to try doing it for a new site I am launching soon.
Of course free press release makes absolute sense but I am sure they are not able to do what the paid ones can do. Am I right? What would be the difference?
Also as for the duplicate content, does that mean you suggest I change it up a little and resubmit to different sites?
I also chatted with a sales person on PRWEb and he said to see some lasting results, I should do a press release every month as google refreshes something so it gets caught. Sorry pardon my lack of knowledge and jargon use. Is that true or a bunch of crap to get me to buy more press releases? PAyining so much, I really want to know if press releases will help me get the news out to a lot of sites, offline syndication etc? Also will it help me score points with search engines on a lasting effect? I have heard that there is some expiration? Is this right? Thanks so much Steve.
I am saving this page as a fav.
Dan – Sorry for the delayed approval, and thanks for being honest about just adding your site. Sometimes surprises me how many people try to pull the “I just found this amazing site and wanted to add it to your list” B.S.
SL – You’re right in your assumption that free release services don’t do everything that paid ones do. Regarding duplicate content, changing the headline and maybe moving some copy around in the first and/or second paragraph should usually do the trick. Regarding what PRWeb told you – no, it’s not crap, although I understand your hesitation. I also normally recommend one release per month.
Is anyone familiar with a service by the name of e.releases? the site looks good, they have great testimonials but I am interesting in finding 3rd party reviews. Looking to release about our new Fort Myers Dentist office.
Hi Steve, have you tried or have any comments regarding Targetwire?
This is great advice on how to spread your news online. However, I work for a regional attraction, so outreach to traditional media in my market is very important. I’m looking for a way to make sure my news releases end up in the e-mail inboxes of my media contacts looking “slick” and professional and not in their spam filters. Does this require and e-newsletter system instead of the kind of sites you review here? If so, do you have one to recommend that works well for PR specifically?
Also, I agree with the PitchEngine analysis. We used is for a while and it just fizzled. Too much trouble.