You must be constantly looking for ways to drive targeted traffic to your website. The more diverse your traffic strategy is the better.
In this blog post I want to share with you a great method to drive targeted traffic that has been giving me very good results.
Press Releases…
Yes, the same press releases that have been a marketing staple for 50 years. They are MUST have for any Internet marketer and here’s why.
The Traffic Potential of a Good Press Release
A press release, when properly written and distributed is an invitation to thousands of websites to write about you.
A good PR distributor will send your release to online news outlets, print newspapers and magazines, TV stations and local outlets and ensure that, if someone wants to share it, they have it to do so.
The result can be as modest as a few thousands views and a couple hundred clicks or as game-changing as a Google News or Yahoo! News backlink and tens of thousands of clicks, or even coverage in a print outlet.
One simple press release can drive traffic to your site for weeks, and that’s not even counting the subsequent backlinks it generates from high quality sites.
How to Write a Killer Press Release
A good press release is simple and to the point. It needs to be above and beyond all else NEWSWORTHY.
I can’t count how many press releases I’ve read that were filled with lines like “come visit my site”.
That’s a big no-no. A good press release is as straightforward as it comes, which means:
- A Good Headline – Newspaper style headline that describes exactly what news you are announcing
- Brief Description – A subtitle outlining what this means for your target audience
- Who, What, When, Where, Why and How – The first paragraph should answer all five of these questions for any reporters or readers that find it.
- Key Names and Places – Include key names and places in your release, including a quote if applicable.
These 4 elements presented succinctly and in a way that explains WHY the news outlet (and its readers) should care will have an immediate impact on the effectiveness of your press release. That is, you’ll get more reprints and more traffic.
You can write the press release yourself or you can outsource it in places like fiverr.com: http://fiverr.com/categories/writing-translation/writing-press-releases?order=rating
Submitting Your Press Release
Sure, there are some free sites and others that are “cheap” but when it comes to a press release, you really do get what you pay for, and the best is PRWeb.com.
Most marketers chafe at PRWeb because the prices are high, but the results speak for themselves. I’ve routinely seen 10,000 or more views on releases via PR Web that would get only 1,000 or 2,000 through another distributor.
There are additional services and distribution options available if you pay more, but for 99% of the people reading this, PR Web’s lowest distribution option is more than enough to get the traffic you’re looking for.
How Effective Are Press Releases….Really?
It depends. A well written press release may or may not get picked up by a major outlet like Google or Yahoo! If it is, however, you can see tens or even hundreds of thousands views that can convert to hundreds of clicks to your site.
Rarely have I seen a press release fail to pay for itself in direct traffic alone (and that’s not to mention the backlinks), so if you want a very powerful backlinking strategy that also happens to drive targeted clicks, this is it.
Just don’t overdo it. A good press release every 2-3 months is more than enough.
Please share your thoughts or experiences with press releases by leaving a comment below.
Thanks
Comments 19
Hi Alex
Press Releases are a good way to get traffic I can attest to that as I use them all the time for me and my online clients.
And thanks for the fiverr.com tip!!
Jerry
Author
Hi Jerry,
fiverr is great to get your press releases done – I usually tweak them a little before sending them out though.
Thank you for letting me know about this traffic method. Although I’m familiar with press releases I didn’t know I could use them like this.
Author
You are welcome Angelica,
Yes – I kind of neglected them also but I started testing them a couple of months ago and the result have been great, that’s why I wanted to share this with you.
hi alex
i am new to all this but i would like to say that your post was very informative and i also liked your fiverr.com tip!! i shall be useing Press Releases to also get traffic
Alex,
I agree – PR method is a very good method to get traffic and “media buzz” but not everyone can afford PRWeb service ($199) + you need to write the PR yourself or pay for it. I know a very good service I have used myself and can recommend to you. They write PR for you and distribute it for $50 instead of $299 for Pro version.
Here is the trick how to get $299 service for just $50:
Order Pro $299 PR here: http://www.prmarketer.com/buy-pro-plan/?ap_id=p1marketing and enter Coupon Code: POSITIONONE at Checkout. That’s it.
The only downsize with PR was – my traffic went from 5-10/day to 45-50/day for a few days and slowly dried down (you do need an continuous effort here as everywhere else to get continuous results).
Here is the service URL: http://www.prmarketer.com/pricing-page/ – they use i-Newswire for distribution. You can use i-Newswire directly if you have PR already written: http://www.i-newswire.com/ for $35/mo but you have to have membership.
Also you can use this distribution service for $45 (http://promotepressrelease.com/?page_id=14)) – not tested by me.
Hope it helps.
Alexander.
Author
Hi Alexander,
Thanks for the tip and resources.
I will try them myself.
Happy to help 🙂
Thanks for this very good input. I’m new and still finding my way to get more traffic on my niche sites. Indeed, very helpful post.
have a great day Alex!
Author
Thank you Michael,
Happy to hear that you found the information helpful.
I’ll be adding more traffic generation blog posts in the coming weeks.
This is one sure way to get your business and your brand known. And yes, it could be costly at some point that beginners would really doubt on venturing to this method.
Hi there Alex.
I agree on this one. A well written press release would really boost your site’s traffic and popularity but more than that, I am really more after of the credibility that my company gets from it.
Another great post!
Dorothy Bean
It’s costly but the counting all the benefits you get makes it more than reasonable. I would really suggest beginners to use this powerful tool in building their brand. Based on my experience, it helped me out a lot.
Keep it up Alex. I never missed a post on your site. 😀
Author
Thank you Morgan
Very good and well written article. I really find it annoying to read press releases which are obviously made for pure advertising. It’s never effective and would not give you good feedback to your business.
Hi Alex,
I agree that Press Release is a good method to get traffic and “media buzz” even though it is not for everyone due to its high price for writing and distribution cost. Besides, PR traffic will usually dried down in days/weeks so we need a new PR again for continuous effects.
Thanks for sharing.
Author
Hi George
Yes – If its giving you good results I usually recommend 1 PR every 2 months.
Hi Alex
Is there a way that press releases could be used on a review site selling physical products through Amazon.
Author
Hi Joe,
Yes they can be used if you find a news worthy angle on it