Press Release Distribution: Top 10 Services + 4 Mistakes to Avoid To thrive as a small business, you need press coverage. But, unfortunately, coverage doesn't just come naturally – you need to work for it. Enter: the press release. Press releases are important for increasing your brand awareness and helping your public relations (PR). But if nobody sees your release, you won't get very far. You need to distribute it effectively to get your story picked up by local and/or national newspapers, magazines, or blogs. In this guide to press release distribution, we'll cover the following to help you put together a plan of action that results in coverage: What is press release distribution? Why is press release distribution important? How to distribute your press release Distribution mistakes to avoid Should you use distribution services? Keep reading to learn how you can properly create, pitch, and distribute a press release for optimal brand awareness. What is press release distribution? Before we dive any deeper, let's iron out exactly what press release distribution is. It's the process of circulating or seeding out your press release to journalists, publishers, and members of the press. Your press release normally provides updates on your company's products and/or services, projects, partnerships, organization structure, and more. With distribution, you allow various publications to share your press release and thus, reach a wider audience. Why should you submit a press release? The purpose of distributing a press release...

What is Public Relations? The Definition of PR in 100 Words or Less Image is an important aspect of brand awareness, which influences whether your potential customers know, like, and trust you. Where publicity is outside a brand's control, public relations (PR) is an effective way to contribute to the conversation. There’s an old saying: “Advertising is what you pay for; publicity is what you pray for.” Public relations isn’t an easy profession to define. In fact, in 2012, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) accepted a few thousand submissions before finally agreeing on one: So how can an organization take its beneficial relationship to the public and turn it into good press? Are you really “praying” for something, like the old saying goes, if you’re using a strategic process to get results? If public relations is a bridge for that relationship, then public relations professionals are the bridge builders. Let's talk about them a little more specifically: What is a public relations professional? A public relations professional is in charge of creating and executing a PR strategy, helping a business or individual cultivate a positive reputation through various unpaid or earned channels and formats, including press, social media, and in-person engagements. They also help clients defend their reputations during crises that threaten their credibility. In order to understand this, you must first consider the two sides of PR: the positive storytelling side and the negative damage-controle side. Positive Public Relations If an organization is proactive about...

How to Write a Press Release When it comes to content, sometimes old school can be a good thing (namely, when it comes to old-school rap or Throwback Thursday on Instagram). But when it comes to your company's public relations strategy, being old school isn't advantageous for your business or your brand. Ten years ago, people still relied on morning papers for news. Today, the vast majority of your company's customers and prospects scan headlines on Twitter or see what’s trending in their Facebook feed. People now have control over where, when, and how they consume information. As a result, public relations is no longer about feeding into a traditional news cycle; it's about providing relevant content when, where, and how your prospects, influencers, and customers will consume it. Sounds pretty hopeless, right? Wrong. While relationship-building still helps you get into popular publications, we now have the opportunity to quit playing the waiting game and generate our own buzz. By turning your PR strategy into an inbound one, you create opportunities that weren’t there before and carve out a place for your company, building meaningful mindshare with your target audiences in the process. One of the most crucial updates to make to your PR strategy is to think of opportunities to connect to the audiences you care about -- including, but not limited to, reporters. And that starts with press releases. In this post, we'll discuss: What Is a Press Release? Types of Press Releases Sample Press...