does anyone here have experience with writing press releases?

[hulo]

I'm in the middle of writing one for my site and was hoping for some constuctive input if someone here has already done it. Thanks in advance! :)

[Darkhodge]

I'm not that experienced at writing press releases but why not publish it on here so we can give you feedback?

[hulo]

Sorry, can't really publish it here.

All done though.

[DSR]

I am lookign into writing a press release for my new site as well. I'm a complete noob at these things and apologize ahead of time for any elementary questions.

Any resources you could direct me to? Where do yous end them once they're completed?

Thanks! :)

[rmccarley]

Check this post for some advice: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showpost.php?p=434394&postcount=4

You may contact me with questions if you like.

[DSR]

Thanks so much Rmccarley! By any chance, do you offer PR services? Do you have a website (i didn't see one in that thread)? I may be interested in yoru services.

[rmccarley]

Yes, I can do that. I have not listed services on my site (14thc.com) but that is one of them. :)

[WebWriter]

(Free) Resource For Press Release Writing
http://books.lulu.com/content/195037

[UrbitasMedia]

I've written several press releases for my sites. They are really formulaic, and very easy to create if you have a good example. Here is a press release (http://www.newurbanobserver.com/new-urban-news.php?id=147)I created last week to document the growth of my photo album.

Notice how in the third paragraph I quoted myself. This is very common. Also you chould always include an About Your Company.

Once I finish my press release I post it on PRWeb.com for free. They have a good following and several companies seem to pickup their releases. Also include a link to your site. This will increase your Incoming Links as more people pick-up the release. PRweb also rates the quality of your release I almost always get a 4 our of 5. This seems to help with the pick-up.

[kschill]

Hey all, I'm a newbie but I've stumpled upon freelancewriting.com a while back. They have tons of writers looking for work, i.e. content and press releases.:)

[DSR]

How do you submit press release so specific agencies recieve them? Like say i want to send them to a specific newspaper, news agency, company, etc? I'm assuming not all companies have press release submissions. I'm confused :(

[UrbitasMedia]

DSR: Most of my press releases are in the Real Estate industry. If you use PRWeb.com to distribute your release, they let you choose an industry, and they usually have sites that subsribe to specific industries. You can always email your press release directly to the magazine or newspaper editor. Most of the time they will do a re-write of the press release.

If you want to do anything fancy you will probably have to pay an Ad Agency, and that would cost $$$.

[I4Consulting]

I swear there was someone on here that wrote press releases for people.. For good prices too..

[BuzzBoss]

Thanks rmccarley and WebWriter!

I've been searching for information on how to write a PR and here it is. :) You both are awesome.

This makes it even more exciting to always come back to Digital because of people like you.

Once again ... Mahalo nui loa! (Thank you very much!) :)

BB

[wrmineo]

I really don't advertise it, but I do some PR work for some of my clients. If you're just looking for an overview and editorial comments, shoot me an email via my profile and I'm happy to give it a look time permitting for a fellow DPer :)

Falco85 (http://forums.digitalpoint.com/member.php?u=13046) does press release writing in mulitple languages very inexpensively.

[falco85]

Hi,
I am available to manage your press release :) feel free to contact me for details.

[Copywriter]

If you want to target a specific newspaper then your best bet is to find out who the editor is of the section you want your press release to appear in (business, sport, entertainment, news etc) or which journalists on the paper cover your subject area, and send it to them direct. (You can normally find email addresses through the paper's website, or by calling them up and asking).

I used to be a newspaper journalist (and now write and distribute press releases) and seriously, I don't know any journalists or editors who pick up press releases from free distribution sites. Find the journalists email address and send it to them direct :)

How do you submit press release so specific agencies recieve them? Like say i want to send them to a specific newspaper, news agency, company, etc? I'm assuming not all companies have press release submissions. I'm confused :(

[alexn]

Some popular press release services:
http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Web_Design_and_Development/Promotion/Press_Release_Services/

[wrmineo]

If you want to target a specific newspaper then your best bet is to find out who the editor is of the section you want your press release to appear in (business, sport, entertainment, news etc) or which journalists on the paper cover your subject area, and send it to them direct. (You can normally find email addresses through the paper's website, or by calling them up and asking).

I used to be a newspaper journalist (and now write and distribute press releases) and seriously, I don't know any journalists or editors who pick up press releases from free distribution sites. Find the journalists email address and send it to them direct :)

Good points no doubt, having the ability to send directly to a journalist or an editor is great.

However, I have been contacted many times, as well have been clients for whom I've written stuff for, after doing PR submission via services on the Internet.

Why not do both to cover all bases?

[infonote]

This site provides some press release tips. I am not in any way affiliated with the site

http://www.press-release-writing.com/10_essential_tips.htm

[Integrov]

Hi,

I think that if you have budget problems and your english is good enough you can write a PR by your self.

PR Web has all the tools to help you with your press release:
1. Read this first: http://www.prweb.com/pressreleasemistakes.php - Mistakes of writing a PR.
2. Read this: http://www.prweb.com/pressreleasetips.php - Here you have tips & templates.
3. Read some good PRs which got high ranking here: http://www.prweb.com/newsbycategory/index.htm

More tips that i'd gathered and seems important to me:
1. do not try to advertise.
2. write about your product/service in proportion to it's value, don't exaggerate

Good Luck!

[Copywriter]

Good points no doubt, having the ability to send directly to a journalist or an editor is great.

However, I have been contacted many times, as well have been clients for whom I've written stuff for, after doing PR submission via services on the Internet.

Why not do both to cover all bases?

Oh, absolutely! I always distribute my press releases online as well as to a targetted list, but if there's a specific publication I want to target, I'll always contact them directly.