Last week we discussed the amazing natural camouflage effect of some members of the marine order Sepiida (marine class Cephalopoda) and how they…oh, wait.
That must have been someone else.
Last week we discussed the importance of recognizing the difference between press releases and news releases in your web development and web design efforts. This week, we’re outlining the differences for you…
A press release is something potentially newsworthy for the masses…something that could attract new interest or renewed interest in your business through content concerning an event, major change or a very strong opinion stated concerning your line of business and the effect of it on the mass population. Press releases are suitable for sending to newspapers and other mass media outlets both paper and online.
A news release is something that is important to you, people in your business, your clientele and maybe even known prospects, but not necessarily to the masses because they’re not immediately affected by the content.
While a news release may not be newsworthy for the masses the way a press release is, it still warrants reporting through a pressroom page on your website or on your blog page. Having a pressroom page or blog on your website allows news releases to help you in the search engines by giving you more opportunities to work keywords into your content (i.e. the news releases themselves) and by keeping your content fresh and up-to-date.
This will not only help you in the search engines (they index your site to see how fresh it is), but when people find your site they will see your archive and see that you are a reliable resource for up-to-date information. This is what will bring people back for repeated visits to your site and allow you to reap the greatest benefits from your web development and web design efforts.
One of the most effective and wallet-friendly (in some cases, FREE) ways to promote your business and direct traffic to your website is through press releases. Not the spam/infomercial “press releases” offered by so many online resources at exorbitant costs, but true press releases.
A true press release is an unbiased statement of fact. The idea is the factual information will allow an editor to make an educated determination of whether or not the information is newsworthy…either on a mass, regional or local scale. Quotes used in true press releases may reflect opinions (even very minor bias) by the individual being quoted, but this is the only real exception. Contact information (especially a link to your website if it’s an online release) is crucial in every press release to make it easy for people to find you.
With the advent of online publishing and the rush to to jockey for high search engine position through SEO and keyword-rich content, the market for an individual opened up on a mass scale like never before via the Internet. Since individual knowledge amongst businesspeople with regard to what constitutes a true press release is pretty low overall, many businesses are susceptible to being wooed into spending tons of money on what amounts to infomercials masquerading as “press releases.”
The detrimental effect of this is two-fold. One, the sales pitch most commonly used is “We’ll get you on the top of the search engines,” which is what every businessperson WANTS to hear. The reality is that no one can promise you this and consistently deliver. Think of how many thousands of people in your line of business alone who have been told this very same thing and the preposterousness of that premise.
In your web development and web design efforts, it’s important to simplify and the best way to do that is to have two main categories for your releases: press releases and news releases.
Next week in Part 2 you will learn the true difference between press releases and news releases so you can more effectively put your best foot forward for your business;)
For Immediate Release
Lancaster, PA – Graphic and Web designer Chad McComsey and computer programmer and developer David Zimmerman announce the formation of MIND Development & Design, located at 313 West Liberty Street, Suite 119 in Lancaster, PA.
Last week we discussed the amazing natural camouflage effect of some members of the marine order Sepiida (marine class Cephalopoda) and how they…oh, wait.
