Press Releases Add Information and Credibility to Web Sites

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This article will deal with the use of press releases for the Online Press Room.  The value of press releases has been reiterated over and over again in the Press-Release-Writing.com newsletter.  The many tips and techniques we offer have a proven track record with professional journalists and press release writers such as those on our PRW staff.

After you distribute your press releases to the media, tack them up on your Web site for easy, accessible information for journalists who need input to write a story. The information should be just as clear and upfront as it is in any good press release.  Leave out the hype and the fluff.  Stick to the facts, examples and solid information that someone would want to know about your service or product.  If you were writing a story for a newspaper or magazine, what would you want to know to get a good story?  What would the readers want to know?  What’s important; what’s not?

What is an Online Press Room?

Companies post information on their Web sites that is accessible to qualified press people.  This has become especially prevalent with the brick and mortar companies as well as Internet companies.  Many sites require registration and passwords, presumably to keep out the public or customers with complaints.  This obviously limits accessibility as journalists click onto a Press Room to get fast information and do not like roadblocks.  They’ll just move on to another company and another story.  So think hard about making your Online Press Room accessible to everyone.  Put in a contact number for people other than journalists.  But keep your Press Room open to all.

Contact numbers are imperative.  Always include contacts directly to your public relations staff so journalists can field their questions to the people trained to answer them.  If you want to avoid phones ringing off the hook from callers who are not journalists, use e-mail addresses instead.  Make it clear that certain numbers or addresses are for media only.  Give alternate contacts for other business.  That way, even if people pay no attention and your emailboxes become stuffed, you can at least weed out the non-journalists and direct their answers to other staff.

Professionally Written Press Releases are Worth Their Time and Cost

While it’s true that everyone knows how to write and probably learned how in first grade, it’s wise to remember that press-release writing is an art as well as a learned skill.  So even if you decide to write your own press releases, make sure you follow the tips from PRW newsletters, past and future.  If you use professional distribution for your press release, don’t think it’s wasted if no news story comes of it.  Timing and relevance are everything.  The media wants and needs news.  Sometimes your news is not what they are seeking at the time you submit it.  By posting well-written press releases on your Web site, the information will be there for journalists to use when they do need the information.

You can get a lot of mileage out of your press releases.  Not only are they missiles of information to be shot out to the press, they are informative articles to dress up your Web site.  Make sure they’re not just window dressing.  Remember to include relevant facts, performance history where appropriate, brief financial info and a lot of contact numbers for the many needs of journalists, potential customers and future shareholders.  Use press releases to develop an Online Press Room that journalists will find fast, reliable and informative.