Getting the word out about your company’s latest announcement, product or service can be tough. Luckily, there are plenty of services designed to help you do just that.
Following on from our 6 tips for entrepreneurs looking for press, here are five services that can help you create and share press releases with the world.
PressDoc
PressDoc is a one-stop shop for creating and promoting press releases online. Releases are cleanly laid out, making it easy for journalists to find the information they need. If you’re new to dealing with the press, this is a good way of making sure that you get all the important elements, like a clear summary and any relevant links, images, videos and documents, slotted into a single, easy-to-read page. Stats are available to track your success.
The Amsterdam-based company recently added new premium features that let you customise your releases to match your business’ brand, the ability to host your PressDoc pages on your own website and support for Google Analytics. One downside is that you still have to do the leg work of promoting your press release, although it does help out with social media integration for automatically sharing your news, and a widget for displaying them on your website.
Pricing is set at €19,00 per press release, with discounts for bulk buying of credits for future releases. These credits can also be spent on upgrading your account with premium features. Disclosure: PressDoc is a The Next Web Incubator company.
Prezly
Similarly to PressDoc, Prezly provides an easy way to create a multimedia press release complete with images and embedded video. Social media integration is built in, allowing you to auto-post to blogs, Twitter and Facebook. Unlike PressDoc, there’s support for mailing lists, allowing you to get in touch with email contacts about your release direct from the interface, although the number of addresses you can contact is limited on all but the most expensive price plan.
Pricing ranges from €20 per month for 5 press releases per month, but very limited features, up to unlimited press releases and the full range of features at €200 per month.
PressKing
Aimed at startups and medium-sized companies, PressKing is an all-in-one, self-service PR management tool comprising press release distribution, media monitoring and web analytics. As with PressDoc and Prezly, your press releases can be created online, included rich media and attachments. Unlike its competitors, PressKing has its own database of over 200,000 contacts to push your releases to in addition to any contacts you may have.
If you’re looking for a service that integrates press releases with wider monitoring and analytics, PressKing could be for you. The product is priced between free for a basic account allowing one press release per year via staged increments up to a $299 per year package allowing ten press releases per month.
PitchEngine
Perhaps the first to combine social media with press releases was PitchEngine. Offering hosted releases with unlimited multimedia elements, the service is priced at $29 per ‘pitch’ or $39 if you want to take advantage of add-ons that let you integrate your pitches with your website or Facebook Page.
PitchEngine makes press releases interactive, with the ability for readers to leave comments or questions. This makes them something of a hybrid between a conventional release and a blog post. It’s been used by big brands including CNN, IBM and British Airways but isn’t just aiming at businesses. The service is designed to be a ‘publishing platform’ for the creation of everything from fully-featured online press kits to simple digital flyers that can be used by anyone looking for publicity.
PR Web
Another service designed to let you build a press release online, PR Web concentrates on helping you optimise your release for search engines. It can publish your releases to a wide range of news services and industry-specific news feeds subscribed to by journalists.
Pricing is based on the exposure your release will get, ranging from $80 per release, up to $360 for a package that includes distribution via the Associated Press. PR Web sits somewhere between the do-it-yourself approach of the services above and the pricier, high visibility offerings from the wire services below.
Business Wire and PR Newswire
If you prefer to opt for a service without so many bells and whistles, but with great reach, Business Wire and PR Newswire are worth investigating. These service allow you to upload a release and then target it at specific general interest and business media as well as newspapers and other local media, depending on who you’re trying to reach.
The two services’ industry-specific feeds are followed by many journalists. Although their sites are presented in a comparatively dry fashion compared to the examples above, there’s still support for images and video in your releases, along with social media sharing buttons to help get the word out.
You must become a Business Wire or PR Newswire member to use their services. Business Wire does not advertise its pricing structure, while PR Newswire charges a $195 annual membership fee, plus per-release costs varying from $130 for $3,750. Compared to the services above, they aren’t cheap, but businesses pay for their reach.
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