Press Releases Or Articles? How to choose
Which is the best for you, marketing with articles or press releases? Here are the pros and cons to help you decide which will be the best fit for you:
First things first, let’s talk about money
Imagine a giant scoreboard, the teams are The Press Release Pistons and The Articulated Articles, the match begins and the first point goes to articles. With their nifty footwork, they are totally free. There are a few sites where you can post free press releases, but mainly they are just article websites that call themselves press release sites, trying to up their game. If you can afford the press release distribution, give it a try, but we suggest trying free article posting on a quality articles site first. It’s 1-0.
How specific should you be?
If the content of your website or the topic you’re writing about isn’t specific, do a press release, because the good thing about them is their timeliness rather than their precise theme. Score 1 for press releases.
Is your writing style creative or formal?
Your writing style might fit better with one or the other. If your writing style is more formal and objective, then your best bet is to send out a press release. Hopefully, you can get the attention of a journalist who will do all the hard work and creative stuff for you.
If, on the other hand, your style is creative & you can turn simple information into a featured article, then you’re better off writing your own article. It’s sure to be a winner!
If your skills are even more developed and you’re able to be very creative, writing something that attracts attention, then turn that article into an interesting news story. Then you can get two birds with one stone, as it will work as both a press release and an article! It’s 2-2.
Is it newsworthy?
If you can't imagine two guys in a bar talking about your article, then it's not news, much less a press release. However, if you can imagine these two guys talking about your article as they grumble about the news, then you should pay to distribute it! Bad news travels fast, but we hope your news will be the best!
What about search engines?
If, because of the size and/or the many years of the established competition you’ve got no chance of ranking in the search engines for a particular search term then at least article sites might give you some referral traffic, and a press release distribution done right, could give you broad media coverage.
If your specific service or product is too new or too niche to be searched for very regularly, then press coverage is your only hope.
Would that really be SEO? Of course! Getting people talking about your business, will get them searching for your brand or product name. If your service isn't something people are Googling yet, after they read your press release, they definitely will!
Press Release and Articles have their place - find out which are right for you, where and when.
Online press releases and articles can end up in print. All forms are valuable for SEO, but you need to start with the best for you.