Press Release Distribution Services: 7 Essential Features to Consider
We live in a tech-savvy world, and more than ever, maintaining a digital presence is essential for all businesses. Regardless of the size of your business or the industry you are in, you need to find the best way possible to tell your story and make it reach the right people. That is exactly what a press release distribution service does.
It helps you get your press release to a wider audience for optimum brand publicity and awareness. But all press release distribution services are not created equal. Choosing the right one can mean the difference between hitting your goals and just wasting your time and resources.
So, in this post, let’s take a look at some essential features you need to consider in a press release distribution service before you use it.
A Closer Look into What Press Release Distribution Services Are
Press release distribution services are tools that allow you to automatically or manually send your press release to a wide audience, including specific journalists, influencers, and media outlets. Press release distribution services are divided into two main categories. They can either be automated or manual.
Automated press release distribution services are called newswire. They are different from the manual ones which require that you pitch your story to specific media outlets all by yourself. While newswire is the most used press release distribution service, some people claim it doesn’t produce as much results as manually sending your story via PR outreach. But the truth is that both of them have their pros and cons.
Nonetheless, newswire remains the most popular choice for digital marketers and business owners when it comes to press release distribution.
Before Choosing the Best, Why Use Press Release Distribution Services in the First Place?
Press releases have long been known for their effectiveness in helping to get appropriate media coverage. They allow you to increase your brand’s exposure and reach new audiences. In addition to this, press releases come with lots of advantages over traditional advertising methods.
Now, to make the most out of your press releases, you need to find a means to get your story to a wider audience in a shorter time. If you will be distributing your press release by yourself, you will have to go through the rigorous process of creating a media list, finding media contacts, pitching them, and following up with them. All of these do not only take a lot of time but also require lots of energy and resources.
But with a press release distribution service, the job becomes much easier. These tools help you find the best media outlet for your story and send them out in a fraction of the time you would have spent trying to do it by yourself.
#1: Consider the level of exposure and media traction of the newswire
The purpose of any press release distribution service is to help your brand achieve a significant level of media exposure. Choosing the right newswire with a good list of media outlets can make this happen. So, before opting for any PR distribution service, ensure to carefully consider the authority and relevance of the sites your story will be sent to.
With authority; when your story appears on authority media sites, it helps shape the way people perceive your brand and how much credibility they allot to your business. With your story being featured on authority sites, it will also have a better chance of being shared and referenced by other media sites. And that will mean more exposure for your brand.
You should also check the relevance of the sites to your brand message. It is not enough to be an authority site. If you want the best result from your PR, it should be published on sites relevant to your brand, where your target audience can be found. So before you opt for any press release distribution service, check to be sure they have what it takes to help you reach your targeted media sites and influencers.
#2: Fast and reliable customer support
Unfortunately, not everyone considers this as an important factor for choosing a press release distribution service. Choosing a service that promptly responds to your support ticket can mean a lot in your PR campaign. Quick responses to client queries is not something common in the newswire industry.
Yet, there will be times you need to get quick feedback from the support team to take a step. So, if you think fast response means something to you, you would want to go for a press release distribution service that has reliable customer support.
How can you easily spot this? Check for newswire services that have multiple communication channels.
#3: Expert press release writing option
Most of the time, the success of your PR distribution campaign rests on your content. It is important you know how best to write a press release to get the most out of your campaign. But even if you know how to do this, you may not be able to produce the same quality as expert press release writers.
They understand how best to structure a story to make it newsworthy and well-optimized for SEO. So when choosing a press release distribution service, check if they have expert press release writers that can help write or put a perfect touch on your story before distributing. That will come as an added advantage to you.
#4: Pricing
You will also need to consider the pricing of the newswire service you want to use in relation to your budget. There is no fixed cost for getting PR distribution. While some services are free, others can cost you thousands of dollars. At the same time, pricing varies from one press release distribution service to the other.
You may also be charged based on the scope of your distribution. Additional features and extra media add-ons would definitely cost you more. So, when looking for a distribution service you can use, check if the pricing fits into your budget.
Furthermore, a good distribution service should also have a transparent pricing table, where you can clearly see what you will be getting for your money.
#5: List of outlets
Before you choose that distribution service, ask yourself how many media outlets it covers. From news websites to media outlets, and aggregators, a good newswire service should have enough authority outlets on its list. However, that a distributor has many outlets doesn’t make it the best. You will still need to put that side by side with other factors we’ve mentioned in this post.
Nonetheless, you will have a better chance of getting increased coverage from a press release distribution service that has all major new sites like Bing, Google News, and Yahoo on its list.
#6: Reporting
If it can be measured, then it can be monitored. When opting to use a press release distribution service, you will want to use one that can help you measure the success of your campaigns. If they won’t be providing you with clear reporting and actionable information and metrics, then they are not the best fit for you. There wouldn’t be any means of determining the effectiveness of the service after all.
At the same time, you should be able to see where your story appears online. You should know how many views it’s getting and what group of people are showing interest in it.
#7: Offering multiple media at no extra cost
In this busy world where many things are clamoring for our attention, you need to find a way to grab the attention of your audience. An excellent way to do that is through media content. Images and videos help to grab people’s attention quickly. That is why adding them to your press release can make a huge difference.
Some newswire services will charge extra fees for adding a certain number of videos or images to your story. That may not be very good for you, especially when you have a long-form story where you will need visual content to make it easier to read.
So choose a press release distribution service that allows you to add as much visual content to your press release without extra charges.
Top 5 Press Release Distribution Services You Should Consider
Signal Genesys
a proprietary Web Presence Platform and Online Signal Generation platform exclusively built for digital marketing agencies and their clients. The Signal Genesys software provides SEOs and marketing agencies authoritative Media Distribution with Proper Sourcing & Attribution.
You can publish and distribute content on top rated networks of major TV, Radio and Newspaper authorities through the USA, and generate strong signals that will move the needle in your SEO campaign. Every piece of content published on their signal generation engine is always private labeled.
Many agencies in the United States and across the globe love Signal Genesys because of its unique and cutting edge features and functionalities:
- Cloud app & app channels
- Google Maps API Integration
- Inline Video Embeds
- Permanent Archives
- Signal Reporting Dashboard
- Flexible pricing & packages
- 100% Private Labeled
If you want an unfair advantage in your SEO campaigns, then you simply need to add Signal Genesys to your suite of software. There isn’t anything quite like it out there in the industry.
Linking News
For many years, Linking News has been rated high among the many press release distribution services that exist in the market. It is the best professional solution for businesses, PR agencies, and digital marketers. It caters well even to beginners that don’t know much about press release distribution – thanks to its intuitive interface and flexible pricing.
The editorial team is constantly doing a great job to make sure they distribute your content only to trustworthy names on the market. Below are some of the unique features of Linking News:
- Friendly and easy to use
- 100% white label PR distribution
- Has powerful connection with top-quality media publications
- Stories are fine-tuned by experts before distribution
- Reasonable pricing
PR web is also another excellent press release distribution service helping businesses and brands gain significant exposure online. They have lots of online resources in their distribution network, and so are perfect for start-up companies.
They send press releases to about 30,000 journalists, news sites like USA Today, New York Times, and bloggers. The reporting system of the PR distribution service is also amazing. You will be getting the real-time report of the sending and receiving of your releases.
- Allows you to add videos and images for free
- Unlimited word count
- Reasonable pricing
- Intuitive and easy-to-use platform
Globe Newswire
This is one of the largest newswire distribution networks on the market. So if you are looking for a service to use to distribute your release on a large scale, Globe Newswire might just be the best fit for you. It caters to businesses of all sizes and types with a massive focus in North America and Europe.
They have a skilled and dedicated team that sends out your press release to investors, influencers, and media across the globe and with comprehensive reporting.
- Distributes press releases in multiple languages
- Distributes across the globe
- Reports available
- Allows you to add videos, images, and infographics directly in your releases.
PR Newswire is one of the oldest and largest newswires and it’s owned by Cision. Based in Maryland, USA, PR Newswire has an extensive database of media contacts, and it is considered the best fit when looking to distribute press releases to a specific local news website.
- It is very easy to use and the pricing is very reasonable too.
- The most excellent for regional and geographic targeting
- Every plan allows you access to editorial services
- Regularly sends our visibility reports
Final Note
Press releases have proved to be an effective tool for helping brands gain reasonable exposure both online and offline. When done right, it can be the game changer in your overall marketing efforts. That means it is absolutely worth putting in the effort to find the best distribution service that is best for your business and brand.
In this post, we have featured some important factors you need to consider to land the best press release distribution service that will help take your exposure and marketing to the next level.