The effectiveness of paid and free distribution of press releases
What we received as a result of sending press releases through paid platforms. Comparing the paid and free way, we share the numbers, facts, as well as general impressions.
In an article about internal competition between departments of the company , it was mentioned that the SEO team used a paid news release to attract traffic to the site of our start-up project Polyglot . We decided to highlight in more detail the features of such a mechanism for increasing product awareness, to analyze the effectiveness of its use in a particular situation and to share our experience.
Platform for distribution of press releases
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Of the several options that were considered, there were both Russian and English-speaking sites:
• BusinessWire
• B2Blogger.com
• PR.com
• eReleases
• PRNEWS.io
After reviewing all the offers, our SEO department focused on the eReleases platform. There are solid partners and an impressive base of friendly resources for placing press releases, a lot of positive feedback. In the English-speaking PR environment, this platform is quite well known and cooperates with more than 100 thousand journalists. Press releases "come out" through media resources such as Google , USA TODAY , The New York Times , YAHOO! as well as LYCOS . Services are offered for quite a bit of money. The choice was made.
Terms of placement
eReleases offers four so-called “packages” with various additions and conditions. The initial “package” costs $ 249, and the most expensive - $ 499. Seoshniki preferred the 2nd of 4 offers called Buzz Builder, which for $ 299 offered:
• Press release of 400 words in size (the press release, however, we were ready, but the availability of the text did not affect the cost of services);
• Placing a press release on 75 thematic resources;
• Promotion with the help of SEO-tools (without special clarifications).
Results
Our press release with a link posted on 70 resources (and not 75, as promised). According to the specialists working in the company, these resources were doubtful (insignificant attendance, irregular content update). Within 3 weeks, while our competition between departments lasted, only 100 people followed the link from the press release.
The results of the distribution of paid press releases were unsatisfactory. Of course, a well-written press release in itself is, in fact, the main PR document of the company. But either the resource or the distribution method itself was selected incorrectly.
Another thing is the individual sending of well-prepared text to be placed on target sites. Even before the launch of the project, we sent requests for the publication of our press release as amended by the most popular IT-related resources in the post-Soviet space.
As a result, they wrote about us:
• AIN.UA
• Freelance.Today
• Roem.ru
• Ziv.ru
• KV.by
• ITBusiness.ua
For 5 months, during which our press releases read on these sites, in total, more than 10,000 direct transitions were made to the platform of the illuminated project. Of these, about 2.5 thousand Polyglot visitors learned about it through a press release posted on AIN.UA.
Is it a lot or a little? For a startup - not so bad! Of course, such attendance is not the limit, but only the beginning of the formation of a recognizable and popular brand.
Of course, the “targeted” press release came out much earlier than his paid twin brother, but, as practice shows, the increase in attendance a month later after the distribution of paid press releases disappears. A high-quality and interesting material, posted naturally, leads to the site of interested people and six months later.
Our conclusions: it is better to choose thematic resources with a good reputation by yourself, to contact them and to offer high-quality material, such that they gladly place it. First, in most cases it is absolutely free, and, secondly, it can provide a large number of transitions of people who are really interested .
In an article about internal competition between departments of the company , it was mentioned that the SEO team used a paid news release to attract traffic to the site of our start-up project Polyglot . We decided to highlight in more detail the features of such a mechanism for increasing product awareness, to analyze the effectiveness of its use in a particular situation and to share our experience.
Platform for distribution of press releases
')
Of the several options that were considered, there were both Russian and English-speaking sites:
• BusinessWire
• B2Blogger.com
• PR.com
• eReleases
• PRNEWS.io
After reviewing all the offers, our SEO department focused on the eReleases platform. There are solid partners and an impressive base of friendly resources for placing press releases, a lot of positive feedback. In the English-speaking PR environment, this platform is quite well known and cooperates with more than 100 thousand journalists. Press releases "come out" through media resources such as Google , USA TODAY , The New York Times , YAHOO! as well as LYCOS . Services are offered for quite a bit of money. The choice was made.
Terms of placement
eReleases offers four so-called “packages” with various additions and conditions. The initial “package” costs $ 249, and the most expensive - $ 499. Seoshniki preferred the 2nd of 4 offers called Buzz Builder, which for $ 299 offered:
• Press release of 400 words in size (the press release, however, we were ready, but the availability of the text did not affect the cost of services);
• Placing a press release on 75 thematic resources;
• Promotion with the help of SEO-tools (without special clarifications).
Results
Our press release with a link posted on 70 resources (and not 75, as promised). According to the specialists working in the company, these resources were doubtful (insignificant attendance, irregular content update). Within 3 weeks, while our competition between departments lasted, only 100 people followed the link from the press release.
The results of the distribution of paid press releases were unsatisfactory. Of course, a well-written press release in itself is, in fact, the main PR document of the company. But either the resource or the distribution method itself was selected incorrectly.
Another thing is the individual sending of well-prepared text to be placed on target sites. Even before the launch of the project, we sent requests for the publication of our press release as amended by the most popular IT-related resources in the post-Soviet space.
As a result, they wrote about us:
• AIN.UA
• Freelance.Today
• Roem.ru
• Ziv.ru
• KV.by
• ITBusiness.ua
For 5 months, during which our press releases read on these sites, in total, more than 10,000 direct transitions were made to the platform of the illuminated project. Of these, about 2.5 thousand Polyglot visitors learned about it through a press release posted on AIN.UA.
Is it a lot or a little? For a startup - not so bad! Of course, such attendance is not the limit, but only the beginning of the formation of a recognizable and popular brand.
Of course, the “targeted” press release came out much earlier than his paid twin brother, but, as practice shows, the increase in attendance a month later after the distribution of paid press releases disappears. A high-quality and interesting material, posted naturally, leads to the site of interested people and six months later.
Our conclusions: it is better to choose thematic resources with a good reputation by yourself, to contact them and to offer high-quality material, such that they gladly place it. First, in most cases it is absolutely free, and, secondly, it can provide a large number of transitions of people who are really interested .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/294906/
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