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Free Press Releases at PRLog: Benefits and Drawbacks

Vlad Zablotskyy — Sat, 15 May 2010 18:07:22 +0000

I have learned about PRLog years years ago, maybe two. If my memory serves me well, I received some marketing materials from them regarding the launch of PRLog and their sister site Article Library at http://artilib.org/. While the idea was interesting, did not look further into using PRLog because I did not believe they will be able to compete with the websites like PRWeb – another leading press release distribution website. PRLog has improved since, and I have been using their services for the last two months.

The PRLog review by Janet Meiners Thaeler inspired me to take another look at their services. But today I would like to list a few benefits along with drawbacks of my own about using PRLog.

The Benefits:

It’s Free
To submit a press release to PRLog does not cost you a penny. In today’s economy it’s a plus I suppose.

Your Press Releases at PRLog go live with a click of the button.
I have used the PRLog for 5 press releases so far- all of them went live right after I clicked the “publish” button. This can be useful if you need to get your news out fast and do not have time to wait through the approval process other website have in place.

PRLog is ranking well in Google and their traffic is on the rise.
I have noticed that all of my press release were crawled by Google within minutes of them going live. One of the press releases has a Google Page rank of 3 while four other press releases have page rank of 2. According to Alexa PRLog’s traffic has been rising steadily over the last several months and according to Compete they are averaging about 1 million visitors each month.

The Drawbacks

Poor click through to your website.
Press releases at PRLog seem to get more views as the “age” – considering that one of the goals of a press release is to “announce” news, it is somewhat backward. Even as the views of your press releases increase I also find that click through to your websites do not.

No control over the anchor text in your links.
When publishing a press release at PRLog, your links are just converted to a clickable URLs. Considering the possible SEO value you maybe able to get from using PRLog, the ability to have control anchor text should be considered by PRLog developers.

PRLog press releases do not get republished on other sites as much as one would wish…
In comparison to other similar websites, press releases from PRLog do not appear to draw much attention from publishers and webmasters. EzineArticles.com will get you better results as far as this goes.

To conclude I wish to say that PRLog has come a long way. If your advertising budget does not allow you to purchase press release services, PRLog should be considered as an option- you can’t beat the free price tag. However you should not expect great results on a single press release at PRLog.Similar Posts:

I Need a Killer Press Release-Now What???: A Guide to Online PR- Now Available at Amazon

Vlad Zablotskyy — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:45:18 +0000

Not so long ago Janet Meiners Thaeler graciously agreed to write a guest post for my blog. She was extremely busy writing her book and I would understand if she declined my invitation to write a blog post for Go Beyond MLS.

Today I am happy to let you know that Janet’s Book is now available on Amazon.com and it is available in print and in digital format for Kindle users- I Need a Killer Press Release–Now What???: A Guide to Online PR

Who may be interested in Janet’s Book?

If you are the owner of small to mid-size business and would like to learn the power of online press releases you need this book. This book will teach you how to capture attention of news publications and deliver online visibility your business needs.

Janet has written hundreds of press releases for businesses across spectrum of niches, you can follow her work at http://www.newspapergrl.com/ and I hope you seriously consider using her services the next time you are ready to write a press release.Similar Posts:

5 Tips for Killer Online Press Releases

Vlad Zablotskyy — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 04:15:51 +0000

This is a guest post by Janet Meiners Thaeler – Newspapergrl (online PR)

Have you ever thought of improving your online business with a press release? Press releases are great tools to help your web site rank higher in search engines. I’ve written press releases for national brand name real estate pros. Here are some tips to help you write and distribute your first press release:

Find something newsworthy to write a press release about.
Right now the economy and saving money are hot topics. You may be doing some creative marketing in your area that would be a great story. If you need inspiration, search a site like PRWeb for “real estate” and see what others are writing about.
Remember that news is something that exists in time – something has happened, is happening now, or is happening in the future. Sometimes people get confused and mistake a press release for an advertisement (not objective) or an article (not timely information).
Add quotes to your press release.
Quotes are important because they say key points of the news “in your own words.” This is the only time you can use “you” and “yours.” I like to use at least 2 quotes in a press release and make sure that they capture the news or an aspect of it. Be specific in your writing (rather than vague or generic) so that anyone reading the quote could know who you are, what the news is, and why it matters just from reading the quote.
Use Links in your press release.
Many people make the mistake of not using links in their press release. Online it’s vital to use links because links are the currency of the Internet. A link is a “vote” for your web site in search engines. Use about one link for every 100 words.
Link to other pages besides your home page.
It may be tempting to just add a link at the end of your press release that says something like: For more information, see “www.yourwebsite.com.” So you only have one link and it’s just to the home page. Ideally you should link to related pages, articles, or blog posts. You should aim to use words as links, not just URLs. I usually add a link in the intro, throughout and then as the last sentence of the press release. S
Distribute your press release online.
Press release distribution sites like 24-7pressrelease.com will let you add text links for about $50. It’s worth the cost to use a service like this. For larger distribution I highly recommend PRWeb‘s $200 SEO visibility package. The submission process is a bit more involved but you’ll get traditional media and get the best online distribution on the Internet.

Hope these tips are helpful. I’m writing a book about online PR. Send me an email – janet [at] affiliateflash [dot] com and I’ll let you know when it’s finished and I’ll also notify you when I’m ready to give away a few copies on this blog.Similar Posts:

Outsource Your Press Release To A Pro

Vlad Zablotskyy — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 05:04:06 +0000

Many of my readers have probably ran into Janet Meiners Thaeler aka NewspaperGirl. If you did not meet Janet on Twitter, you probably have read her articles on Marketing Pilgrim. If you know Janet, you know she is an expert as far as press releases go. If you did not know that, you know it now.

So why I am bringing up press releases and (re)introducing Janet to you? Simple. I believe that press releases will be on the rise this year, considering economic factors. Long time ago (about 2 or 3 years), Janet, while still blogging on WordPress.com blog, wrote about her experiment with press releases. Comparing to PPC advertising, press releases delivered visitors to her websites at a consistent rate of 5 cents per click or less. Even back then you really needed to “babysit” and “sweat” over your PPC campaigns to keep the cost per click under 20 cents.

Janet got me hooked on PRWeb. My first $40 press release brought a 300% return on my investment during the first day of the press release going live. To make the long story short, I have never felt like I wasted money on a press release. PPC??? Well that’s another story….

There are however a few challenges with press releases. Not being a good writer with added difficulty of English as my second or third language, I never felt comfortable writing press releases. I certainly never scored highly as far as editorial review goes, probably just barely passed the scrutiny of PRWeb to get my releases published. Writing for my blogs is different. Most of you are very forgiving as far as my grammar goes. But press releases are different…

Slowly I came to realize that press release is something I will have to outsource. So to my surprise, when visiting Janet’s blog, I discovered that she is now offering Press Release Writing Services. Knowing Janet’s background in blogging, marketing and social media – there can be no better person to write my press releases. I am planing to use Janet’s services for my Interpreting and Translating Business. If you need a solid press release, you should consider her services as well. Don’t take my word for it. Read what Jeremy Shoemaker (aka Shoemoney) wrote about Janet’s press releases- a very powerful testimony testimony if you asked. Not trying to be mean to Jeremy, but it is good to know we can compete on the level of grammar. Similar Posts: