I am strongly considering creating a press release to attract business to my 'new' search engine optimization business. How will I know if my press release has been picked-up by editors? I am curious to learn how successful anyone has been with press releases.

Thank you,

I release my PR's through http://www.prweb.com

It's free and it gives you stats on your PR. Like how many times it was viewed, picked up, and printed.

Press releases are something the bulk of businesses are missing out on. Free Publicity.

Jeff
==========
Make your First Impression a Lasting One
www.custom-business-promotional-products.com

Hi Jeff;

Great idea! I just tried PRWeb but unfortunatly their days of "Free" is over. Unless I missed something, I have to Pay a minimum of $80.

Thanks for the idea. May just be worth the $80.

Suzanne
www.newbiz-coaching.com

The use of press releases for business is the greatest missed opportunity there is. Every business should develop a series of press releases and submit them on a regular basis to the daily newspapers in their state. Starting with the state your business is in, regardless of your online availability, is important because newspapers editors like to feature what they consider to be local companies.

Always make sure when writing your release that it's not just ad copy. Editors are looking for newsworthiness for their subscriber base. If you're just writing ad copy, then buy an ad. But if you have information then definitely start with those release submissions.

In regards to online press release posting sites, why not just go direct to the source, like daily newspapers, rather than waiting for them to find you among thousands of other releases posted online.

Regards,
Michele
http://SpreadtheNews.net

Affordable Daily Newspaper Editors Non-spam Email Addresses for Your Press Release Submissions on a per State Basis

Free Newsletter with weekly PR info to help promote your business.
Send an email to: newsletter@SpreadtheNews.net

Press releases are a business's way of communicating information to the media.

Keep in mind this is not a sales pitch about how wonderful your product/serivce is. Press releases should only be used if there is news that needs to be communicated.

Now here is the fun part, you can generate news in a variety of ways -new hires, new clients, new products/services are good places to start. If the compnay just launched that is also news.

Events, conferences, trade show participation can also be turned into news worthy press releases.

Make sure the information you are sending out is about something that addresses a need or concern to customers. So if you have a new product the release should be about the "growing XXX problem" and how people can fix it (this is where you mention your new product).

After writing your release have 2-3 people review and edit/critique it. Try to have someone who is not directly involved in your business read it for clarity. If they understand it then the newspapers' readers will too.

Distribution should be to the appropriate editors. Do your homework before sending any release to editors. Make sure they write about your industry/topic. Read several issues of the publication to understand the format and content of the stories. Make sure your release fits in with what they tend to write about most.

For example if most of their health stories are about diseases and the news drugs that are prescribed for it then do not send them a release on a product that does not address a actual disease. Matter of fact make sure they mention products by brand name and not in generic terms. If you never see actual brand names then only send releases to them about trends in an industry.

I hope this helps.