While many large companies use a PR agency to manage their press-releases, it's now easy to do-it-yourself and go direct to an online service for distribution. There are also some free options available which can give some SEO benefits with backlinks and through featuring in Google News. Don't expect lots of journalists to pick up on your press release though if you use these services, a more personal approach once you have identified a specialist through a tool like Vocus will work better here.
There are a growing number of websites where news and press releases can be submitted online.
The main business model is to offer a free, but upgradable service. There are limitations as the sites vary in terms of layout and "how to" submit, there are issues when adding images (some are free, but very small) and the approval process.
These are some of the press release e-Pr websites I've found. They are all members only sites that you need to join before submitting a press release.
| Website | Comments | Costs |
| BusinessWire.com | Need to print out and fax form to regional office | Based on geographic reach and word count c£260 for 400 words press release and goes to c2,500 websites |
| Earthpublisher.com | Clunky signup and need to add postcode numbers only! | Free |
| Freepressreleases.co.uk | Need to print out and fax form to regional office | Free and premium service |
| Newsvine.com | Easy to use, copy and paste content and press submit! | Free |
| OpenPress - www.theopenpress.com | If you would like an account email [email protected] with the word "Register" in the subject line | Waiting to hear |
| PR.com | Tries to drive users towards paid-for options. Need to check boxes carefully. | Free option available |
| PRWeb www.prwebdirect.com | Probably the best known of these services and used by many businesses. Many pricing options, aimed at business users. Global service and UK.PRWeb.com service. | From $80 per press release |
| Thebusinessdesk.com | Based on specific locations e.g. The West Midlands) and requesting news | Free |
| Vocus | This company has a media database of 1.4 million journalists, bloggers and media outlets as well as a broadcast service. | Paid service |
Do you submit press releases online? Where do you recommend? What"€™s the reach of the free online PR sites? Do share your comments and we can add to this post.
By Annmarie Hanlon
Dr Annmarie Hanlon is a Chartered Marketer and an Associate Professor in Digital and AI Marketing at UCL within the Global Business School for Health. Previously she was the Course Director of MSc Marketing and Leadership at Cranfield University. She is an experienced academic with a strong teaching portfolio in digital marketing. Before joining academia, she worked in consultancy for 25 years. As an early adopter of technology and ‘online marketing’ she has led digital strategy and planning projects across Europe, in sectors including healthcare and IT, legal and financial, software and manufacturing. Annmarie has written several SAGE textbooks including Digital Marketing, Digital Business and The Digital Marketing Planner. She is co-editor of The SAGE Handbook of Digital Marketing, and The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Marketing. Her textbooks are adopted in nearly 30 countries by over 100 universities and are the leading textbooks in SAGE’s digital topic collections.
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