Free Press Release Distribution: PRWEB

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In the past, I’ve ponied up the $200-$300 per press release to get key announcements about my companies on the news wire, hoping to get a story or two out of the experience. Most recently, I paid for two news releases, one for AnswerSquad, and one for ClickThruStats. The first garnered some good local Colorado coverage, but the latter didn’t produce a single blip. Not a phone call, not an editor query, nada. So PR Web is an interesting alternative to explore…

According to their own site, they have over 60,000 editorial folk who track their content and they’re free. Hard to imagine: if they distribute press releases globally for free, where’s the revenue stream? It’s one of those “dotcom” mysteries, perhaps. Ahhh…. the information is contained on their contribution chart (probably need an account to access that data). Basically, the more you pay, up to $60/release, the more distribution you get. But still, $60 / distribution is pretty painless compared to PR Wire and similar!

Here’s the gist of their comparison chart, if you’re curious:

Help
us to serve you better. PR Web™ is supported financially by the contributions
of our users. We recognize the generosity of our contributors by offering
them prominent placement through the following enhancements. Contributions
are per release.A user contributing $10 will receive all of the benefits
listed under $10. (Complete descriptions below)
Benefit
/ Contribution
Free
$0
Enhanced Distributions (Per Release)
$10
$20
$30
$60
$60 Plus
PR Web™ Distribution * * * * * *
Search Engine Optimized * * * * * *
RSS/XML Feed * * * * * *
Gold
Stars		   * * * * *
Improved
Placement 		  * * * * *
Statistics (Quick
Stats) 		  * * * * *
Next
Day Distribution		   * * * * * 
Additional Industry
Targets		   * * * * *
Keyword
Search at PR Web™		   * * * * *
Paid Search Engine
Inclusion		     * * * *
File
Attachments 		      * * *
eMediaWire Distribution
†		       * * *
Sponsored Press Releases       * * *
Advanced SEO of your
News 		        * *
Discounted
Translations 		        * *
Free
NewsCrafters™ Consultation		         * *
Featured Press Releases           *

 

PR Web™ Distribution
We are proud to be one of the top three press release distribution networks
on the Internet. PR Web™ offers free press release distribution
through our robust network of partner sites combined with direct e-mail
to over 65,000 media outlets. You may use this network free of charge,
however, users offering us financial support receive added benefits.

Search Engine Optimized
We are heavily invested in search technologies. Search engine traffic
plays a vital role in the success of your news release. Journalists increasingly
rely on major search engines for their research. Consequently, every press
release distributed through our network is optimized for maximum organic
search engine inclusion. Search engines can then crawl naturally and efficiently
to index your press release. Our exclusive technology and unmatched infrastructure
provides the best available search traffic directed to your news items.

RSS/XML Feed
Every press release meeting our minimum editorial guidelines is included
in the outbound RSS/XML feed which we syndicate privately and through
third party syndicates. The higher your contribution, the higher your
placement becomes in the daily RSS/XML feed.

Gold Stars
Several years ago we devised a system of Gold Stars in order to publicly
recognize PR Web’s™ financial supporters. This program has been
well received and draws special attention to your news release. One Gold
Star is awarded with each contribution increment of $10. For example,
a press release with a $30 contribution would receive 3 stars.

Improved Placement
On an average day, PR Web� distributes between 150 and 250 press releases.
When you contribute to PR Web�, your press release advances in the outbound
news feeds and through our entire network of Web sites. This improves
the exposure for your news release. Higher placement of press releases
means wider reach and readership. A $40 contributing user will appear
ahead of a $30 contributing user. Both will be positioned in front of
users who have not contributed. It is important to note that placement
on page one is always better than placement on page ten.

Statistics (Quick Stats)
Making a contribution of $10 or more activates your Quick Stats. These
stats allow you to view the number of times your release was accessed
from our site. While this number does not represent your entire distribution,
it is useful for measuring the success of your news item.

Next Day Distribution
Since we receive a high volume of press releases daily, we ask that you
allow two days for editorial review and scheduling. For users who make
a minimum $10 contribution, we can expedite the distribution of your news
release by one day. Your contribution allows us to allocate additional
resources to advance your release. After making the $10 minimum contribution,
you are free to edit your release to change the release date

Additional Industry Targets
Choose up to 10 industry targets for your news release distribution. One
industry target is provided free of charge. Additional targeting requires
special consideration by our editorial staff. Please help cover this extra
cost with a minimum $10 contribution.

Keyword Search at PR WEB™
Make sure that your press release is keyword searchable from our site.
This allows the media to quickly locate your release through our online
search engine. Our algorithm organizes this keyword search according to
contribution levels. For example, if there are multiple releases in the
system with the keyword "fax services ", the one with the highest
contribution will be promoted above the rest. Only releases with a minimum
contribution can be crawled for inclusion in the PR Web™ search
engines.

Paid Search Engine Inclusion
PR Web� leads the industry in a state-of-the-art system for guiding search
engines to your release. Through our exclusive technology and strategic
relationships with Google�, Inktomi� and other search networks, we provide
the broadest search reach of any press release distribution network available
on the Internet. Our paid inclusion programs inject your press release
directly into major search engines without having to wait the requisite
4-6 week crawl cycle. In order to offset the fees search engines charge
for this service, only press releases with a minimum $20 contribution
may currently participate.

File Attachments
Are you interested in adding multimedia attachments to your press release?
Offering a minimum $30 contribution to PR Web� covers the additional costs
associated with hosting and delivering these files. You may attach files
up to 3MB in size.

†eMediaWire Distribution
We offer advanced distribution through eMediaWire. This distribution is
by invitation only and is based on editorial merit. Only the highest quality
releases (editorial score of 5 and above) appear on eMediaWire . A minimum
$30 contribution accompanied by a well crafted release places you in this
elite distribution.

Sponsored Press Releases
Press release submissions that include a minimum $30 financial contribution
to PR Web � are considered sponsored press releases. Sponsored press releases
at this level and above are highlighted in PR Web�’s Daily Sponsored
Press Releases . These press releases are rotated throughout this
preferred viewing area.

Advanced SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Contributing $60 allows you to request editorial review for search engine
optimization. Our editors understand how to capture the attention of major
search engines. Our NewsCrafters� team offers fee based services if you
require assistance implementing editorial suggestions.

Discount on Foreign Language Translations
Are you ready to expand your presence abroad? Do you need to reach the
rapidly growing US Hispanic market? Why not distribute your press release
in Spanish through AmbosMedios, our Spanish language service? Press releases
at this distribution level receive a 10% discount on foreign language
translations from our NewsCrafters� translation team. Translations are
also available in French.

Free NewsCrafters™ Consultation
If an editor determines that your news item could use some fine tuning,
they will contact you with editorial suggestions. Our goal is for you
to win the best placement for your news. A NewsCrafters� editor will contact
you only if your release requires special attention.

Featured Press Releases
Press releases that include a financial contribution to PR Web� are sorted
by their contribution level. The three highest contributing press releases
for a particular day are placed in the select category of PR Web�’s Daily
Featured Press Releases. In the rare instance where the highest
contributions are equally matched, editorial factors will be added to
the selection process. PR Web� is supported financially by our users’
contributions. We recognize the generosity of our contributors by offering
them prominent placement.

 

Copyright 2003, PRWEB, LLC
All Rights Reserved

To my eye, the $30 service is the best combination of features and price, for the type of releases I send out, at least. I’m quite tempted to use them for a few test releases, and would be most appreciative if people have any stories, comments, experiences, or what-have-you to share with me. If it’s good, I have plenty of releases to share at that price.. 🙂

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15 comments on “Free Press Release Distribution: PRWEB”

  5. I use PRWeb for announcing the release of my books. I basically just do it to get my name out there. Might as well, right? It’s free and you never know who might come across it.

  6. Although PR Web is a free service, it doesn’t hurt to kick them a few bucks to help cover their costs. I’ve used them a couple of times, and it is surprising what good it does, and where the releases actually get to.
    I’m happy with them. Bill B.

  7. I have used prweb several times both paying and for free. I would highly recommend using them, and do point some dollars there way. Even if you get the 60.00 package it sure beats paying 300. for the same service.
    Warmly
    Brian Gruss

  9. Like others, I use PRWeb on a regular basis. I send 1 paid press release each month and receive fantastic results. Their search engine optimization strategies are excellent. It’s nice they let you pick the keywords you are targeting. A+!
    Kind regards,
    David

  10. I’ve used PRWeb half a dozen times to post releases announcing my South Pacific travel guidebooks and websites. These days I usually make the $30 contribution mentioned above as it does increase the distribution. Search Google News for phrases in your release two or three days later, and it will be there! For example, google for “Explore Paradise with Moon Handbooks Fiji” to see one of my latest releases.

  12. Any comments on i-newswire.com ? Looks new to me but they publish in Google News too. Site has free and paid options but it seems the free is in google news too. Any comments feedback on that one?
    Jenny

  13. Hi Dave,
    That is interesting. I thought that ‘Advanced SEO of your News’ would be one of the main benefits, for an online press release. Can you educate me on why you prefer the $30 choice? I need to send out about 5 press releases, so I want to choose the best value.
    Thanks.

  14. I just did a release myself for a new article directory site that should go up on prweb tomorrow morning. I did the free option though. I have done a couple before for other sites and I can’t say anything was distinguishing enough to notice, but I did the free option and it did at least do something. I could imagine the paid, especially to google news, would really help out.
    Tony

  15. I have used PRWeb a few times before and I think they have a fair service for a free-based PR distribution. I acknowledge that the free submission will give you very low exposure, but hey, it is free and it is very hard to beat that. On the other hand, it usually helps to contribute with a couple of bucks to increase the submission ranking, but it does not always work for getting on the Search Engines (or at least that has been my experience). Now, when I really want immediate and high exposure I have opted for other PR distribution providers like http://www.webwire.com ,www.pressbox.co.uk and http://www.i-newswire.com , they are good and very effective.
    Here is another blog posting about this topic:
    – Getting Your Press Release on Page 1 of the Search Engines Within 2 Days –
    http://www.seo-e.com/item-99.htm

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