How To Use Online Press Releases To Build A Responsive Email List

Posted on 20. Apr, 2012 by Tara Geissinger + in Business Publicity

Media attention, search engine rankings, improved brand awareness, and sales… these are just SOME of the benefits of online press release distribution. By publishing news announcements about your company and products, you receive continuous exposure to your target audience. And, because your press releases include links to your website, your site will rank higher in the search engines for your most important keywords. But there is a way to extract even MORE value from your press releases: use them to build your email list!

Email marketing has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in sales for businesses of all sizes and it will continue to be a powerful tool for the foreseeable future. But why do you need an email list and what do press releases have to do with it? Let’s see……

4 Reasons To Use PRs To Build A Targeted Email List

Numerous surveys conducted by the DMA, Pitney Bowes, eCircle, Forresters’s, and others have highlighted the intent of business owners to maintain, or increase, their use of email marketing. Their reasons for doing so vary, but we’ll present the four most salient points:

You control your email list. When you distribute a press release, you have little control over where it is published, and how it will rank in Google and the other search engines. There’s a lot you can do to influence both factors, but your control over them will still be limited. By contrast, you control your email list. If Google and Facebook were to disappear tomorrow, you would still be able to communicate with your subscribers.

You can email promotions. Press releases are designed to deliver news about your company and products. They are unsuitable for heavy-handed promotion. On the other hand, you can directly market your products and services to your email subscribers.

Email is timely. If you need to reach your audience with time-sensitive information, online press releases are not a surefire solution. After you publish your PRs, they need to rise in the search engines before your customers and prospects can find them. With email, you can reach your audience within minutes.

You can strengthen your relationship with your customers. Press releases are an ideal tool for distributing company-related information, improving your site’s search ranking authority, and keeping your name in front of your audience. But they lack the personal finesse of email. Sending a personalized email to your subscribers has a different effect than publishing a business-focused PR. Both are valuable, but serve different purposes.

Using Press Releases To Drive Traffic To Opt-In Pages

Consider how you currently leverage online press releases. You’re likely publishing them with two or three links pointing to specific pages on your website. These pages may be dedicated to particular products, special events, or programs sponsored by your company (e.g. a scholarship for students). Use at least one of these links to send people to a special page on your site where they can subscribe to your email list.

For example, suppose you are distributing a news announcement about a holiday sale your company is organizing. With Online PR Media, you are able to add up to four links. Point the first link to your site’s home page (using your primary keyword as the anchor text) to improve its ranking in Google. Use the second link to send people to a page devoted to the holiday sale. Point the third link to an opt-in page where people can subscribe to receive news about upcoming sales. The fourth link can be used to target another keyword.

Notice what this accomplishes. Your press release, through syndication on hundreds of websites, is still providing your company with search engine exposure. It’s also improving your site’s ranking authority. At the same time, you’re able to subtly promote your holiday sale while building an email list you can tap into again and again down the road. This is a good strategy for pulling as much value as possible from each press release you publish.

How To Encourage Your PR Readers To Subscribe

Merely sending people to an opt-in page is rarely enough to persuade them to subscribe to your email list. Its best to offer them something they consider valuable. There are countless ways to do this, depending on your niche and relationship with your market.

For example, you can offer to share survey results, subscriber-only coupons, and tutorials that show your audience how to do something. You can also deliver white papers and research that are unavailable to your site’s visitors. This strategy is applicable to nearly any niche.

Press release distribution delivers several advantages that are difficult to duplicate with other marketing tools. That said, you can squeeze even more value from your news announcements by using them to build a targeted, responsive email list.

Your Turn!

Have you had success building your email list? What tactics are working well for you? Share them in the comments section — we’d love to hear from you!

Great email graphic by RambergMediaImages. Thanks guys!

17 Responses to “How To Use Online Press Releases To Build A Responsive Email List”

Liyya

20. Apr, 2012

I love the workings of this strategy, the concept of connecting both Online Press Release and an Email Opt-In list is simple to do, but when done is VERY powerful for any business. I really appreciate how you explain how to utilize your 4 linking opportunities. I feel like every client should be doing this, and now!
Christine OKelly

20. Apr, 2012

Yes! And since you can include a page of your site in an iFrame below the press release, but sure to display the link to the opt in page there vs. the homepage!
Liyya

20. Apr, 2012

@Christine — that is genius! Talk about CLICK-TO-ACTION!
Jackie

21. Apr, 2012

Great post! I love the idea of using PRs to drive traffic to opt-in pages. It is so important once you drive them to the opt-in that you show them the, “what’s in it for me!”
Emily Woodhouse

22. Apr, 2012

Hi Tara. Getting into the news search engines is just one part of the story. Making sure it ranks highly when someone searches for it requires good writing, good structure and well-targeted and deployed keywords. Thanks for such an informative post.
Emily Woodhouse recently posted..The Reason behind Bleeding with Yeast Infection
Tara Geissinger

24. Apr, 2012

Very true Emily! Quality content is always a winner!
David

25. Apr, 2012

I have been toying with the idea of doing online PR, but I don’t know where to start. This post just answered some of my questions. Thanks!
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Cynel V.

25. Apr, 2012

Brilliant! I know I probably shouldn’t be writing all just love what you’re saying here. But “love” what and “how” you are saying this here. I haven’t done the email thing yet, it’s something I’m ready to do and would benefit from too.
Cynel V. recently posted..acne scars treatment
Paul Harry

25. Apr, 2012

Very smart !
Quality is always dominant. Your post gave me some good ideas for online PR. Thanks
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Molly

26. Apr, 2012

I cant imagine we could used press release to have a responsive email. Thanks for this post I have learn this.
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Mervin

27. Apr, 2012

Never thought of using PR to drive email traffic. Brilliant… simply brilliant. Thanks for posting this!

Mervin
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Maryden25

27. Apr, 2012

I can’t agree more. Quality is really important.
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Nicca

29. Apr, 2012

This is a lot more helpful and I think we should definitely get some of the tips here for us to make a successful email list..
Nicca recently posted..Sharepoint Hosting
J.S

07. May, 2012

Thanks for the post! I have a question that I was wondering if you could perhaps answer that concern the reader’s point of view?

If I have an online blog, and find press releases on the web from established businesses that release them: can I use these for my blog? I don’t have a business or anything but just want to share the news with my readers: so how does that go legally? Or is press releases just for businesses?
Tara Geissinger

08. May, 2012

You can definitely publish them on your blog! When a business submits a news release online, they are hoping that journalists and bloggers will ‘pick it up’ and publish their news. Hope that helps!
Carla

23. May, 2012

For me, quality is the most important things that we need to consider, because even a certain things are frugal but don’t have a great quality it’s useless…
Carla recently posted..Photography in Miami
Lucian

04. Jul, 2012

Press releases are useful if they are sent to persons that matter! From my experience, 1 email of a important newspaper journalist or of a active & followed blogger can worth more then 100 emails of small newspapers or from bloggers nobody reads. A blogger that is followed, may bring you even 10 articles, links and hundreds of visitors.
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