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A press release is not a sales pitch.

The goal is solely to announce to the world that something newsworthy has happened. A press release is like a news story you'll find in a newspaper - it only includes the most absolutely necessary information and nothing more.

So your job in writing a press release is to tell the world:

What happened

Where it happened

When it happened

Who it involved

Why/how it happened (if possible or necessary)

So what newsworthy information would you like to announce to the world about your new website? Click here to see an example.

Let's say you want to create some buzz about your new website - you want people to come and check it out, but you can’t just say, "Hey, check out my website". I guarantee that if you do this most people will ignore it completely.

So, in your press release, you’ve got to highlight the benefits of checking out your site. What's in it for your press release readers? What's new and unique about your site?

You've got to be able to answer these questions. If you can't, it's probably a sign that you don't really have a newsworthy site.

Go back and find something unique to add to your site, then come back and finish reading this article...

...So you're back (just kidding!) Hopefully, you’ve come to understand the importance of finding something unique to announce about your site.

So what is special about your site? I suggest you seriously take a few minutes to jot down some ideas.

Then move on to this next question: Why should people come to your site? How will it benefit them? Will you show them a product that will save them money? Energy/fuel? Time? Their health?

When will you begin a new promotional campaign? Do you have some limited-time offers running on your site – providing a begin/end date would be useful to your press release readers.

Who will your website benefit? Who is your target audience? Who will you be featuring on your site?

Where is your site located? Don't forget to include your URL (if it's allowed) in your press release.

You may not be able to place an actual link in a free press release, but you can at least include the http:// details and the name of your site and mention it as many times as feasible.

It won't be a clickable link, but interested parties can still easily find you by copying and pasting your URL or by conducting a search.

The last, but most important part of the press release, is the headline. The reason I've left it for last, is because you really just need to dive in and start writing before you try to settle on a title.

Sometimes people have an idea of what they think they’re going to write and then they discover they've written something completely different by the end of the process.

They've taken the time to write some great content only to discover that they’ve ended up with an irrelevant headline that they’ll have to go back and change anyway.

So your headline really needs to inspire curiosity. Think about your headline reading habits. It's got to really capture your attention – it will be the same for your readers. So take the time to think about an attention-grabbing title that really captures your topic.

Once you've composed a press release that has a persuasive headline and answers all of the 5 W's, add some personal style to it (but not too much) and you're on your way to creating some buzz.

20+ Free Press Release Distribution Sites

Below are some places you can submit your press release for maximum exposure to increase visitors to your site. This list is by no means exhausted.

Free-Press-Release.com - Free press release distribution service for small businesses. More features for paid accounts.

WebWire.com - Press Release Distribution. Business, organizational and personal news. Online news and search engine inclusion, with traditional wire service distribution powered by PR Newswire.

24-7PressRelease.com - Free release distribution with ad-support providing press release distribution that is affordable and effective.

ClickPress.com - ClickPress is a free press release distribution service. Public relations (PR) professionals can post their news releases to the site for free and search engines will find them in their archives. Distributes to sites like Google News and Topix.net, Gold level will also get you to sites like LexisNexis.

EcommWire.com - EcommWire is a press release service for news about eCommerce-related business. Requires you to include an image, 3 keywords and links.

Express-Press-Release.com - Free distribution company with express press release.

Free-Press-Release-Center.info - A free online news and press release distribution service. Distribution to Google News and others. Specially optimized for search engines. Distributes your release, offers a web page with one keyword link to your site. Pro upgrade will give you three links, permanent archiving and more.

TheOpenPress.com - Gives free distribution for plain formatted releases, fees for HTML-coded releases.

NewswireToday.com - Free PR press release & newswire distribution services to Google News and hundred others. All the usual free distribution tools, premium service includes logo, product picture and more.

PR.com - Free press release and the ability to setup full company profile.

PR9.net - Ad supported press distribution site.

PR-Inside.com – PR-inside.com is a website for the free submission of public relations distribution, news, and press releases specifically for European-based releases.

PRBuzz.com - Completely free distribution to search engines, news sites, and blogs.

PRCompass.com - Distribute your press release with a free or paid version, others can vote it up via Digg style.

PRLog.org - Free press release submission and distribution service, submit press release online free of charge. Free distribution to Google News and numerous other search engines.

PRUrgent.com - Distributes your release and also teaches you how to write a press release with downloadbale samples for you to work with.

Press-Base.com - Free press release submission with the ability to get on their front page and the category of your choice.

PressAbout.com - A blog formatted free press release service.

PressMethod.com - Free press release distribution service with over 18,700 media contacts, and over 150 targeted industries.

PRLeap.com - PR Leap offers Press Release Distribution to search engines, blogs and newswires. Over 30,000 companies use PR Leap for SEO and Social Media press release distribution. Fee based bumps get you better placement.

I-Newswire.com - Allows for free distribution to sites and search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing formerly Live Search.

1888PressRelease.com - Free Press Release Submission Service with 1888 PressRelease.com. Submit your press releases free to the site and publish your story to the World. They provide free press release distribution and optimized pages for your news.

Some of these sites offer paid services as well, but start out with the free services and see how they work out for you.

Remember, no matter how much money you spend, if you’re headline is not compelling no one will bother to read it any way.

So utilize all of your free press release options first and see where it takes you. Remember, everything is better when it's free!

See Also...

Potential Benefits of Content Syndication
6 Ways to Increase Targeted Web Site Traffic
How to Get Web Site Traffic using Postcard Marketing