Matt’s Mailbag

Q. I am only interested in getting my release to internet websites and internet news sites to get more of an internet presence. Long term presence is my overall goal.

Would you distribute the press release or would you go through PR Leap? Regardless, would it cost $49 to go through PR Leap?

Also, I have found sites where you can submit a press release and then they send it to other news outlets including press release distribution services.

Which services do you recommend besides PR Leap that will give me the best for my buck?

A. I would only submit your release to one site, such as PR Leap, to get your news out there. Yes, you could submit it to multiple places but when it comes to being indexed by Google, only one copy of your press release will be found online after a few days. Therefore, choose just one press release distributor (PR Leap, PR Newswire, PR Web, etc.) and find the best plan for you.

I still recommend and use PR Leap as I have found that they give the best bang for the buck. A basic submission costs $49 which will get your piece published to Google News while other packages with even more attractive options costing $99 and $149 may be worth it to you. Those extra features include tags, media attachments, Associated Press and United Press International submission and next-day service.

Finally, as someone who uses press releases to source a story, I prefer those which are five hundred words or less with one or two quotes contained therein. Make sure your contact information is accurate and relevant — if I need to follow up with a journalist, then I should be able to make a phone call to speak to the source.  I’ve canceled stories or have gone with a different source when the listed contact was unreachable or did not return my query.