SEO in a Jersey: The Full Court Press Release Service

Much like your fantasy football team winning their season, there is a strong element of luck involved in writing a dispatch to a press release service. Certainly, every press release will get listed on a few websites, and those press releases will provide simple backlinks for a short time until they get outdated and removed from the archives. But that’s not really the purpose of a press release — it’s just the door prize, as it were. The real goal is viral exposure. That’s why, when you write for a press release service, you have to write well.

Headliners Don’t Have to Be Haters
There was a fascinating article that came out of a journalists’ conference recently, talking about the value of a funny headline. It claims that website SEO is killing clever headlining, because puns don’t translate well into search engine terms. To be blunt, that’s a pile of hooey. SEO keywords don’t mean no creativity — you just have to retain the coherence of the keyword while you build the clever part around it. This article could be called “SHIFT KEY NEEDS PRESS-RELEASE SERVICE” or “Jailed Journalists Seek Press Release Service.” It would have to be written to tie it all together, of course, but that’s what they pay writers like me for, after all.

The Strength of A Strong Hook Shot
There’s nothing more disappointing than watching your favorite team bust into the court, pumped up and ready to go, and then watch then get crushed so badly in the first few minutes that their morale breaks. There’s also nothing quite as sad as following a brilliant headline into a press release and finding it…lacking. So every press release needs to have a powerful hook — something to drive a journalist that’s casually glancing over the press release to want to post it on his website or print it in his publication.

An Easy Lay-Up
Finally, a press release without a call to action is like a clean fast-break with no lay-up at the basket. No matter how killer your headline and how strong you hook, if you can’t sink the last ball at the buzzer, you won’t win the game, end of story. Write with the end in mind, toss it up, and make it stick.