As author of the 2003 guidebook,
Long Island Alive, I was heartened to discover that www.longisland.com accepts press releases when the information pertains to Long Island. Shortly after posting a press release about the publication of my book, a Long Island radio station called me for an interview.
It should always be that easy! What if you’re a local business in New Jersey or Iowa who wants to get the word out about a new product featured on your website? In searching for sites that offer free postings of press releases, I came across a piece by Marcia Yudkin, a contributing author at www.powerhomebiz.com, which lists nine such sites. However, e-zine articles often lack datelines and can languish at a site for years, so I decided to investigate.
Of the five extant sites, I found https://www.vritimes.com www.prweb.com among the best. One hopes PR Web will continue to offer free press release distribution. It’s an easy site to navigate and virtually every business is welcome to contribute its news. You choose among a long list of industries and your release is placed with that group – the most recent goes at top. Some industries draw many more releases than others. One time there were 941 travel, 548 real estate, and 227 insurance releases to weed through. Sometimes it pays to be unpopular! Two words of advice: Register first at Member Login and examine the site carefully before submitting. A scroll-down menu is at the bottom of the release page and is easy to miss.
Remember as a kid you were rewarded with a gold star for good deeds? PR Web awards stars to its financial contributors. One star is placed beside your release for a $10 donation; the bigger it is, the more stars. And the more stars, the higher up the release. As a free site that keeps your release up for a long time (some date back to Nov. 1999), $10 seems fair.