Paula, exactly. I’ve had success with companies by showing them the metrics based on other efforts that were done using similar tools.

Please keep in mind everyone, that a press release does not usurp a good media and blogger relations effort. If you rely on a press release to get coverage, then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed throughout your career.

Shannon, yes, you’re right!

Ryan, brilliant! So all I’m saying is write the release you want to read. Write the release that’s going to move your customers – especially if they’re going to just cut and paste!

Amanda, you raise an interesting point and I think you’re right. I wonder if people who think that this has worked forever really believe it because they have proof or simply because the press release has simply become part of the process of a bigger activity. I don’t think most people can say that a press release works. It has to be written well and supported appropriately. Greg Jarboe has a great story about a press release for Southwest Airlines announcing lower fares, including a link, and driving $1 million in sales just from people clicking the link in the release straight from Google and Yahoo Business News.

Darryl, amen. You’re doing something about it! Web 2.0 bling is classic! It’s just about good content and value regardless of bling.

here is an example:

http://www.teslamotors.com/media/press_room.php?id=675

I feel like so many people look backward, thinking, “This is what has worked forever.” It’s invigorating to see more people begin to look forward, thinking, “How will this work TOMORROW?”

I’m green as can be in the PR world, but I’ll say it: I’m pro-euthanasia for press releases.

Thanks for another great post, Brian.

I agree with you but I’m not sure reality does. Yes, Press Releases suck but they’re still working!

I wrote about this here: http://www.ryanholiday.net/archives/when_people_dont_do_their_jobs.phtml

Half of the tech blogs I read are filled with writers citing press releases verbatim. They don’t fact check, they don’t do anything, they just swallow it totally. So why should PR change? People–especially bloggers–are lazy and huge hypocrites.

Again, look at the Facebook Platform. Last time I looked, the Amazon App STILL doesn’t exist, but has anyone written about that?

The fact of the matter is that journalists and bloggers talk a good game but at the end of the day, they still take what people hand them.

How can THAT be changed?

A well-written press release is, by definition, already optimized for search engines. Social Media Releases are just expertly-crafted releases that include multimedia enhancements. All of this technology must begin with well-written, buzz-free copy.

To Jeremy: I’m a big proponent of posting your news on a blog, however, you still need to consider the reach of your blog. I’m sure there are many people who are interested in your news and haven’t discovered your blog yet. I think you should still distribute your releases through a major news wire. Just include a link to your blog post in each release.

I believe most companies are still very much in the denial stage.

What will push them through quickly? NYTimes and WSJ publish a “how to” on press releases insisting on these changes.