A press release distribution is a structure that allows for small businesses to effectively send and circulate their press release to a large and interested audience, in the easiest and most affordable means possible. The press release distribution service connects businesses with targeted audiences, through the use of various social media platforms, news outlets, broadcasters, journalists, bloggers, small and large scale influencers, and so on. In short, a press release distribution lets businesses reach a large number of their target audience/customers, through a wide number of outlets.
This is how it works: a company employs a PR agency, and this PR agency chooses a reliable Press release service that will effectively communicate the brand of their client. This PR agency then makes a press release (if they can engage the services of professional writers) and they send out this release to different journalists, news outlets, social media, and online/printed media.
It is not unheard of for businesses to employ the help of professional writers to pass across their messages to the target audience, but in the absence of this, some press release distribution services also offer the option of professional press release writing services (like proofreading, editing, and writing), as well as multimedia inclusions, audience targeting, etc., and all for an affordable price; although prices vary from one press release company to another.
A good press release service is one who is able to influence the targeted audience with their opinion on a particular brand. If you are unable to influence and convince/sway the audience with your own stance on a particular subject matter, then you are not a good press release service. The press release service must be able to effectively convince the media, social network, and journalists, to buy into the idea of the brand.
The idea of the press release is one that will always do any small business well. It doesn’t matter what line of business you are into, the minute you become published or featured in most of the respectable media forums in the country, it boosts the ranking of your business. Small businesses and startups will find it easier to gain customers and grow because they became featured in newspapers, social media networks, online forums, blogs, and so on. Whether you are planning to launch a new item or start a new line of career, getting featured by a good press release will shoot you to the notice of people, boost your business, create more solid brand awareness for you and your business and increase the SEO ranking of the business.
The PR experts know the best ways for each business to gain traction, they know the right places to send your press release, and they know the type of content needed for potential customers to notice you.
BEFORE YOU CHOOSE A PRESS RELEASE DISTRIBUTION SERVICE…
- Know your budget: one of the first and most important factors to consider when purchasing goods or engaging service is to determine how much you are willing to spend on it. Because there are many press release services, and each of them with their different prices, your choice of service may be determined by the size of your budget.
- Consider your prospective audience, and then go for the best option that will effectively communicate your ideas to an audience. For example, if your brand is focused on sneakers for the youths, it will make more sense to use a press release distribution service that has a large social media presence, since that is where most youths can be found.
- Consider your brand and your end goal, then find the best suitable press release company that will understand what these goals are.
- Engage a service that has analytics reporting features, so that you can constantly check on the success of your campaigns.
- Be sure to choose a service that is known with the ability to influence and direct a wide audience towards their opinion.
On our lists of top best press release distribution services are companies that have been selected according to their wide array of services, effectiveness, as well as affordability, flexibility, and word count.
PR Distribution™
PR Distribution™ is a news release distribution company known for its affordability to small businesses. To confirm how affordable this distribution company is, their service sells for as low as $49 with a PR Plan and $99 without a plan. This service is great for Small businesses who are looking to expand and therefore looking for investors and investment opportunities.
PR Distribution™ is a press release writing and distribution provider that stands out by allowing you to publish your press release on many premium national outlets including ABC, CBS, and Fox. This service is perfect for businesses that are working on a tight budget but will also like to reach a large audience. Since the large majority of people in the world will one way or the other come across the above mentioned premium national outlets, it is safe to say that this service is more than capable to link small businesses with their prospective customers.
This service distribution agency can select up to five industries to target, including national and regional industries. Apart from this, PR Distribution™ allows for industry-specific targeting, even for their basic plans.
Pros
✅ It is best for small businesses looking for an affordable way to publish a press release on a national scale.
✅ Small-business friendly plan pricing
✅ Unlimited word count
✅ Social media distribution for all press releases
✅ Free analytics
✅ Multimedia embedding that includes videos
✅ This distribution became massively expanded with their new plans, giving their customers a wider array of options to choose from.
Cons
❌ A limited number of outlets compared to competitors (although with PR Distribution™, these are guaranteed media outlet placements, rather than the potential “reach” competitors advertise)
PR Newswire
PR Newswire is a press release distribution service owned by Cision. This service offers a broad array of services to marketing communication experts and public relations teams.
PR Newswire has a wide database of important contacts that target the audience based on location (national, local). It also has the potential to target media outlets and journalists by topic and industry, audience demography (for example a brand may be involved in female or male-centered items, or items targeting people under the age of 30) thereby allowing for a wide array of classification. This means that a business that knows exactly what demography they are making their goods and/services can easily go straight to their target audience.
With this, businesses can be at least sure that their press release is going to target the right customer base, rather than an entirely mixed group of people that may have no use for the service. A large number of media agencies subscribe to the PR Newswire and therefore you can be sure one of them will be interested in working with your brand, and although their services may be on the high side, you know you are getting value for your money.
Pros
✅ Wide media reach: PR Newswire reaches important newsrooms like ABC News, New York Times, and Buzzfeed, this guarantees a good number of audience.
✅ PR Newswire offers visibility reports so that users know how well their release is performing.
✅ Simple to use
✅ The website is easy to navigate and understand
Cons
❌ PR Newswire plans are quite expensive as they start from $350
❌ They charge an additional fee for you to include media attachments like images or video
❌ They do not offer any press release writing services
❌ They require a membership fee
PR Web
PRWeb’s small business distribution plans range from $99 to $389. Basic and Standard plans offer permanent placement on PRWeb and PR Newswire’s industry-focused public relations (PR feeds, search engine optimization (SEO) tagging to reach the right audience, and the ability to attach multimedia assets to your release.
Higher-tiered plans further offer up to two industry lists for targeting, proofreading, and editorial feedback, 1,200-site syndication, and video and image embedding.
Pros
✅ Unlimited press release word counts
✅ Good pricing
✅ Search engine optimization (SEO) tagging
✅ Multimedia attachments
Cons
❌ Only high plans have the feature of proofreading
❌ No multimedia embedment in the basic plan
❌ No writing service
❌ Four-hour distribution costs extra
eReleases
eReleases is a press release distribution service specifically founded for small businesses. eReleases offers affordable access to large distribution companies and this is good news for small businesses who are on a tight budget but want to reach a wide audience. For an extra fee, customers can get next business day distribution and press release writing. eReleases’ press release distribution plans start from $299.
All plans offer over 5,000 databases and media outlets, attached images, and next-day distribution. They also offer analytics reporting as well as a guaranteed exposure on a minimum of 60 sites. They, however, offer no free proofreading.
Pros
✅ A fairly large distribution (4,200 outlets and over 100,000 journalists)
✅ eReleases customer services are easy to contact
✅ they offer performance reporting
✅ WireWatch is a great feature of releases that allows users to receive a report within hours of their press release
Cons
❌ The eReleases website is not easy to use.
❌ No free proofreading
❌ eReleases’ prices could be considered expensive.
❌ The word limit for a press release by eReleases is from 400-600 words, and additional payment will be made for extra words.
Send2Press
Send2Press was launched in 1997 as a press release distribution and writing service with affordable plans for small business owners and from as low as $29.For services starting from $89, they offer free proofreading and editing services; with multiple drafts for you to choose from.
Send2Press is a press release distributor with a focus on traditional media. They send releases to a large number of reputable outlets at rates affordable for many small businesses. Send2press does not request membership fees before you can use their service and they give small businesses unlimited access to the biggest outlets and networks, although brands may have to work on convincing the service on why their subscribers should bother with the advert. They share the news release on social media platforms, making sure to include hashtags that will help push the brand.
Pros
✅ All their plans include free social media campaigns
✅ Free proofreading in all plans
✅ Multimedia embedding
✅ Same-day push available
Cons
❌ No distribution outlets for their cheapest plan
❌ Customer service of Send2Press can be irresponsive occasionally
❌ The limited word count of 500- to 800-word
❌ Slow email response
Business Wire
Business Wire is a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary based in the USA. Found in 1961, this press release distribution service has been around for so many years and they have unarguably become one of the best in the game.
BusinessWire circulates its press releases to major sectors of the economy including the financial markets, small and big-time bloggers, social media networks, and so on. They have up to 18 Newsrooms Worldwide and this is an assurance that the business press release will get a lot of attention from a wide audience.
Business Wire services are handled by skilled IR and PR experts. They distribute a press release in more than twenty languages, this allows for a good range of diversity and offers business customers from all parts of the world. Users can easily check and track the progress of their press releases so that they can determine the rate of success it has garnered.
Pros
✅ Business Wire contains 18 newsrooms across the world
✅ Free social media sharing links
✅ Option to track progress
✅ It allows you to schedule your press release
✅ Good customer service
Cons
❌ Word count limit to 400 words
❌ Additional words attract another fee
❌ Expensive
GlobeNewswire
According to their website, GlobeNewswire (formerly known as PrimeNewswire) is one of the world’s largest newswire distribution networks, specializing in the delivery of corporate press releases financial disclosures and multimedia content to the media, investment community, individual investors and the general public.
GlobalNewswire is a free and great way to distribute press releases on a large scale. This is significantly helpful to small businesses, seeing as many press release distributors offer their services to companies at really high prices.
It allows individuals and businesses to be able to track of arge variety of companies via Social networks and other forms of media. GlobalNewswire constantly updates its sites with the relevant information and this is a great feature. This press release service does all the work of compiling the companies you love in one place, and all you need to do is search them out.
Pros
✅ It comes free
✅ User friendly
✅ Allows you receive news about the coverage you care about via mail
✅ Great customer service
Cons
❌ There could be more companies to track
❌ Inadequate search filters
❌ Formatting limitations
❌ Website is dull and could be better
24-7 Press Release
24-7 Press Release is a good option for businesses looking for a good press release distribution service, at a reasonable price. It offers the distribution of press releases at a low price for new and small businesses. They have a wide press release distribution network that includes 30,000 members at top newspapers in the country, as well as Associated Press and PR Newswire. For $69, your PR gets distributed to nearly 50 media outlets and search engines.
24-7 facilitates distribution across every country in all sectors, famous newspapers, and media outlets across Europe, Asia, Latin America, the USA, and Canada. Their premium package distributes your news to PR Newswire’s 4500+ websites for maximum online visibility, while their popular package distributes your news to both online and traditional media reaching newspapers and journalists.
Their media experts come from all walks of life and are well experienced. They strive to increase our brand visibility by publishing your brand engaging story for the readers to read. Moreover, your PR will stay on the site until you decide to eliminate it.
Pros
✅ Boost Visibility to Online and Media
✅ Translation and Geo-targeting
✅ Translation from one language to another
✅ User friendly
✅ SEO optimization
Cons
❌ Fewer options offered for targeting
❌ Focused on small markets
❌ Less detailed reporting
PR Underground
PR Underground offers one of the best press release distribution services to companies. It distributes PR to nearly 80 news media outlets, including NBC, FOX, CBS, etc. Their services include web reach distribution, SEO optimization, etc.
The price of PR Underground service begins at $49.99, and it is a one-time payment. However, the starting price only includes a post on DigitalJournal.com and social media distribution, which means you will need to pay additional charges for other services that you require outside of this.
With a plan that goes for $129, PR Underground assures coverage in 375 media sites, including large networks like ABC, FOX, CBS, NBC, etc. This means that your press release is going on to meet a wide audience and with a variety of iThey also distribute content to Google, Bing News, industry journals, and blogs.
Pros
✅ Easy to use
✅ Affordable
✅ Great customer service
✅ Google coverage
Cons
❌ Difficulty uploading large files
❌ No free trial
❌ Topic restrictions
Easy Newswire
Newswire’s industry-specific Twitter feeds, allowing you to push out your message to a large existing social media following, as well as boost your ranking on search engines. Before publishing, the editorial team reviews the press release and notifies you of any corrections to be made. Also, Companies can easily share their story on social media.
Newswire is a renowned agency in the PR sector known for its excellent customer service and outcome. This platform helps clients boost their web presence and visibility by distributing news to journalists and editorial offices online, industrial, and print media. They also make it possible for businesses to track their progress and success.
Also, it continues to offer great syndication to the major news outlets in a few clicks. It is perfect for businesses that require expert guidance and tailored support. Registration is free on Newswire. You can get started in a few minutes and share your content quickly.
The newswire also features geo-targeting that enables agencies to reach specific industries and locations to connect with relevant journalists. This offers companies an additional privilege to communicate with them.
Pros
✅ Distribution to 4500+ Network
✅ Geo-Targeting Feature
✅ User friendly
✅ Excellent customer service
✅ Great pricing
Cons
❌ Many additional services cost extra
❌ Information on the website is not easy to understand
❌ The downloadable PDF report is available only for premium users.
❌ Plan options are not explained clearly enough
Many times, customers become unsure and confused about which agencies can be used, and which can be trusted. These customers want to know if there are real professionals behind the online platforms and not just random persons that claim to have some PR knowledge. Transparency of said companies is of the utmost importance. It is important to find out information about the company, their staff strength, their year of establishment, and importantly, projects they have worked on in the past.
A press release distribution service offers small businesses an affordable and easy means to carry out a press release before a targeted audience of bloggers, influencers, journalists, and traditional and digital outlets. The purpose is to get media coverage to spread awareness about the business, for the purpose of generating customers.
Based on the criteria listed above, we selected PR Distribution™ as the best overall press release service for small businesses. Their service stands out with budget-friendly plans that allow small businesses to reach a wider audience than they believe possible. With affiliations with FOX and ABC, CBS, CW, and so on, PR Distribution™ guarantee a greater percentage of success than other services may boast. Their Direct-to-Editor distribution, press release writing, proofreading, and editing services ensure releases are received and valued by public relations (PR) professionals.
No other distributor currently offers the unlimited word count, and this feature is included in their basic plans too. The fact that it’s included even with their cheapest plan is another big advantage.
So if you are looking for an extremely affordable basic plan with a very flexible price structure with multiple subscription options with unlimited word count amongst others, PR Distribution™ is your best bet, as they offer your release the greatest chance of media coverage.
For more information on PR Distribution™, please see their website at https://www.prdistribution.com.
Jessica Barry is a Researcher and Writer at PRDistribution.com, Inc. She is a professional writer with over 5 years of writing experience. She has also helped a lot of clients achieve their goals all around the globe.