ReciprocalLink.Com / Other Ways to Advertise / Press Releases and You Press Releases and You Why do you think some companies get write-ups in newspapers and magazines? Why are some company presidents invited to do talk shows on the television or radio? The difference between a company that gets this kind of excellent exposure and one that is never heard from again just may be a press release. A press release is, putting it rather simply, a small document describing a piece of news. The release contains the subject of the newsworthy article (the headline), several paragraphs describing the news piece (follow the five "W" model), and the newsmaker's contact information. In our case, a press release is a piece of news about your company or something in which your company is involved. It may be a new product you have developed, an innovative new website you have created, or a new valuable service that you are offering. Before we continue, let me stress this word again - news. For a press release to be read by the media, it must contain actual newsworthy information. An effective press release does not contain a bunch of advertising-hype. Rather, press releases must consist of solid valuable, informative, or entertaining information which the media believes the public needs to read. If you want examples of press releases, visit PRWeb at http://www.prweb.com. Go to your category of interest, and browse some of the recent releases. Note that there may be some bad ones 'in the bunch,' so read the news articles carefully and critically. So, you've done something that is newsworthy. You have looked at prior press releases to get a better idea of the format. Now, if you are brave enough to write the release yourself without getting help from copywriters, you have to distribute your release. To do so, you need contact information. Visit your local library or surf the Internet for magazines, newspapers, radio stations, and other media that correspond to your field. Send your releases to appropriate editors by fax, mail, or e-mail, but only do it once and in one medium as you do not want to anger editors. This article just gives you a brief summary of what press releases are, how to write them, and how to distribute them. Before you start your campaign, be sure to visit other websites and read other articles on how you can more effectively use this medium. One site that can assist you in writing and distributing press releases is the Internet News Bureau (click here to visit the site). This site provides tips on press release writing, such as pet peeves members of the press have about releases. The Internet News Bureau can even professionally write your release themselves. The site can also assist in your press release distribution by mailing your release to over 1,000 media professionals in general or targeted categories.