Direct-to-Consumer Press Releases Suck

David Meermen Scott has written a new free e-book called “The new rules of PR: How to create a press release strategy for reaching buyers directly.” The gist of the ebook is that marketers should view press releases as a way to reach buyers directly through real-time indexes like Google News and that the media has been disintermediated.

In the book, David outlines several core points...

• Don’t just send press releases when “big news” is happening; find good reasons to send them all the time.
• Instead of just targeting a handful of journalists, create press releases that appeal directly to your buyers.
• Write releases replete with keyword-rich copy.
• Create links in releases to deliver potential customers to landing pages on your Web site.
• Optimize press release delivery for searching and browsing.
• Drive people into the sales process with press releases.

Lots of people buy into this tactic. And while I am a fan of taking applying an SEO-mind to PR, I feel strongly that fluffy press releases that are not for the press are bogus. I am adamant that we should not be spamming the press releases wires. Investors and journalists feed on these for real news. Put your energy into launching blogs and engaging in direct-to-consumer conversations. (via Seth)

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