Does your website work for the Vinzite press and analysts who visit? How much time and money does your company spend promoting your website, business, services, technologies, and products worldwide? What happens when an editor comes to your website and tries to find information? Can they find what they need, or do they click away instead of going to one of your competitor’s websites to get the info they need? Over my 25-year career as a journalist and PR consultant, I have seen many sites that did not work for the Press. Wearing my writer hat, I have experienced too many places that made me turn away in frustration, unable to find the information I needed, Our Planetary.

Online business to release Press.

Your Press Room site should be an essential component of your PR, sales, and marketing plans. Unlike your staff, your online press room is open and working for you 24/7. Editors and writers often work late at night, on the weekends and holidays, when your PR and marketing teams are unavailable. Your website and its press room have to be able to provide all the info needed.

So, what are the Top Six Steps to Have an Effective Online Press Room

First, make your Press Room easy to find – you can put a link on it from the front page – labeling it as News, Press, or even Press Room. I have seen too many companies that bury their pressrooms three or four clicks away. As an editor, the only reason I persisted in finding the press page was that I knew the info was there somewhere.

Press Releases – You must include links to your press releases and announcements. However, make sure the list is up to date. As soon as the release goes out, ensure it is also on your website.

Please don’t require an editor to fill out a contact form to retrieve your press releases. Not only does an editor not have the time for that, but they will also probably give you a fake name and phone number. I have heard marketing folk say they don’t want the competition to access the press releases. If you have distributed the press releases and got some coverage (which is the whole point of PR), those releases and info should be available on the web.

Don’t post your press releases as PDFs. Editors and writers like to easily cut and paste information from your press releases, datasheets, and other online documents. Please post them as straight text on the web page. Do not convert your content into JPGs and images – make it easy for writers to access and “borrow” your content to promote your products and services. Not only does it make it easier for writers, but it also makes your site a lot more search engine friendly, which means better “organic” or natural search results.

Finally, you may have heard of the “Long Tail.” This applies to press releases as well. Unless there is a compelling reason to remove them, keep all your old press releases on your site and available via a press release archive. Also, as another reason to keep those old releases online, the more press releases – the more content – the better SEO you will get for your site. And, if you have changed PR companies or PR contacts over the years, ensure that the PR contact information on the old press releases is current.

PR Contacts

You HAVE to have PR contact info. Make sure you list a PR contact or two for editors who have questions. It should be easily found on your Press Room page. If you operate in various regions, i.e., the US, EMEA, and Europe, list the press contacts for each area. If possible, list local phone numbers for each part. Suppose your organization has many divisions and product areas. In that case, you may want a separate PR contact page to make it easy for a writer or editor to find the appropriate contact.

This is important. Ensure that someone can answer the emails or pick up the phone for the press contact. I have seen companies that list a press contact email or phone number, which goes to an answering machine somewhere that only gets checked once a week. For good PR, you need to be responsive. If an editor or writer calls, you should be able to respond within 24 hours or less. And this is important; if the editor asks for some info or a document that is not readily available, answer back and tell them that you got the inquiry and tre working on it. Don’t leave them wondering if anyone is at home.

This is especially important for companies that use a pr@ address on their website. As part of the contact area, and maybe on other pages, provide an RSS link and News Links so that the editors can sign up and get automatic updates to the press room and recent press releases. Also, give an editor sign-up form to enable editors, writers, and analysts to sign up for updates and new press releases.