Articles Vs Press Releases

[bizzy bee]

Hello,

I already have a press release that I submitted to a few press releases websites about a month ago to present our new website.

I have been told that articles are also a good idea. What would be the main difference(s) between our content in the press release and an article? As well as the difference(s) in the way it is written?

Thank you. Have a good weekend.

[torka]

Press releases and articles are very different animals.

A press release is news. It needs to be factual. Something newsworthy, something you could imagine being read out loud on a TV or radio news broadcast or printed in a newspaper. A press release is designed to answer the questions "who," "what," "when," "where" and (in some cases) "why."

Articles can be on a wider variety of topics, and are generally more timeless. They're generally designed to educate, inform or entertain. They can be factual, or they can contain speculation or opinion.

Generally, a press release is written in an "inverted pyramid" style. You start with the most important point, the main thing you want people to know about. You follow with the second-most important information and so forth. While there may be exceptions in certain situations, press releases are usually written in a formal tone, following a fairly standard page layout. A press release should always include complete contact information for a press officer or other authorized spokesperson in case a reporter should want to follow up on the story.

Articles don't necessarily have the same formalized structure. While it's often a good idea to place the main idea near the top, its acceptable to lead with an illustrative story, anecdote or other "scene-setting" device. Whether an article will take a serious or more light-hearted tone depends on the purpose and topic of the article, where it's going to be published and what results or reactions it's designed to inspire.

--Torka

[tortilla09]

Press release is more straight and news-like in form while articles is more free-flowing but still sticking to the facts.

[David Jackson]

Being an article marketer, when I saw the topic of this thread I got excited and was prepared to put my 2 cents in the pot.

But what Torka said was so accurate and eloquently stated, there's absolutely nothing that I can add without it sounding redundant.

David Jackson

[torka]

Awww, shucks, David, I didn't mean to steal your thunder!

I've seen where you've posted some excellent article-writing and marketing tips right here on this very forum.

--Torka

[David Jackson]

Originally Posted by torka

Awww, shucks, David, I didn't mean to steal your thunder!

I've seen where you've posted some excellent article-writing and marketing tips right here on this very forum.

--Torka

Right back atcha!

David Jackson

[acwebguru]

In point of fact, the purpose of writing press release is to make an announcement about the latest happenings whereas the purpose of writing an article is to get targeted traffic.

[torka]

The purpose of an article is to educate, entertain or inform. Getting targeted traffic is one effect of having well-written articles that fulfill one or more of those purposes.

In my experience, articles written with a purpose of "getting targeted traffic" usually aren't worth reading. They certainly don't inspire me to explore a site further, much less stick around to buy anything.

My

--Torka

[David Jackson]

Originally Posted by acwebguru

The purpose of writing an article is to get targeted traffic.

The purpose of writing an article is to educate, entertain and inform and in some instances make the reader think.

At least, that's why I write articles.

Targeted traffic becomes a by-product of well-written and interesting articles that teach.

In fact, if your articles don't offer any real educational value to the reader, they're not going to generate much traffic - targeted or otherwise.

David Jackson

[jrobconsult]

You should include articles and press releases in order to get traffic to your website. For most people it is best to write their own articles and have someone else write and distrubute their press release. You can find some excellent people to do a press release for $100-$200.