Actually the answer is pretty obvious: you get free back links and more exposure for your website.

So are they any good these free press release sites?

In addition to free sites, there are paid services like PRWeb and Webwire which are reported to send more traffic than the free press release sites.

However, PRWeb charges a minimum of $80, up to $360. Webwire charges $19.95. There are a number of other paid press release distribution sites as well.

Is it worth it?

Well, running your press release in PRWeb, if you pay for their more expensive services, MIGHT increase the chances that your story will be picked up by mainstream media – IF you a have a newsworthy, compelling, well-written story. This is because for their more expensive services, they include their story on a list that is sent out on the Associated Press Wire services, in a section referred to as a Media Digest. However, there is still no guarantee whatsoever that all of that extra money will get you picked up by the news media.

Frankly, even if you spend five grand and hire a publicist, there is still no guarantee that you will get picked up by the news media.

However, if you write a press release in the appropriate format, using a good template and submit it to dozens of the free press release distribution sites, and do it regularly, you WILL make your product or service or company very easy to find all over the internet – Guaranteed!

Expect a big spike in traffic when your press release is distributed to dozens of the free press release sites (using one or two of those sites isn’t that effective).

So if your purpose is to drive traffic, get free online publicity, get back links, credibility, branding, and blast your message across the internet – the free press release distribution sites are absolutely sufficient for that.

In summary the benefits of writing and submitting press release are:

They are good for branding.

They are good for back links.

They are good for getting a site indexed quickly.

They are good for reputation management.

They are good for staking a claim to more pieces of internet real estate.

They are good for getting the message out about your product, service, website, book, movie, program, webinar, teleseminar, etc.

They are good for credibility.

And sometimes mainstream media outlets do pick up press releases from the free press release distribution sites.

In our next post we will discuss how to write optimized press releases. Stay tuned!