If press releases aren’t part of your marketing mix, you’re probably waisting money on ineffective advertising.

“Why do I need a press release?”  We are all bombarded with tens of thousands of advertising messages each day.  We learn to tune out the commercials, billboards, print ads and pop ups.  This is especially the case when we are in our own environment.

For example, when I was very young my grandmother lived less than 30 yards away from a railroad track.  The train would barrel through or neighborhood at least four times each day and a couple of times in the middle of the night.  The house would begin to shake as the train got closer. Dishes would rattle, wood floors would creak, windows would shake, and the lights would even flicker a bit.  And to make things worse, there were two railroad crossings nearby which added noise of the crossing bell and the train whistle blowing non-stop for about five minutes.

For someone just visiting, it was pretty disruptive and annoying.  And it could make sleeping through the night nearly impossible.  But for those of us who stayed in the house, we became oblivious to the noise. We tuned out the train as it became a part of our everyday routine.  It was like it didn’t even exist.

The same is true for advertisements.  We become conditioned to ignore them.  Unless you have a well-placed, eye-catching advertisement in a newspaper or magazine or an attention grabbing radio or television spot, you’ll probably be very disappointed in the results.  Even well-placed ads aren’t affective if they don’t have visual appeal, a solid headline, informative copy, a call-to-action and contact information.  The majority of ads I see and hear from small businesses are simply terrible – not to mention that it can be very expensive to advertise and nearly impossible to track results.  But, that’s fodder for another blog post.

A well-written press release, on the other hand, can be very effective …and affordable.  Press releases tell a story about you and your business or organization.  The media relies on press releases to find news and stories that will appeal to their audience.  An entertainment editor is looking for information on a local theatrical production.  The business editor wants to know about a company that developed a new product or is hiring 25 new employees.  Financial publications need to provide news about changes that will affect a company’s stock price.  There are hundreds of reasons for a company to generate and distribute press releases on a regular basis.

When your press release gets picked up for publication or broadcast, you’ve increased your chances of being seen or heard.  Why? People pay attention to stories.  We read the newspaper and, for the most part, skip the ads.  We watch news and information programs and tune out during the commercials.   And we visit websites that have content to offer on the topics we are seeking.

I’m not saying that all advertising is ineffective.  There are some excellent and affordable opportunities and bargains out there, especially in the emerging mobile advertising arena.  But if you are on a tight marketing budget, press releases can be a very affordable way to get word out about your company, products and services.  A quarter-page advertisement in a newspaper can cost a few thousand dollars each time it is run.  Television and radio commercials are also expensive to run as well as produce.  Remember, advertising is about reach and frequency. You need to reach your target audience as many at seven to ten times before they even think about doing business with you.  And that’s only if they are in the market for your product or service.

Press releases, however, can generate news stories that don’t cost you anything – unless it’s an “advertorial” publication where you pay to get your “story” published.  A story on your company, product, service, employees, etc…, will be read and are proven to have greater recall by the reader. And as an added bonus, online content is often picked up through RSS feeds and manage to become viral, making their way through cyberspace and landing in other similar blogs, online newsletters, social networking sites, new media and search engine databases.

So, if you are looking ways to better manage your marketing budget while still generating top-of-mind awareness for your business, consider adding press releases to your marketing mix.