We are looking for information on how to send out a press release
about some toys our company is making, "on the wire".  There are
various places online that offer this free or paid, we are confused as
to which might be more reputable.

Hi, thank you for submitting your question to Answers.Google, I hope I
can provide the information you are seeking.

The two most often used services are PR Newswire (United Business
Media) and Business Wire. These are paid to send your press release
and many journalists as well as editors and potential competitors
subscribe to these services.

Other wires, such as Reuters, are actually news services which only
post stories contributed by member publishers or stringers. You pay to
receive the stories, but can?t (legitimately) pay to place them.

You asked for information about whether a service was reputable.

Both PR Newswire and Business Wire are considered highly reputable
but, in this instance, that merely means that they will distribute the
submitted press release according to their agreement with subscribers.

I don?t know any other real method for measuring the legitimacy or
reliability of a PR wire service so I hope that part of the answer is
acceptable.

Certainly both have been in business for a long time and do what they
promise. Of course they can?t promise that your press release will be
effective or will be read and acted upon, only that they will
distribute it properly. They do offer various other PR services.

www.prnewswire.com/

Information Desk at 888-776-0942 or email information@prnewswire.com

There are 39 bureaus worldwide so I won?t list all the individual
contact information which you can link to from the main web site. (A
direct link to that page won?t work.)

To submit a release you need to subscribe to the services.
https://prndirect.prnewswire.com/

For more information about PR Newswire see:
http://prnewswire.mediaroom.com/file.php/binaries/61/PR+Newswire+Services+At-A-Glance.pdf
or
http://prnewswire.mediaroom.com/file.php/binaries/60/Quick+Facts+on+PR+Newswire.pdf



www.businesswire.com/

You can find a list of membership services and links to applications at:
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/?epi_menuItemID=e3c1db3872beac14136f1196a0908a0c

This is the one for the U.S.:
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/binary/com.epicentric.contentmanagement.servlet.ContentDeliveryServlet/services/pdfs/Business-Wire-Membership-App--Terms-FINAL-US-sec.pdf

Contact information:
US: +1.888.381.WIRE (9473)
UK: +44.20.7626.1982

Neither Business Wire or PR Newswire publishes rates online, in part
because they are not simply distributors of press releases.

Of course they wish to sell you other services, but another reason for
requiring membership is that this gives them a way to measure whether
you are legitimate before they distribute press releases on your
behalf.

They will quickly quote you prices directly.

Here is a quote from a press contact at PR Newswire:
?PR Newswire's membership fee is $125 and we have a variety of
different distribution options from local & state distribution to
national and
international distribution. These range from $160 for a single local
distribution to $635 for a full national distribution. Rates are based
upon a
400 word release. There are many benefits of membership with PR Newswire?.?

This was a response to my question about basic rates. I am not
providing the individual contact information because this was a press
contact and you need to go through the business contacts for your
purposes.

I was unable to obtain a fast quote from Business Wire.

Other methods include these e-mail press release services.
http://www.urlwire.com
http://www.newsbureau.com/
http://www.xpresspress.com/
http://www.internetwire.com/

Costs range up to $1000 or so but none of these services are intended
to distribute product information such as you describe, they are
either business, internet-related, or software distribution press
channels.

Because they are definitely NOT suitable for your needs, I will not
attempt to provide any evaluation of their reliability since they
simply aren?t relevant ? that may have been part of the information
you were seeking when you mentioned that there are a number of options
available.

For a perspective on other online distribution services you might want
to read the information at:
http://www.urlwire.com/email-releases.html

I tried to check out several other advertised online press release
services but was unable to contact them.

Google Search Term: prnewswire

Google Search Term: business wire

Depending on the company and kind of product you might do just as well
by placing an ad on Google (adwords.google.com) which are very
inexpensive and easy to control so the cost can?t get out of hand.

The overall cost of PR Newswire and Business Wire is actually very
reasonable and should probably be given serious consideration even if
you only use their most basic services.

In general an integrated approach is usually best, i.e. send out hard
copy releases to selected media, run a release on one or more wires,
and place a few targeted ads such as on Google.

Thank you again for turning to Answers.Google for help. I hope this
provided the information you require. As a reporter and news editor
with decades of experience I can assure you that, if you can afford
their services on a cost-benefit basis, PR Newswire and Business Wire
are your best bets.

On the other hand, depending on your product you may find that direct
mailing to industry contacts would be more cost-effective in your
case. Certainly you should mail out the release to any local media
outlet of any sort, even newspapers.

You might also want to take the direct approach and send releases to
trade publications in your field. It is a bit trickier but you might
even e-mail any contacts listed on the mastheads of those trade
publications but that is outside the scope of your question.

Then there is also guerilla marketing ? such as trying to sell some of
the toys on eBay as a way of generating buzz. Remember, you can offer
wholesale lots on eBay as well as individual items.

---

Clarification of Answer by siliconsamurai-ga on 14 Feb 2005 05:22 PST

Glad to be of help and many thanks for the tip.

Hi:
  Excellent answer, we should be able to get the results we seek with
this.  Will probably buy one of the two subscriptions you suggested -
I'm having our marketing director review this.
 thx, jon

Just wanted to add a recommendation for Business Wire.  I am partner
in a marketing consultancy and we do a LOT of press releases.  When
doing our initial selection of a wire service we looked at both firms
and found the cost and service for Business Wire to be considerably
better.  I will also say that the Houston team and in particular
Judith Swartz is particularly strong and we have been very pleased.

If you do however go with PR Newswire because they have some service
you desire, definitely let them know you are looking at Business Wire.
 They may give you a better deal!

Good luck!

Maybe this is a follow up question...

Operationally, after setting up the account, when is the best time to
send a wire? What are the considerations? I was told by some
old-timers to look for the "slow" news period and avoid Mondays. Would
be curious to see if there is any other rule of thumb.

thx, yf

In my opinion Tuesday morning is best and Monday morning is second
best.  In any case remember to make the release at least two weeks in
advance (to do this send the release to the wire service early but
mark "embargoed until XX/XX/2005" on the top).  It also pays to email
a copy of your press release (with the same embargo statement on it)
to your favored analyst and editors about the same time.  If you are
announcing BIG news, then you will want to call favored editors no
later than Wednesday or Thursday following the release (to make sure
they understand the gravity of the news).

If you are not a US company sometimes it pays to make your release
during a US holiday. In any case try to avoid releasing on days where
the world is focused on some other big news.

Good luck!