eReleases Reviews | 2017 Reviews | What You Need to Know Before Using ereleases.com
There is a tremendous amount of consumer interest in finding eReleases reviews to determine if ereleases.com is legit. Key questions being asked by consumers include, “Is eReleases legit?” and “Does eReleases really work as well as it promises?”
The eReleases review article below provides a detailed overview of the services provided by ereleases.com as well as the pros and cons of using this press release provider. Although there are dozens of eReleases reviews on the web, we’ll try to offer a concise yet detailed objective eReleases review, including providing an overview of what ereleases.com has to offer as well as the eReleases process, pricing, relevance, and comparisons to its competitors.
What Is eReleases?
eReleases, sometimes refered to as ereleases and ereleases.com, is a press release distribution service that helps companies gain media attention through three major services: press release distribution, press release writing, and a “personal publicist” program.
Does eReleases Really Provide a Compelling Value Proposition?
Founder Mickie Kennedy created eReleases to fill a major gap that he saw in public relations. He realized current services didn’t meet the needs of small and medium-sized companies and set out to create a business that gave these firms access to newswire services coupled with a customer service component.
Here is Mickie’s and his team’s version of what makes eReleases great.
Video Source: eReleases YouTube
eReleases PRTrue Lists Review
One attribute of eReleases that many online eReleases reviews miss out on is that ERelease’s PRTrue Lists™ has a 94% delivery rate to hand-selected journalists across multiple industries.
What makes this important?
Well, a lot of online PR sites would send your press release to generic email addresses, like [email protected] or [email protected], and what ends up happening is that a lot of these press releases end up in the proverbial “black hole,” where no one ever sees them or they get flagged as spam by email filters.
So, how is eReleases able to get around the proverbial black hole? One key factor contributing to eReleases’ relatively higher rates is that it cultivates personal relationships with its reporters and sources.
This is important because your press release has a much higher chance of being delivered directly to the inboxes of these reporters than getting lost somewhere.
eReleases Reviews (Services)
As mentioned above, eReleases provides three main services: distribution, writing, and personal publicity. We’ll start with the first, which is the largest bulk of its services.
eReleases’ press release distribution services focus heavily on two components: its level of personal service and its distribution network. eReleases is a PR Newswire partner (more about how it compares to PR Newswire’s services later), which means that it benefits from its expansive list of media partners.
Image Source: BigStock
Regarding eReleases’ personal service, the company stresses that it has professional journalists on its staff that will give advice about your release and then send it to journalist contacts that have already opted in to receiving information about your industry.
eReleases calls its list of media partners “painstakingly cultivated” but, at the same time, maintains that the time and effort it puts into crafting these lists aren’t passed on to the customer in distribution costs.
Some eReleases reviews tout the “focused” nature of their distribution but assert that just because its list is focused doesn’t mean it is limited in numbers.
Pricing for press release distribution varies from $249–499 depending on word count and distribution.
Next up is eReleases’ writing services. For those who don’t have the time, energy or know-how to write their own release or simply want to benefit from the expertise of professional release writers, eReleases offers to write, format, and then distribute your press release.
eReleases claims that this gives you the best chance at widespread media exposure since professional writing is mixed with professional distribution.
One eReleases review states that customers have the ability to direct the writers regarding the formatting or verbiage of their releases while some customers may prefer to leave it to the pros. Pricing varies depending on the project, but the combination package that includes writing and distribution costs $599 per release.
Finally, eReleases offers a personal publicist program, a relatively new service offering. This service is its answer to the rise of the subscription model economy and comes at a monthly starting price of $999 instead of a per-project model.
However, it’s important to note that there is no minimum commitment for this service – it is based on a month-to-month commitment that can be canceled at any time.
With this service, eReleases provides you with a publicist who will brainstorm ideas, write one press release per month, and handle distribution to its network of media outlets. It claims that this helps companies achieve consistent, newsworthy media coverage on an ongoing basis.
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Measuring Success
Obviously, for any business owner or individual looking to get exposure, measuring the success of his/her press release is extremely important. eReleases offers its Wire Watch Report, available just two hours after the distribution of the press release, so that customers can view where the release was picked up for themselves.
The analytics provided in the eReleases Wire Watch Report are similar to reports of eReleases’ competitors and offer the names of outlets that run the press release along with the live web link.
As with most press release services, eReleases admits that original reporting from a major broadcaster or news network resulting from a press release is highly unlikely. However, eReleases does have an impressive list of customer testimonials that share successes about the results their releases generated, including publication in AdAge, radio interviews, and expert column opportunities.
According to one eRelease review, Kansas City designer Phil Singleton’s first press release through eReleases resulted in a Google exec tweeting about his content. He noted, “I was impressed with eReleases from the first click. As an SEO professional, I admired their clever Adwords ads and relatively strong organic rankings.”
Do eReleases Press Releases Really Work?
These are impressive results; however, it should be noted that success like this from press releases is rare. The efficacy and relevancy of press releases in today’s media and marketing landscape have been called into question by several experts in the industry.
According to recent research, press releases are viewed on an average of 275 times per week, with the media viewing them about 70 times per week. However, it’s important to note that press releases alone will probably not propel you to fame, and press releases alone will not improve your SEO.
The recent Panda algorithm update from Google penalizes spammy press releases that are filled with irrelevant and promotional backlinks and keywords. However, press releases distributed on more credible networks, like eReleases or PR Newswire, didn’t take as hard a hit because they worked with Google to revise the policies on their sites so that they weren’t penalized.
All in all, press releases, no matter what distribution service you work with, should be used as one means to an end rather than the sole component of a marketing strategy.
eReleases Review: How Does eReleases Stack up to Competitors
The two main competitors of eReleases are PRWeb and PR Newswire.
PRWeb is definitely larger than eReleases, serving more than 30,000 companies and organizations. However, this sheer size can give it a more sterile and efficient feel. On the other hand, eReleases provides a more personal feel and is generally better for a press release beginner who needs more guidance on optimizing and distributing his/her press release.
However, Express Writers noted that press releases distributed through PRWeb can lack quality and often use keyword-stuffing tactics that don’t hold up to Google’s latest algorithm changes of SEO quality. Therefore, it recommends PR Newswire for SEO optimization and efficiency.
Several e.Releases reviews do mention that the navigation of the site and logistics of how to submit your release in eReleases pales in comparison to the functionality of PRWeb and PR Newswire. The different options in fonts, colors, styles, and sizes can be overwhelming for beginners.
Admirably, eReleases isn’t afraid to address its competition head on. It notes that PR Newswire is one of the largest press release distribution networks, and that PR Newswire does offer web-only distribution that is cheaper than eReleases’ offerings. However, it notes that eReleases’ network is actually larger than PR Newswire’s US-1 distribution when you factor in the opt-in journalists that receive their releases. eReleases also intimates that the same level of service that it provides can’t be matched by PR Newswire unless users pay thousands of dollars.
eReleases Feedback
There are many sources of eReleases reviews and feedback across the web.
For the most part, these reviews contain positive sentiments. Many talk about eReleases’ level of customer service as a high point. You can contact staff via email or phone, and these customer service reps aren’t as pushy as other services because they aren’t paid on commission.
eReleases also manages expectations well – it never promises more coverage than it can deliver. It asserts that press releases are a very valuable marketing tool, but emphasizes that these releases must be optimized, share newsworthy information, and be distributed to the right audiences – not just the largest audience.
However, eReleases’ partnership with PR Newswire is both a selling point and a down point for many reviewers. Though this partnership expanded the releases’ distribution to many other sites than it had access to before, it also leads to the question of why individuals wouldn’t just cut out the middleman and use PR Newswire itself.
Other complaints reviewers cited were the functionality of the release platform, as discussed previously, and its comparatively higher price than more low-budget press release options.
Final Recommendations
In conclusion, eReleases reviews from customers across the Internet are mostly positive regarding their results for their businesses. Most negative e.Releases reviews come from customers who had misaligned expectations about the extent to which press releases can affect their marketing.
Customers that will benefit the most from using eReleases are small to mid-sized businesses that have the budget to use the mid tier of pricing from eReleases, in the $299–$499 range. This includes a press release word count between 400 and 600 words, one to three included journalist opt-in lists for distribution, and a reach of over 100,000.
For first-time press release users who don’t have an in-house writing team, we recommend using the eReleases writing and distribution package to ensure that the writing is professional and clean and that the copy is optimized for the target audience.
Remember: press releases must promote newsworthy events. In today’s multichannel marketing era of social media, blogging, programmatic approach, and display, press releases should be reserved for events like product launches. Promote less-timely events on other channels.
When your business does decide to use a press release, eReleases is a cost-effective investment that will speak to the right audiences with the right message.
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