Press Release Question

For any of you who have had press releases written, can you give me a ballpark idea of how much to expect to pay? Is it ever possible to have the release writer also do some online promotion to make sure the release gets to the public for an extra cost, or is that promotion always up to the business? -destiny

I looked at press releases before and the fees were around $200. The companies would also distribute the press release for an extra fee of about $75. -Marcus

You can have a press release written anywhere from $20-40 dollars and up. It depends on who you use. Submitting a press release online is very easy and inexpensive through PRWeb.com. -SpeedRacer

It costs me $150 to have a Press Release written and using PRWeb.com and paying between $40 and $80, I get pretty good distribution. -Eric Count5

I've paid an average of $85 - $120 for an industry specialist to write my press releases. However, keep in mind you might be able to get a college Senior to write one for much less... just be careful because sometimes you get what you pay for. -Coda1108

Oh yes, I learned lessons on this long ago. Did any of these people help you with distribution... or rather would they have done that for an extra fee? I guess my fear is that we pay a couple of hundred for the best press release we can find and then I don't have the time to promote it properly. -destiny

If it helps, I'm a copywriter. I charge $200 for a press release with very basic distribution options at no extra cost. Another copywriter friend of mine charges $350, yet Writers Digest's claimed average for this kind of work is $425 per press release.

As for the kind of options available, it depends on the copywriter. My fees can range anywhere from something simple (like using a service similar to PRWeb that offers, in my opinion, more targeted media contacts) to something as complex as creating a media list from scratch in your geographic area. Costs vary depending on the client needs and the services used. -NetWriter

I use BusinessWire to reach the industry outlets, both on-line and print, that I wish to reach. The appropriateness of this depends upon the subject matter of your news, and what outlets you want to reach. To reach local outlets with news that's not begging to be told, BusinessWire might not be the way to go.

On the other hand, one of the huge benefits of using BusinessWire is that they distribute directly through some excellent on-line news services. Which means that when people do a news search for certain keywords you can include in your release, it will show up on search engines. -Coda1108

It depends on how long is the write up. I do pay somewhere around $70 and yes i prefer the writer to submit it to major press release website -mtajim

Is there a disadvantage do writing your own press release and using PRWeb for distribution? -Jolly Roger

No i dont think theres any disadvantage, many bloggers and media personnnels visti PRweb for latest news and press release, if any of good blogger published your news , you will get loads of trrafic -mtajim

There is no reason you can't write your own press release. It is easy to get the media outlets and send them out yourself if you have the time. You can easily get an outline from online or just look at one that has been done and do it the same way. -MPrince