On the face of it, the world of developing and placing Press Releases, advertising or articles about you, your company or your products appears to be about the same. Although actually quite different, these tools can ultimately achieve the same thing. Exposure ti prospects. Your decision comes down to which of these promotional methods is best for you?

The question is which you should use? Are press releases better than submitting articles? Does one carry more weight than the other? I’ve personally used both and have seen varied results from both depending on what got picked up and what didn’t. In the end, there is no question – use both. You certainly have nothing to lose.

Press releases are targeted toward a larger range of Internet newspapers and magazines; anything that has steady content that accepts and distributes news. The fact is that you will get more people looking for you if other people talk about you rather than you talking about yourself.

News services and magazines use press releases as filler if their articles are too short or not enough ad space has been sold. A press release will take up that space. You can also submit your press release to real world places for actual print and it costs you nothing. You just have to be careful. Press releases are meant to inform and not to blatantly advertise so you must keep that in mind. Then too, your press releases need to be selected by the editor over the many others he gets. He can’t use them all.

Press releases are invaluable promotional tools for any company selling a product. They are not overly difficult to write by keeping in mind not to blatantly advertise to the reader. Provide distinct information. Make it concise and be sure to include descriptions and, of course, a link to your web site. Mail them out to magazine and newspapers online. You can fax or mail them to “real world” publishers as well.

Articles have several advantages over press releases. Unlike press releases, you can submit your articles through directory services. They will be reviewed and downloaded more often and can be linked back to, distributed and remain visible on Internet channels for years.

Your articles shouldn’t be straight advertising media. However, you can fill them with whatever keywords you like and place them on the Internet where they should be re-published and linked back to the original.

All of your articles continue to circulate and remain yours. The content, unlike that of the press release, isn’t edited by whoever is publishing it, so you won’t lose any of those keywords that help you get hits on your web site and linkbacks.

Any place that your articles or press release show up is another link back to your site. Both, if well written, can generate credibility for yourself and your web site. Be concise in your marketing strategy either way that you go. Start slowly then build up to more so you can leave a mark in people’s minds. Overusing anything will cause people to think you’re a scam artist or spammer. Neither of which will help you generate traffic.