Paid vs Free Press Release Distribution Service – which one suits you the best?

For a business to prosper media attention is a must; this is the only way of making the people aware of the products or services. This is where press release plays a major role, as this is one of the most efficient tools of catching the eye of the audience. However, its efficiency isn’t only limited to businesses, this tool can be effectually used to let the people know about any upcoming event or announce the launch or release of something new. When searched online, the results provide more than enough agency names to choose for PR distribution. Well, this is where one needs to be wise and choose the right agency, completely depending upon individual needs.

Generally, the available options of PR distribution can be classified into 2 different sections, one of which is a free distribution and the other one being paid. To make sure you are getting just the right kind of exposure, you need to get detailed knowledge about the differences between these 2 kinds of services, which are –

Media Coverage

The basic difference that lies between paid and free press release distribution service is the media coverage these provide. On one hand, paid PR distribution services cover a wide range of media channels, whereas, the media coverage obtained through free PR distribution is pretty limited.

Multimedia Inclusion

When distributed through paid agencies, you can include multimedia components, like images and videos, in the content. However, there are very few free PR service providers that offer the inclusion of multimedia components.

Web Traffic

High web traffic is certainly the need of all the service providers that operate through the web. And, PR being one of the most trusted tools for traffic generation, the distribution service needs to be well-organized. This factor is effectually covered under paid services. The free distribution also generates traffic, but it is way too low.

Media Distribution

In case of free distribution, most of the companies offer publication of the content on their own websites and that too for a limited period of time. And, on the other hand, PRs through paid distribution reaches various online sites, and also have higher chances of appearing on Google News as well.

Budget

For paid distribution, the price is pretty significant, but you can get value for money, provided you have hired a trusted agency. And, for free PR submission service providing sites, the cost is certainly nothing but there are some renowned companies that offer free at the basic level and can be later upgraded to paid services to reach a wider audience.

Access to Journalists

Most of the paid PR service providing websites is subscribed by famous journalists, through whom you will get the chance of reaching the mass. On the other hand, not many journalists subscribe to free PR distribution websites, leading to low or no reach.

Reaching the Audience

Paid distribution is always target-based and the agencies make sure that the PRs reach the desired geographical locations, in order to catch the eye of the people of that particular region, bringing in the maximum reach. Free PR distribution is not targeted and has very low chances of catching the eye of the desired audience.

Writing Services

Many paid PR distributors provide PR writing services when paid additionally. But, there are very few free PR distributors available that provide PR writing services.

Analytics Report

Paid PR distributors always provide their clients with a detailed report of the campaign and its progress. On the other hand, free PR distributors, do not provide such reports.

Customer Support

Almost all the paid PR distributors provide customer support after the submission of distribution orders. However, most of the free PR distributors do not provide customer support.