The Pew Center on Global Climate Change

Lessons Learned

Internet press releases are an increasingly important supplement to an overall public relations program, but relationship-building with influential reporters remains the higher priority.

Tier 1 reporters really will respond to your press releases if you provide them with newsworthy research results that matter to their readers.
Create a separate, online version of each press release that is optimized with popular keyphrases that internet surfers may use as search terms when doing research at Google or when subscribing to online news channels.
If you use an outside consultant for internet press release optimization, make sure that their performance measurements and reporting are related to a goal that really matters to you. For instance, do you really care about "impressions" or "hits?" Or is your real goal newsletter sign-ups?
Make your online pressroom the most authoritative and comprehensive for your cause, including archives of all your: press releases, opinion editorials, speech transcripts, guest articles, e-newsletters, and PSAs — accompanied by PDFs or links to media coverage that positively features your organization or perspectives.
For the online version of press releases, translate "internal-speak" into keyphrases that are currently capturing the public's imagination.