When looking into the press release wire service to use for your business, you might be overwhelmed with the options. In addition to traditional wires, there are many new web-based services. Choosing the right one for your business sometimes requires trial and error. The following press release wire service websites for the most part all provide a similar service, but they all have differences in how they present information, and how helpful they actually are. By looking at the facts and combining the opinions of Christine Slocumb, the owner and founder of an internet marketing firm with 15 years of experience, and Dena Boutsikakis, someone who is just starting in the marketing business, we hope to help narrow your decision as to which wire service is best suited for you.

PR Newswire
This is one of the first press release wire services, with a large client base, because of its efficient and professional setting. It is a very helpful website, because of its mass amounts of information. When clicking on a tab or a link, there is always information that explains its function to the viewer; proving its helpfulness and ease. In addition, there are also many spots within the website that allow for the consumer to add their feedback. There are also many interesting features that one can use to enhance their service. They offer a eWatch service that monitors and tracks your press release. It automatically emails you with any changes. In addition, PR Newswire offers MEDIatlas which distributes your press releases 24/7 automatically to over 460,000 contacts. There is also a free service called ProfNet, which connects you to many experts in each field. These features are all optional but according to PR Newswire are very useful. However, one thing to keep in mind is that sending a press release through them is very expensive, thus for starting businesses it might not be in your best interest to spend the extra money.

Dena: I was very impressed with this websites appearance. It was very clear and organized, while giving the user a large amount of information. In addition, I also felt that as a consumer of their service, I mattered, because of their feedback option.

Christine: When I first started in PR, this was THE wire service and all we used. It's the oldest, largest, and most expensive newswire service. However, their delay in adopting new SEO technology was a big mistake. Also, the Account Managers assigned to us were not helpful and turned over frequently. We rarely use this service anymore unless it's a co-release with a large corporation that requires we use this wire. The online pickup of releases is quite good, but no better than BusinessWire.

BusinessWire
This website has a similar feel to it as PR Newswire. They provide all the basic information about sending press releases, but also offer a little more. They have a section that will actually help you write a press release, for those who are not sure how. In addition it clearly shows the distribution of where your press release will go, and who will view it. Another helpful tool is that the website comes in five different languages. This can be very helpful if you are doing business with companies overseas, or simply for people whose first language is not English.

Dena: When first seeing this website I was impressed with the ability to change languages, even though they only had five from which to choose. I also thought that this was a fairly easy website to navigate through. However, upon first glance I did think it was a little to plain with just text, it did not make me want to explore it more.

Christine: BusinessWire is large but progressive. Through their partnership with PR Web, you can get one of the best deals on the Web. For $269 on www.prwebdirect.com you get distribution on PR Web and BusinessWire's US 1 distribution. For B2B companies with the budget, we go directly to BusinessWire. To distribute important releases for smaller B2B companies and technology startups, we use the BusinessWire package with PR Web.

PRWeb
PRWeb is one of the most informational and user friendly press release websites out there. On the homepage it has the most recent press releases within fourteen days, rated by “importance” which depends on how much the sender paid for the release. One helpful feature is their “release features” tab, which will tell you everything you need to know about your press release. They have broken it down to four packages. Each package states what it offers and how much it costs. This lets the business or agency know what they are going to be offered right away, while also keeping in mind budget. In addition, if you are not clear as to why you should use a press release wire service, PRWeb has a YouTube™ video which plainly and cleverly describes why, by showing the benefits. Along with the video, there are many picture and descriptions throughout the website that further guide you. In addition, PRWeb also has helpful tips and samples on how to write a press release, making sure your best work is distributed.

Dena: Personally, I feel as though this is the easiest to navigate through, and the most inviting. It still looks very professional, but makes press release writing and distributing seem very simple. They even state that all you have to do are follow their three easy steps. One thing that impressed me the most was the YouTube™ video.

Christine: This is probably the most well-known online wire service, distributing over this wire gets you LOTS of links, although the backlink quality is not always the best. We do get amazing results on this wire for special interest B2C press releases such as travel and tourism offers. They also have great offers every once in awhile such as the free Podcast interviews when they first introduced the Podcast service.

Marketwire
Upon first seeing the website, its bold color choice makes it stand out more than the other websites. The layout is very simple and very clean in its appearance. It has very few tabs, but once you start clicking on the tabs, it leads you to other links, which easily navigates you through the website. Marketwire speaks to the busy person that does not have a lot of time, with which most business owners and employees identify. However, you are not able to look at packages or other information about the service you will get until you have opened an account with them.

Dena: The first thing I noticed was the color choice of this website. It was different than all the rest, so it stood out in my mind. In addition, the way it was set up was different then the rest of the press release service websites. I had to navigate through many different tabs to find what I wanted.

Christine: We tried Marketwire's SEO press release package last year. They have very competitive rates compared to PR Newswire and BusinessWire. While their SEO console is not as polished as PR Web's reports, we did get great media pickup on a local Michigan story. We recommend Marketwire for local market releases that need SEO on a budget. We also get great friendly support from our Account Representative.

Hopefully these summaries will help you narrow down which press release wire service will be best suited for you. We will continue to update this list as more press release wire services come to our attention.