Guest Post by Dan Janal

(with edits by John Kremer)

As the end of the year approaches, some people think of holidays, gift shopping, and parties. I think of year-in-review press releases, articles, and opinion pieces.

The year-in-review press release is a great way to position yourself as an expert. This article will show you how to write a year-in-review press release and will also show you many ways you can benefit from it.

As the name implies, these are press releases that review and recap influential trends and news from the past year. You start with a paragraph introducing the topic. You end with a paragraph summarizing the trends or offering a perspective from your vantage point.

Your year-in-review press release can include anywhere from 3 to 12 events.  If you use 12 events, you can cite one event each month – a popular technique. Describe each event in 2-3 sentences. The entire press release is about 500 words long – about the size of a high-school essay.

These year-in-review press releases help you in many ways:

1. Be a thought leader. – This type of press release positions you as a thought leader who is lending an insightful perspective on the industry. Simply chronicling the events makes you a valued content creator. If you add perspective on why this event was important then you’ll be seen as adding valuable information that is the hallmark of a thought leader.
2. Educate before promoting. – The press release is a promotion without being salesy. You’ll be seen as an educator who is providing perspective, instead of as a vendor who is selling a product. Every press release lets you promote yourself or your business with links to your site and the About Us section, of course, so there are many ways to lead people to your website where they can build a relationship with you.
3. They are easy to write. – You simply review the headlines of the past year and decide which are most important.
4. There is no need for creativity. – For people who think they need to think of the next big thing to get readers, this is the rare opportunity to put your creativity on hold and go into researcher mode.
5. Year-in-review press releases are popular. – People like to read such press releases. You gain more visibility and credibility. People will say, “I see you everywhere.”
6. Year-in-review press releases are popular with websites. – Websites like to print these press releases because readers like to read them. The more media websites and bloggers who print your press releases, the more fame you get.
7. December content is needed. – Media websites and trade publications like to print these press releases in December because staffers take vacations and these sites need content. Because the information is non-commercial, there is a great chance the media will print the press release.
8. Editorial calendars expect such releases. – These types of press releases are part of the editorial calendar process at many media sites. You are proposing a press release that they actually expect to print.
9. Use keywords to get SEO benefits. – You can get good placement in search engines if you use the proper keywords. If you rank higher in search engines, you’ll attract more visitors to your website.
10. Get greater value from your links. – Because the press release is printed on media websites, search engines will give a greater value the links pointing to your website so your website could show up higher in the search engines and you could get more visitors.
11. Multiply your benefits. – You can post the press releases on your blog and in your ezine to create interesting content for your followers. Your site also will be seen as having educational content, which is highly valued by your readers.
12. Social network your press release. – You can post a link to the press release on Twitter or you could tweet a trend a day to attract more followers. Same with Facebook or LinkedIn.
13. Make a video of your press release. – Post your video to YouTube to attract more visibility and higher search engine rankings. Google loves to index videos. This is a very easy tactic. Simply turn on your camera and read the press release.
14. Submit your press release to article sites. – You can turn the press release into an article and submit to relevant industry sites and guest blog sites.
15. You can increase your knowledge. – You benefit by taking time to review events of the previous year and to learn from it. Your increased knowledge makes you more valuable to your consulting clients and it also helps you plan for the coming year.

If you’d like to write a year-in-review press release, Press Release Sender can help you send it to the media via the oldest and most respected newswire in the business. Unlike any other service, Press Release Sender guarantees your press release will be printed on more than 40 media website within 24 hours of distribution or your money back. For info, go to http://www.PressReleaseSender.com and select the Bronze service plan for only $297 – which is much less than other services offering comparable distribution.

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