Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a Free Press Release

Anything that is free of cost is a tempting thought in itself and the same goes for press releases as well. The importance of PRs for the growth of businesses is paramount and almost every other organization across the industries utilizes this marketing tool to reach out to new customers while gaining more exposure from the market. A press release can also improve the presence of a business website over search engines. And so, it only makes sense if a user is looking forward to gaining all these benefits for free!

Now, the biggest question is whether you should avail of a free press release or not.

Before, you avail of any kind of service, it is important to check its advantages and disadvantages for a better decision. Let’s take a better look at the Pros and Cons of free PR.

PROs

1. Absolutely Free of Cost

The cost plays here a vital advantage as you do not have to pay any. A free press release service sounds very reliable where you can gain benefits without spending any money. It allows you more room for creativity and experiment with your PR strategies in order to find out what works best for your business. With the concern of budget, you can go aggressive with your PR campaigns with multiple approaches without burning all the savings for it.

2. Offers Initial Push to Small Businesses

If you have just started a small business and own a startup company; you might not have a lot of budget for press release services. In such cases, free PR can be quite helpful as it offers the initial push in the market. By distributing its small network, free PR services can offer adequate exposure for the business to proceed with the first step. The initial phase is usually tough for any business to grow, and a PR can help in that without the concern of the budget. And the best part is that it works for all kinds of industries.

3. As a Trial Pack

Well, there will be times when you want to purchase a paid PR package to gain more advantages at a greater magnitude. However, it is also required to be authentic enough to offer the benefits it claims. So, how can test an agency’s performance without spending any? Yes, by availing of free service. Free services are offered by many professional agencies, especially for the first-timers. You can take advantage of it by using it as a trial pack just to check how well a PR campaign is handled by the agency.

CONs

When it comes to the cons of free PRs, the list is big as it can compete with the paid packages that offer greater benefits and on a higher level. There is a saying, ‘You get what you paid for’ and in this case, you have not paid any. So, it is only practical to not expect much from a free PR service.

• Does not offer guaranteed placements offers credible platforms and news sites
• Does not target the niche industries
• There is no guarantee of organic exposure
• No analytics is provided at the end of the campaign with no option for tracking as well
• Does not always reach out to potential customers so no boost in sales

Concluding Thoughts

It is evident that free PR is not the right option if your goal is to boost the growth and sales of your business. Instead, you should hire a PR expert or purchase a paid PR package from a professional agency that can offer you more benefits. In case you are short on budget, a free PR can only fulfill temporary needs with no long-term effects.