Article Marketing or Press Release Marketing: Which is more powerful?

Despite being one of the most frequently asked questions I get from clients, it doesn't have a straightforward answer. The fact is neither one is better than the other. It's just that their purpose is different. As a matter of fact you should not get article distribution confused with press release distribution.

Although professional copywriting is necessary to press release and article distribution alike. Both can contain your keywords for SEO purposes, but the connection between article distribution and press release distribution ends there.

Article Marketing is the practice of distributing quality articles to article directories with hopes of having these articles picked up by or reprinted on other websites and blogs. As a result, article distribution can improve your link popularity. Article distribution can also assist with branding you as the expert in your field and can drive traffic directly to your website if readers like the article.

Press releases ,on the other hand, are written to announce a newsworthy event. Press releases are distributed to news websites, news agencies, newsletters, and blogs. Often times, releases are distributed directly to media professionals as a way to pitch a story. But they are not the same as an article.

To frequently, I often see news releases aren't newsworthy at all however. People are using press release distribution to send out articles. They have article marketing and press releases all mixed up.

I read news releases that sound like a sales pitch all the time. The news release is not a place for marketing. Believe me, news editors know the difference. Publishers could be redistributing your news release to a wider audience. But if they don't find your release newsworthy or think that you are trying to sell a product, he will ignore your press release.

A true news release should read like something you could find in a newspaper. So it must tell a story. It could be about a merger, an acquisition, a partnership, or a new website launched. But don't forget that the idea of a press release isn't to simply get people to republish the story, it's to get in the news. An effective news release will land you interviews.
You can summarize the difference between article distribution and news release distribution by the reasons you optimize them and the reason you send them. Press releases are distributed to bring publicity to your company and are optimized so that the release itself can be found, which can bring traffic to your site and build awareness. Articles, on the other hand, are distributed to establish the credibility of your business and are optimized to help build link popularity so that your main website can be found.
Both should be important aspects of acompanies overall public relations strategy.