from the desk of . . . Ken Nadreau

“What’s the difference between an article and a press release?”

A press release is just that, a release of information to the media designed to announce new products, new
events, new technology, etc.

So this makes it a little different than a regular article that might be about advice,
tips and tricks, strategies, and so forth.

With an article, especially those submitted to directories, you don’t normally talk about your product or service directly in the body of the article. An article is more designed as a teaching tool where you explain how to solve a problem, how to improve on something, or how to do a certain task more efficiently.

Of course you can allude to it by taking your readers through scenarios that might lead
them to click on the link in your bio or resource box, but you don’t want an article
to come across as a “hard sell.”

However, with a press release, the whole purpose of it is to talk about the
product or service specifically. You are making an announcement about it, and
so you want your readers to get as much information about it to get them to buy.

So naturally, the two would also be structured differently. A Press Release would have your contact information directly at the top of the page so your readers would know immediately what and who announcement the release is specifically about. Sort of an official introduction.

An article, on the other hand is about the information, why someone would want to read it, and what they’ll get out of reading it. The what and who are relatively incidental to the points of the subject matter, so they go at the end in the author’s bio box.

Both press releases and articles are highly effective marketing tools and can be syndicated over a wide area of the web, and have an equal amount of longevity if used correctly.