I’ve rallied for the use of press releases in place of advertisements due to the (often higher) ROI.

But most people think of a press release as something unrelated to advertisements, which is why consumer-targeted press releases probably don’t get the attention they deserve.

Here’s how it works:

1. We create a press release with links to your product or service.
2. The press release is then posted online, either on your own website or with a third-party journal of some sort.
3. Finally, the press release is also mailed to publications who can then write their own stories about your business.

This consumer-targeted strategy allows your press release to work as an advertisement, sort of like an advertorial or native ad.

3% Conversion and $1.70 per Click.

Using a consumer-targeted press release, one of our clients, a supplement affiliate, managed a 3% conversion rate, making almost $2 for every person who clicked the ad.

($2 isn’t much, but when you have 100,000 visitors every month, it adds up fast.)

And bear in mind that a 3% conversion rate isn’t bad even for an actual advertisement. Getting these results with a press release is great.

Generating Buzz and a Profit All At Once.

Making money directly from the consumer-targeted press release is awesome, but what really sweetens the deal is that our client then used the same press release as… well, a press release.

That means that publications were telling customers about his offer for free, in the form of a news story, which generated even more traffic.

It’s like a perpetual motion device that spits out money.

And all it took was a $250 press release.

What’s the ROI on that?

Well, just 147 clicks covered the cost of the press release.

1,000 clicks after that made him about $1,700.

At 100,000 clicks… $170,000.

That’s enough to quit your day job, take a vacation, buy a new car, and go all-in with your true passion.

Is that worth $250? I certainly think so.