This recent article in Website magazine lists their top 5 reasons to write a Press Release as:

1. a way to generate organic traffic
2. link building
3. reputation management
4. attracting bloggers and web 2.0 audience
5. draw traffic from traditional media

Granted this is a magazine about web sites, but there is one huge benefit missing from this list – the power of having your story told by another person.

Actually, there are two benefits in the sentence above. The first is the power of the story. We all want our marketing messages to be remembered and using a story is one of the more powerful ways of conveying your message and having people remember it. People love stories, so use them in your marketing.

Second is the power of having your story told by someone else. I can create marketing materials all day long that tell you how wonderful my company is – how I have "great customer service", etc. My message will never be as powerful as the story of someone experiencing my customer service, who I was able to help when they were really feeling desperate and we were able to pull off the job in the nick of time. Now have a newspaper or magazine print that story and it becomes an even more powerful tool for creating "Know, Like, and Trust".

Don’t dismiss press releases as tools that are only for the big companies – they are a powerful tool that can help small business owners attract more customers and make a few more trips to the bank.