HubSpot has released a new program for press releases. It’s called Press Release Grader. This free analysis reviews your press release for content, links, key words and contact info. Ultimately a marketing tool, Press Release Grader is helpful, especially when it comes to gauging how successful your release will be when it comes to SEO.

I ran a press release our firm wrote about Revolution 3D making its way into the San Francisco marketplace.

…it got a 40%…

Shocked and appalled, I looked at the rationale behind this completely unfair grade. What Press Release Grader helped us realize was that we were losing a lot of points for being a web-worthy document. The writing might have been good, the use of metaphor and linguistic jokes superb (we fancy ourselves witty around here), but we weren’t prepared with proper links making the release not just readable, but functional and purposeful for the recipients.

So noted Press Release Grader.

While I’m not inclined to rely on Press Release Grader as the be-all-and-end-all measure of a decent release (40 percent be damned!), I’ll probably use it to make sure that I’ve got good links, contact info and major messages covered for future projects.

~Robyn