What is URLwire?
Most content creators don't realize there are thousands of site reviewers in every imaginable subject area on the web.  I offer the only service that personally researches and identifies these key influencers, and I contact them personally with alerts of new web content based on their interests and editorial focus.  In a nutshell, URLwire is a service for announcing selected web content to the exact people who will care about that specific web content, across hundreds of subject areas. 

URLwire history in 15 seconds
I started URLwire in 1994 as a way to help Jeff Bezos announce and attract editorial links for the debut of Amazon.com. That sounds glamorous, but it wasn't.  I did it from the kitchen table in my three room apartment on a 9,600 baud modem.  I've been going ever since.  In fact, I've been helping sites attract natural editorial links since long before Google and other search engines realized the value of those links. Welcome to my world, engines.  If you wish to hear more about the history and logic behind URLwire, here's an interview from SearchEngineRadio.

How do I start the process of announcing a site?
If you know you want to proceed, click here. If you want additional information, continue reading below or send me an email and tell me about the site you're wanting to announce. I'll reply as soon as I can.

That last sentence was very important, so let me repeat it...

You must be producing useful and linkworthy content in the first place, or no amount of publicity and links will help.

Why did I create URLwire?
I created URLwire because mass wire services are not selective about what they announce and who they send it to, and cannot reach the key online contacts who specifically write about, review, and link to new web content. Mass wire services send out thousands of press releases a day.  URLwire announces a few sites each week. 

Who does URLwire reach?
Your content's subject matter determines who I contact. 

I personally do the vetting/research and identify the exact people who are looking for the subject specific and purposeful web content you are providing.  For example, if your content is about Jazz music, the people I contact and announce your content to can be from widely read online publications like like Yahoo New and Notable or USA Today Useful Sites, or from niche links pages devoted to jazz

The key is to match your content to the exact people that will care about it.  No matter the subject, if your content is of high quality, then there will be people on the web who will care about it.  Here's a fun example: Jellyfish.  Yes, Jellyfish.

If you run the website Jellies: Living Art, then pursuing links from the below examples is the EXACT approach that I use for you with URLwire.
Check out these two links

1). Jellyfish: Beauty with a bite
2). WIRED

I also tag your announcement so it will be found by those doing tag searchers (technorati and del.icio.us., etc.) and I provide quick links directly from your URLwire announcement to social media venues and social linkers, so they have the opportunity to share your site with the exact people who would be interested. 

Below is just a sampling of thousands of online venues where editors, librarians, and content seekers are looking for high quality web content to write about and link to. 

Yahoo New and Notable Sites - NYPL Best of the Web - Forbes Best of The Web - Boing Boing - IRN Internet Resources Newsletter - USA Today Web Guide/Useful Sites - Exploratorium's Web Picks - Librarians Internet Index  - Cool Tricks and Trinkets - Parents Best Web Sites - Guardian Web Watch - Education World -  The Scout Report - AOL StudyBuddy - BestHistorySites - PC Magazine Top Sites - Lockergnome -  - NetDetours - About.com- FreePint - NetGuide - WebUser - Suite101 - Zoo.com - .net

Busy Educator's Guide to the Web - Classroom Earth Best of the Web - Berit's Best Sites for Kids - Surfing the Net With Kids - Ask for Kids - Child & Family WebGuide from Tufts University - FamilyTree Best of the Web - Kids Web

Best of PhysicsWeb
Useful Web Links for the Materials Industry
Sleep Disorder Sites
Dulcimer and Folk Music Links
Jazz Music Links
Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Links

How does URLwire differ from large wire services?
1). I limit the number of sites I'll announce to a few per week
2). I am extremely selective about what I feature on URLwire
3). I am overly selective about who I contact on your behalf
4). I'll send your fees back if you aren't pleased with the response

I know my subscribers and what they want, and I don't pollute them with off topic announcements. URLwire is not for sending news about your IPO or CEO.  If you have news about something other than the content of your site, you should use a fine service like Market Wire or Internet News Bureau or PRWeb to distribute it.  I recommend them as they are excellent services for this type of news.  Only use URLwire when your news is about the content on your site. The quality of the site ultimately determines whether or not I will announce and pursue links for it.

How are sites announced on URLwire?
The URLwire News Network announces new web sites via multiple channels as follows. 

Step One - Private email
The first step is sending individual announcements about your site via email to my private contacts. This will take anywhere from one to three hours depending on how many contacts I identify that are appropriate for your specific site announcement.  For each site launch I announce, I personally sort, cull and sift through my entire membership of URLwire subscribers, matching your site announcement with the stated interests of my contacts.   I also look for the key influencers who are not already URLwire members but who cover and link to sites in the same subject area as your site. Any given launch alert is typically a fit for 300 or more contacts.  My contacts only hear from me when I have a site that matches their stated interests.  And URLwire is purposely not automated.  It's sent one-to-one from me personally to my contacts.

Step Two - Web
Next I'll post your announcement on its own page on the URLwire web site, and create a headline link and summary to it on the URLwire home page (above right) and URLwire headline page.  Your announcement will be crawled by the various news bots and search engines almost immediately.  Google News and Yahoo News, for example, crawl URLwire site announcements within minutes of their appearing. URLwire has over 8 million annual page views. This is achieved as a result of thousands of sites around the world linking to my headline page or story pages over the 13+ years URLwire has been live.

Step Three - Blogs, Feeds, and Social Media 
I place your site announcement on the URLwire Blogs and RSS feed. I'll also tag your announcement so it will be found by tagging sites like technorati and del.icio.us. I provide quick links directly from your announcement to all social media venues and social linkers, so they have the opportunity to share your announcement. 

Step Four - News Bots, Private Groups and Syndication
I place a brief summary of your content announcement on the private Google Group for URLwire.  My announcement of your site will also be indexed by Google, Yahoo, and MSN very quickly, and I've had instances where Yahoo News picks up my announcements in less than five minutes. I also have arrangements with key news syndication services and newsbots, like Moreover, NewsHub, and WebProWire, and to provide them with my content announcements.  This gets your site announcement headline and link on thousands of other sites and into the Web's largest news indexes.

Why does URLwire produce so many versions of the site announcement?
URLwire is not a press release distribution service. Most site reviewers do not want a press release anyway.  That's why I don't automate URLwire. I provide each of my members with my site announcements in the exact format they want.  If they want a short email with a special subject line, no problem. If they want a weekly digest, I send it that way.  If they want an RSS version, I have it. Blog?  Yes. Via private Google group? Got it. 

Who writes the site announcement?
You write the initial copy, and I'll make suggestions if I feel it will improve the reception. If you prefer that I write the entire announcement, I will but I charge an additional fee.

What sites have used URLwire to announce their launch?
Thousands over the past thirteen years. A sampling of sites that hired URLwire to announce their launch includes Amazon.com, Weather.com, Wine.com/Virtual Vineyards, Dell, Rodney.com, Infobeat, The BBC, Kellogg's, MoMA, Law.com, Visa.com, and sites for Ziff-Davis, The New York Times, The Discovery Channel, Microsoft, AOL, About.com and The AMA, and PBS.  Many other now famous Web sites were originally launched through my URLwire service. 

Do the people who receive URLwire like it?
They love it. They are interested in my announcements because they know it's something they haven't seen, will be a match for their interests, and a top-notch site.  But don't take my word for it.  Read their quotes here. 

Does URLwire work?
Rather than me tell you, I'll let my clients tell you.  Here are three quotes and a longer testimonial.  A few more URLwire testimonials are also available.

Jim Osgood - OfficeFinder.com
"Eric, URLwire got our site covered and linked online in places we'd tried for months to get in without success. And, URLwire did it in one day. Thanks!"
.
Rob Ford, FavouriteWebsiteAwards
"URLwire is a great service which has proven results. Two projects I have been involved with that you have featured have both gone straight into the Yahoo directory and been listed on their Pick of the Day page. Thanks a bunch, Eric!"
.
Amy Strycula, CoolShopping.com - Cool Shopping Sites
"We've been using Eric's URLwire service since 1995, and on more than one occasion had to work closely with our hosting service to keep our servers up under the high traffic loads that resulted".
"The Silence is Deafening" - a Reverse Testimonial for Eric Ward

Option 1 - $395  - Basic Site Announcement 
Option 2 - $695 - Advanced Site Announcement 

Detailed descriptions for options are available here. 

What if URLwire doesn't work?
Give URLwire six weeks, and if by then you don't feel URLwire was worth the fee you paid, I'll send the fee back.  Why?  Because I've been doing what I do for over ten years, I speak at Internet marketing conferences, and I write columns about getting publicity and links for web sites. If I'm going to brag about having some expertise, I feel I should back it up, so I do.  I'm not in this just to make a few hundred bucks.  I'm in this for the long haul.  Try asking for this assurance from any other content publicity service.

Can't a Public Relations firm do what URLwire does?
Many Public Relations hire me to announce their client's sites.  They know I have many years of contacts and relationships in the online world, while they have contacts in the off-line world. Give your Public Relations firm this test.  Ask them why The New York Public Library is important to your site. This is not intended to knock them down, but rather to illustrate the challenge. They know their niche, I know mine.  FYI, here's the answer why The New York Public Library is important to your site.

How do I start the process to announce a site?
If you know you want to proceed, click here. If you want additional information, continue reading this site or send me an email and tell me about the site you're wanting to announce. I'll reply as soon as I can.

I want to receive URLwire, how do I sign up?
Visit my contact page. In your email, tell me what types of sites you are interested in knowing about, and then only if I have a perfect match will you ever hear from me. I match it myself. No bots.  As a writer and speaker I am also especially sensitive to all our needs for privacy.  My contact list is not kept on a computer connected to the net, and it's not for sale.

Thanks for your time.

Regards, 

Eric Ward

Phone: 865.637.2438 - but please try email first.

You can read about my other services at  EricWard.com