On the average day, 68 million American adults go online. Thirty percent of those are using the search engines to find information.

According to the Middleberg/Ross Survey and Pew Internet and American Life Project, 98 percent of journalists go online daily. Ninety-two percent go for article research, seventy-six percent to find new resources, or experts, and seventy-three percent to find press releases.

And, keep in mind that 27 million people use Yahoo News and Google News to find their information.

So, how do we target those 27 million people?

By formatting our press releases to be picked up in those major search engines.

According to Neilson/NetRatings, the unique audiences of Yahoo News and Google News now rival the online audiences of other current events and global news destinations such as CNN and BBC News. In fact, Yahoo News and Google News now reach audiences that are equivalent to those of major search engines like Ask Jeeves and AltaVista.

Getting into Yahoo News is a little tricky if you don’t want to pay for placement. If you are willing to shell out $80 at PRWeb (www.prweb.com), then you’ll make it. Google News is easier. PRLeap (www.prleap.com) will send your press release to Google News for free.

But, keep in mind that you are also going to have to pay attention to your key search words and phrases to get the full impact of distribution.

If you are unsure of how to create a press release, you can do two things.

One, go to www.ducttapemarketing.com/Instant-Press-Release.htm. The Instant Press Release Tool they have on their web site allows anyone to create a strong, media attention-grabbing, perfectly formatted press release by simply filling in the blanks. If you have never written a press release before, you will find that you can create a professional-looking press release in a matter of minutes, plus it’s FREE.

Or, two, you can go to PRWeb, for instance, and put your topic in search and see how others have done theirs to give you ideas on what to put in yours. This is, in fact, the method I used to learn how to write press releases.

I also found an interesting web site, Bill Stoller’s PublicityInsider.com, that gives you ideas on how to create your own press release. Visit www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp.

Once you have learned how to write your press release, it’s time to turn your own press release into one that the media is going to pick up.

The main thing to remember is to have those key search words they are looking for. Pick a few key words that they might use and insert them, not only in the title, but throughout the body of your press release.

For example, I promoted my online writing group’s free eBook, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Getting Published, by using the keywords “FREE e-book for writers.” Those are the words I wanted the search engines to pick up. By using the words “FREE e-book for writers” not only in the title, but also the body of the press release, I was able to gain maximum exposure in the search engines in which my press releases showed up.

I have found that there are a lot of authors who underestimate the power of the press release. And, if they do utilize this wonderful (and FREE in most cases) way to promote their books or eBooks and make the mistake of placing their press release on only one or two press release web sites, they are making a huge mistake. To get the full impact, you need to submit your press release to as many press release web sites as you can and all at once.

If you're aiming to sell your books online, using the free press release websites can be to your advantage!