prMac is a web based service Press Release distribution service, specifically for Apple Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad related products and services.

AppleUsers.org now uses them to publish announcements about the latest issue of the AppleUsers Spotlight and we also use it to find out about new products and services that we can review and promote in the Spotlight.

Apple User Groups may also be interested in subscribing to prMac’s free services.

prMac offers two sorts of accounts… one for receiving Press Releases and other for distributing your own press releases (which can also receive other people’s press releases).

User Group Webmasters and Newsletter Editors would probably find the first account type most useful, whilst Publicity Officers would find the ability to send their Press Releases to an audience of Apple focussed journalists, bloggers and interested parties extremely benefical.

Some of the categories that Press Releases can be posted to include;

• Announcements
• FileMaker
• Gaming
• Hardware
• iPad
• iPhone
• iPod
• iWork
• Mac OSX
• Promotions
• Publishing
• Seminars and Events
• Services
• Tips and How To
• User Groups
• WWDC

You can see the full list over at prMac’s website and you can select to receive Press Releases from only the categories that interest you. You can read these on the prMac website or have them sent directly to your mailbox.

Webmasters may also be interested in the various automated feeds prMac offer that allow you to integrate Releases directly into your own website.

If you elect to use prMac to send Press Releases, then you have two distribution choices – Free or Extended.

In both cases you use their web interface to write the Press Release, with separate fields for the Heading, a Summary, the full announcement text, then various fields for including hyperlinks to websites and images.

Free Distribution includes;

• Listing on prMac.com Section Page
• Listing on prMac.com Home Page
• Subscribed User Email
• RSS/XML Inclusion
• Searching

and distribution is delayed three days from when you submit your Press Release.
For many User Groups, this option would be quite suitable for typical meeting announcements and is what we currently use here at AppleUsers.org.

Extended Distribution costs US$19.75 per release and includes all the services included in the Free Distribution option PLUS;

• Same Day Distribution
• Improved Placement
• Ping RSS Aggregators
• News Agency Email, which includes many major Apple related news sites

You can purchase bulk packages of the Extended Distribution releases to save money.

prMac also offers a Press Release Writing service for those that would like assistance in producing professional quality Press Releases, or just don’t have the time to write them themselves.

Register @ prMac