How to Send a Press Release

A Press Release is an important marketing tool for small businesses and can help get your company noticed. But how do you create and send a press release to the local media in your area? This article will help to teach you how to submit your press release to news outlets and other media sources. It'll also go over how to write a press release and the best press release distribution services that will work well with your small business.

If you want help with creating and distributing your press release, then check out our review of the Best Press Release Services of 2021 and find the service that will work best for your business.

How Press Release Distribution Works

Press release services work through a network of freelance journalists. These journalists work together through a syndication network to bring your press release to as many journalists and media outlets as possible. Through this pool of correspondences, your press release is widely shared with different outlets, hopefully leading to heavy coverage of your news story.

Importance of Good Press Release Writing

For journalists to take your press releases seriously, you must make an impression on them. This means having a well-written press release that captures the reader’s attention. You also want to appeal to journalists and your media contacts when writing directly to them. For example, if submitting a press release email to specific journalists, make sure your subject line grabs their attention.

But, before you send your release, pick media contacts and journalists that are most likely to publish your releases. To distribute a press release using email it is a good idea to structure your email in the format of a miniature press release. This will increase the chances that media contacts and journalists open your attached press release.

As for writing a newsworthy press release, you have several options:

  • Hire a great writer. You can find journalists by locating their names and email address on their already newsworthy published articles. Most journalist's name is attached to a social media account where they also list their phone number.
  • Distribute a press release through a press release submission company. Some of these companies offer press release writing services along with their press release submission packages. Both SiteTrail and eReleases include free press release writing in their offerings.
  • Write it yourself. The best way to write a press release yourself is by using a press release template. We can teach you how to write a press release journalists are more likely to read.

How to Send Your Press Release to Local Media

If you decided you would like to write and submit a press release on your own, here are the steps you will need to take to send it to your local media.

  1. Learn who your local media and reporters are. This will require a little time and effort but will help you know how to write your press release and who will be the most interested in your content and services so you don't waste time.
  2. Create a list of the local media you plan to send a press release to. Each outlet will have their own process and format for how you will write and send your press release to them. Usually, the media or news source will have information for how to do this on their website.
  3. Write your press release. You want to make sure that you are formatting your press release correctly and that it is grammatically correct. Learning API format is helpful and it also is a good idea to possibly hire a writer for your press release because having the correct abbreviations and formatting is important. There are also plenty of free press release templates and examples available as well.
  4. Send your press release to only 1 person from each local media source. You have to be careful not to over send or bombard the media sources, they are people too.
  5. End your press release with either "###" or "-30-" placed in the center of the page a few enter spaces below the end of your last paragraph. The pound signs or number 30 indicating to media that there is no further text and that they have the full document.

It's important to remember that not every media source or reporter will respond to your submission. Patience is a good thing to have while creating and sending your press release. You may have to rewrite and resend your press release more than once.

Press Release Distribution Services

By far, the best way to ensure that your press release distribution is effective is to use a professional press release distributor. Using a press release service is a great way to get your news out there These companies help ensure you're targeting journalists interested in your company's news. This is crucial because many people use search engines to discover newsworthy items.

Effective press release distribution allows you to target a specific audience. There are a few other ways that you can use a press release service, but if you're just looking for one great way to distribute your news, then this is the best option.

Recommended: Read our best press release distribution review to learn about the best press release distribution options available.

Focusing on User Intent

Another way to ensure your press release distribution is successful is to focus on user intent and experience. By offering something easy to use and understand, you appeal to a wider range of users.

Outlets that specialize in news and information are a great place to start; if you can provide a great user experience that is both intuitive and easy to navigate, then you will likely succeed at gaining distribution from these outlets. The best press release services will give the journalist everything they need without bogging them down with too much information that they aren't interested in.

Social Network Press Release Distribution

It's a good idea to consider social media sites as a great way to distribute your press release if you're going to take the time to send a press release email. Like with sending a press release email, you'll want to pay particular attention to your social media message's subject line so it captures the attention of journalists. The subject line should read like the subject line in your press release. And, regardless of the social media outlet, the story ideas should include a pitch and relevant newsworthy content that appeals to editors.

In particular, you may want to look at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Each of these sites has a high level of traffic, and by creating accounts for yourself or for your business, you can get instant publicity from these websites. These platforms are useful for finding out contact information for various media and news outlets and you can usually extract a list of journalists so you can send a submission quickly.

Practical Advice for Writing Press Releases

Some people may think that it would be difficult to find a good news outlet for their press release, but it's actually not that hard. Most journalists are used to writing about a variety of different topics so when you give them a story that they are more likely to be interested in covering, you will be much more successful.

Other good tactics include the following:

  • Talking to journalists directly to get published
  • Making your headlines attention-grabbing
  • Keeping your copy well-written and easy to read
  • Using press release templates
  • Modeling your press release after successfully published press releases

PRO TIP: If you can, talk to a few different journalists to see who could benefit from a story on your business. You might also contact local newspapers or television stations, but you should remember that they may have a more narrow focus of interest. You'll have to decide which avenue is best for your particular story.

Free Press Release Distribution vs. Paid Distribution

Once you have written an interesting news article, the next step is to send your press release to a reliable media list. Sending to a media list can help you get wider media coverage and bring to life your news story faster. Besides sending to a media list, there are a variety of free online article directories to send your press release also. For example, Ezine Articles, Go Articles, and ArticleBase are some of the most popular and frequently used by journalists and other media professionals.

The easiest way to get your content in front of potentially thousands of relevant journalists is to find a quality press release service that will allow you to publish your articles to its directory or feeder site for a cost.

Recommended: SiteTrail has a great reputation, a wide distribution network, will write your press releases, and do it all for a lower cost than most.

Press Release Distribution FAQs

Why do companies issue press releases?

Companies issue press releases for a variety of reasons. Most often it is to help with public relations and to share their news story with others outside the company. Their hope is to get coverage to help with their marketing efforts. For example, if rolling out a new product, a company may issue a press release to inform its target audience, industry, and others about its new rollout while it sends out advertisements during the same period. When the target audience learns of the news through its targeted advertising campaigns, these customers may search online for more news, and by having the press release published these individuals are much more likely to become customers. The key is to make the news relevant to the publication and its target audience because these industry publications are usually the first sources customers visit to get more information.

Press releases help increase coverage of news through SEO because of the authority an online publication or website has. The more authority an online publication or website has the more search traffic back to the company's website. This is further helped when the journalist breaking the news has recognized authority in the industry. A notable publication and journalist can greatly help a company's public relations and SEO results.

How do I write a press release?

Press releases are an effective way to generate free media coverage for your business. The best way to write a press release is to have a professional write one for you. However, it’s possible to write your own press release.

Your first step should be deciding what your goals are, your press release objectives, and your metrics.

Follow these basic tips on how to write a press release:

  1. Get a press release template.
  2. Brainstorm a powerful, attention-grabbing headline.
  3. Structure your paragraphs in order of importance, starting with the most important content.
  4. Add powerful and credible quotes to your press release to make it easy for journalists to use in their reporting.
  5. Make sure to add your company information.

What is a press release?

A press release, also called a news release, is an officially published statement issued to the media for the express purpose of giving information, an announcement, or even making an admission. In today's society, a lot of people are turning to the internet to get everything they want.

Submitting a press release is the best way to get your marketing message out in front of your publics. This is because the internet is a vast array of information that is constantly updated and so what is said online stays online, so you need to make sure whatever you say on the internet is well-researched and has a sound reason to be there.

How do I send a press release?

If you're just starting out with your new online marketing campaign, you probably have a lot to learn about how to send a press release. This powerful marketing tool enables you to give more information about your product or service in an informative way, often in the form of a news article rather than a sales pitch.

As a result, it can be very time-consuming to learn how to send a press release, but if you follow these key strategies, you'll be well on your way to learning how to write a great press release. Also, you'll learn why it's important to submit original press releases — submitting boring templated articles to traditional media outlets can be a huge mistake. Finally, you'll learn about the specific guidelines that make good press releases stand out from the rest.

Steps to send a press release:

  1. Partner with a proven and reliable press release distribution service provider (preferably one that offers press release writing services).
  2. Check the press release before signing off on it.
  3. Let the press release distribution company send your press release to targeted media and news outlets.

Make sure to submit original press releases as they need to be company-specific and fit your brand and overall marketing strategy. Copying other press releases can detract from the brand, and you run the risk of losing your brand authority.

To stand out from the crowd, write a powerful press release headline that instantly grabs the attention of readers. If readers aren’t interested in the headline, they won’t stick around to read the news.


How do I format a press release?

There are a lot of advantages of knowing how to format a press release. Besides making it look more professional, a well-formatted press release will allow the media to pick up your story faster and give you an opportunity to give details about the new product or service you're offering.

In short, good formatting makes it easier for the press release to be read and lets readers know what you're up to. It can even make the difference between landing on the front page and the next category.

Here are some basic tips on how to format a press release to get you started:

  1. Use a press release template to write your press release.
  2. Create a press release headline that draws attention and explains straightaway what your news is about.
  3. Write the most important aspects of your press release first.
  4. Use a boilerplate template to list your company information at the bottom of the press release.

Related Articles