press release distribution - Express Writers

How to Distribute a Press Release for Maximum ROI

September 14, 2022May 8, 2020 by Adam Oakley

This post was originally published in October, 2013 and completely updated in May, 2020. Your well-crafted press release is sizzling and ready to see the world. There’s just one more hurdle to leap over before the job is done: who (and where) should you send it to? There are two main tactics for how to release a press release. The first stems from the old days. It involves subscribing to a syndication service. The second is a modern approach: developing personal relationships with journalists. Both are valid options, depending on the needs and budget of your brand. We’ll explore both methods, as well as best practices for releasing your news so you can make a solid press release plan. Let’s dive in! [bctt tweet=”Your well-crafted press release is sizzling and ready to see the world. There’s just one more hurdle to leap over before the job is done: who (and where) should you send it to? Find out via @JuliaEMcCoy:” username=”ExpWriters”] The Traditional Method: Distributing Via the Wire Want to read thousands of journalists, influencers, bloggers, reporters, and editors in one shot? Consider using a press release syndication service. Here are a few of the top service providers: Newswire Cision (PR Newswire, PR Web) Businesswire Muck Rack PR Fire Response Source Press Release Wire 24-7 Press Release While this method is fast and easy, it isn’t free. Leading distributor Newswire costs between $150 to $800 for a single PR, which may push it out of the price range of up-and-coming brands. If your brand has the budget and is looking for a wide reach, the time-saving investment may be worth it. However, it’s worth noting that professionals report high ROI from relationships with journalists, and caution against sending too many cold, impersonal PRs via the wire. Let’s say you’re still growing your media list, though, and you’re not sure where to pitch. Using a syndication service can quickly reveal which publications are interested in your news, allowing you to skip the step of in-depth research in your quest to build lasting relationships with journalists. That’s why using distribution services are part of a balanced PR strategy. The Modern Strategy: Building Your Media List on Relationships Beyond saving time, the biggest benefit of investing in big-name syndication services is that they build a media list for you and track your results. If it’s your first rodeo, that simplification can seem like a boon. But it comes at a cost: By relying on press release distribution services rather than building a personalized media list, your brand will grow to depend on those same services. However, it’s possible to construct a valuable media list on your own and start building relationships right away. According to Gil Eyal from the Forbes Agency Council, this improves PR results because you’re pitching to people who are genuinely interested in your news. It’s a more personal approach, and it’s the way the PR industry is moving. It isn’t hard to future-proof your brand’s media outreach and drive down your PR budget. It all starts with building your own media list. Here’s how. 1. Find Your Target Audience Consider who you’re trying to reach with your press release: customers, investors, or industry leaders? Ask yourself a few simple questions: How old is my audience? What background demographic do they come from? Where do they get their news? Here’s an example of how to find your target audience. Let’s say you’re writing a press release for a portable blender brand. Your goal is to increase sales for the newest model and spur brand awareness, so your audience is potential customers. Your audience includes: Health-conscious people Fitness-minded people Gym owners Eco-friendly people People who enjoy tech and gadgets Retailers who sell cooking gadgets Based on this target audience, your media list should start here: Fitness and health magazines Food and cooking magazines Home and lifestyle magazines Fitness and health influencers and blogs Eco-friendly, yoga, and vegan influencers Trade press publications targeting retailers Journalists regularly curating kitchen gadget lists and smoothie recipes Stumped on which publications to pitch to? A quick Google News search with your keyword or topic will help you brainstorm. 2. Zero In On Your Goal Publications Always read a few articles, posts, or blogs first. This will save a TON of time in the long run, and prevent you from making the reputation-damaging blunder of barking up the wrong tree. Short on time? Here’s a quick checklist. A. Check the publication’s reach. For blogs, check the Alexa ranking. A score 100,000 or below means they have a wide reach. For social influencers, look at their follower count. For news publications, check out their social media activity as well as the average comments per article. B. Watch out for low activity. Any online publication, influencer, or blog that posts less than once a month (a snail’s pace on the internet) is likely not reaching enough people to warrant sending a PR. The exception: monthly print publications like trade journals. C. Look for articles or posts in your niche. If you can’t find any, it’s probably not the right publication for you. D. Click on the byline and read the bio. Most writers include social handles in their bios. Jumpstart your online relationship by sharing one of their articles on your brand’s social media page. E. Reach out on Twitter. Many journalists include a work email in their Twitter bio. If they don’t, try sending a professional direct message. F. No luck on Twitter? Try LinkedIn. If you’re looking to pitch to a large news outlet, you can often find their roster in the “People” section of their company LinkedIn page. G. If you can’t find who you’re looking for, call. Dust off your landline and look for the editor’s phone number of the section you’re pitching to. 3. Create Your Media List Use a simple, easy-to-edit spreadsheet. Journalists change publications often, so the focus of the media list should be on specific publications interested in … Read more

The Wicked Witch of Online Syndication is Dead: Why We’re No Longer Offering Syndicated Press Release Distribution

December 31, 2020October 31, 2016 by Adam Oakley

$6,100.00. That’s what one big brand was spending per month on press release distribution, according to a study by marketing agency owner Tim Grice, posted on Moz in 2012. That’s a huge number. For the past year now, at Express Writers, we’ve offered syndicated online press release distribution to all of our customers, at rates well below what our former news partner charged on their own site. Our clients got a good deal—and we felt happy to offer it to them. That is, until this October—when we stood back and looked at the actual benefit of online, syndicated news. I even got two experts on the line to help me dig up solid truths about this industry. (I’m indebted to Steve Rayson at BuzzSumo for pulling metrics and data for me, and Tim Grice at Branded3 for an updated quote.) Our findings weren’t good, by any means. That’s why we’re calling our findings the wicked witch of online press syndication and turning it into a Halloween post. Here’s the (in the spirit of Halloween—cold, dead) truth: if you’re paying for syndicated news, you might just be wasting every single dollar you sink into that channel. Don’t just be frightened by the witch: know the facts and make an informed decision the next time you choose to put your money into syndicated news (or not). The Story Behind the Study: What Inspired Me to Take a Deeper Look at Press Release Distribution I’d noticed a pattern: in 2012, when we started offering distribution, I saw amazing, fast results in Google. For instance, one press release we did back then was about a stuffed toy. Their keyword, a solid, low competition long-tail, ranked #3 in Google in just days—the #3 result was their actual PRWeb release. Now that was value! But I haven’t seen this happen since that day. And we’re talking out of dozens to hundreds of press releases that our team has written and distributed by now. On average, we distribute 6-10 press releases for clients in a month. We have so many clients that complain about the reports we send them. “This is all the data and results we get?” And the truth is: we didn’t really have an answer for them. The quality of the news results online was finicky. I’d see an online Fox station pick it up—and then it would be gone the next day, when I was ready to send the link to the client. Results weren’t permanent. And nothing showed in the first page of Google for their (great) long-tail news keywords. The more I saw this happening, the more I realized I needed to research syndicated distribution. A bad feeling in my gut drove me to do it before we renewed our contract this year. And sure enough, what I found was pretty dire. To make my research and findings official, I got in touch with my friend Steve Rayson, Director at BuzzSumo, for an exclusive study: and even got in touch personally with Tim Grice from Branded3.com, the author of the Moz piece, for some updated findings. Let’s dive in to the findings. Interview with Tim Grice: The Cold, Hard, Dead Truth of Syndicated Online Press Release Distribution Here’s what Tim Grice had to say, when I sat down with him to discuss his Moz post and what he’d say about online press syndication currently as it stands in 2016. Julia: You shared your findings on how budgets are being wasted with online press release syndication, back in 2012. Would you say it’s become an even bigger waste of budget in 2016? Or have you seen brands adapting, and investing less in online PR? Tim: The Moz post is specifically referring to online PR syndication (PR Newswire, etc). SEO agencies and in-house teams were using them as a primary link building channel, firing out boring stories that got absolutely no pick up and the online links created were from low value directories. In 2008, it worked really well to game Google’s rankings: but by 2012, it should have been on its way out. Not so much. Link building was becoming difficult and it was the easy go-to option for many agencies. Here’s the thing: if anyone is using syndication for links today, they should be fired. [clickToTweet tweet=”There is no value in press release syndication for SEO purposes. – @Tim_Grice” quote=”There is no value in press release syndication for SEO purposes. – @Tim_Grice”] Journalists are already inundated with companies offering up information for free, and there is no need to check a press wire. Julia: Why is online PR a bad idea for a link building investment? Tim: Online PR done right is not a bad idea, syndicating crap stories around the web for a handful of links on press wires is a terrible SEO strategy; no relevance, no authority, no trust. Creating genuinely insightful content or offering up unique data and selling it indirectly to journalists and bloggers is the right approach to online PR (done right, you can generate hundreds of high authority links from a single campaign). Julia: Is there any good form of online syndication? Tim: Not that I am aware of. [clickToTweet tweet=”Anything designed to create quick, easy links is almost always a waste of time and money. -@Tim_Grice” quote=”Anything designed to create quick, easy links is almost always a waste of time and money. -@Tim_Grice”] Julia: What is a much better way to invest revenue to boost your online marketing, instead of online PR? Tim: Done right, online PR can return good ROI as well as high authority links, however the fact is that where you invest will depend purely on the gaps in your strategy. From an SEO stand point, if you rank in the top five you’ve probably got enough links to be position one, and you should work on the technical side of it, CTR’s, mobile and great content. Final word… [clickToTweet tweet=”Syndication is never a good investment, and I would opt for any other tactic. – … Read more

A Comprehensive PR Writing Guide with Press Release Examples

January 1, 2021December 9, 2013 by Adam Oakley

Press releases are pretty straightforward. They only deal with facts and you don’t have to worry about convincing people to buy a product that they’re not really interested in. So, writing a PR shouldn’t be any trouble at all, right? Wrong. Why You Need To Follow Press Release Examples A lot of writers that happen to be brilliant creative writers can still struggle with Press Releases. One of the main problems that some writers come across when writing press releases is trying to keep everything concise. A lot of writers might be used to padding out their work and looking for extra little tidbits that will help them reach their target word count. The press release is a completely different beast though. Sometimes the best idea is for a writer to look at a press release example to get a feel of how a good PR should look and feel. The Search Is On Now, you would think that looking for press release examples would be fairly easy. Uncle Google provides plenty of answers to more complex questions every day. But then when you type those three small words in to the little box and hit enter — you get more than you bargained for. Which Example Is Best? There are small press releases and large press releases. There are press releases by industry and press releases by date. With all these examples, how do you know which one will suit your specific needs? In order to figure this out, you’ll need to know what your needs are. How much do you really know about writing a press release? What kind of questions do you need to have answered before you can write the perfect PR? Let’s start from the beginning. What Do You Need to Consider? Press releases are solely for newsworthy events. This is an extremely strict rule (although one that many people break regularly); but that doesn’t mean that PRs can’t cover a whole host of subjects. They could be about anything from a merger between companies to a business offering a discount for some reason. 1. What’s it about? Make a note of the news that you need to write about in the press release. If a company is opening its doors for the first time in a while, look for similar PRs by typing in search terms that might be used for your company. 2. How should it read? The examples that are thrown out from this search will more than likely give you an idea on the style and tone of a press release (hint: it’s not conversational like a blog, PRs are serious stuff!) as well as how the press release should be presented. Generally speaking, a PR should be made up of around 4 paragraphs that give details of a company’s news to interested parties. 3. What should it include? You’ll notice that PRs won’t use any more words than necessary to tell the facts of the story. This is for two reasons. One: the structure of a press release is designed to give all the major details at the very start of the article to make sure the reader gets all the important information even if they don’t finish reading the full piece. And two: to make sure the important information isn’t cut off if the editor decides to shorten the article. Templates Because the basics of press release writing follow the same rules, the structure of PRs can be quite uniform. So it stands to reason that as well as studying a live version of a press release example for content ideas, many writers like to use templates to write their news releases as well. There are a number of good programs that utilize press release templates: Word – As part of the Microsoft Office suite, Word is a popular choice for many writers. Typing “press release” in the search box for online templates will give several options for PR templates that the user can fill their own details in for a quick and professional look. Microsoft Publisher – Writers can follow step by step instructions from one of the thousands of ‘How To’ articles online and make their own template using a program like Microsoft Publisher. They can then save the template and use it every time they need to write a press release. Due to the uniformity of PRs, writers should be able to use the same template each time with minimal amount of tweaks. PRWeb: PRWeb is one of the top leading sites to distribute press releases online. It has the highest amount of traffic and the most-shared news stories in terms of press releases. Here’s an example of a press release we wrote for PRWeb (note the correct title, subtitle & formatting overall): Anyone Can Write a Press Release This is absolutely true. Anyone can have a go at writing press releases — in the same way that anyone could have a go at driving a car or walking a tight rope; not everyone can be successful at it. Anyone trying to write a press release and knows how to follow good press release examples needs to remember some fundamental points about how it should look, how it should read and what it needs to contain. Looking at one press release example can help with this. But looking at a number of examples that show both ends of the spectrum will give an even better idea. Things to Remember Press releases don’t have to be the most complicated thing in the world. Remember to: Use a bold headline to grab attention List the news first and tell people everything they need to know in detail Look at other PRs for a similar event within the same industry. Make notes on what does and doesn’t work Answer the main questions that everyone needs to know “who, where, what, why, when and how?” DO NOT sell anything to anyone. A press release is always objective and only … Read more

When to Release a Press Release for High Response

January 1, 2021October 19, 2013 by Adam Oakley

Timing matters in love, conversations, and in PR distribution strategies like deciding when to release a press release. What you want is to be at the top of the inbox the moment a news editor sits down to begin his search for the newsworthy. When asked when to release a press release, we always say there is no guarantee, but you can increase your chances by making sure your perfectly-written PR is not buried under loads of spam. 10 Factors To Consider When Strategizing The Best Times To Release a Press Release Let’s start our discussion on when to release a press release with a couple of fast facts about editors (your first audience). The information below may seem obvious and silly, but they will impact your PR distribution strategy. Most people, including editors, are at sleep at 4 A.M. People don’t check their emails and read PRs while driving. Very few check their emails while they are eating. Sunday is a rest day. Other countries may be in different time zones. People hate working at the end of the business day, which is sometime between 6 P.M. to 8 P.M. People check their email first thing in the morning, but not before they’ve had their first cup coffee. Holidays are not business days. People love holidays, so they think about holidays the day before holidays. Most people are asleep by midnight. If they’re not, they’re doing something more fun than reading PRs and checking emails. The best tips on when to release a press release are the painfully obvious ones, and the same is true when deciding when to release a press release. If you were an editor, on what day and at which time are you likely to be checking your email in search for an interesting new story? In strategically planning when to release a press release, remember that editors usually begin the business day by checking emails, but if you send your PR too early, expect to be outranked by other emails within an hour. Entrepreneur writes that 23.63% of all emails are opened one hour after they are sent, and the rate drops as the minutes pass. This tells us that very few editors make the effort to dig into the bottom of the pile. You should be distributing your material within the hour that it is most visible to your target audience when strategizing when to release a press release. The same Entrepreneur article adds that 8 to 9 in the morning is when click-through rates are at the highest. This is an advice that GetResponse echoes so 8 A.M. to 9 A.M. is a pretty safe period when to release a press release. Distributing a PR sometime before 9:30 A.M. is especially critical when you are writing a material that impacts stocks trading. You have to be able to send it in before the Wall Street bell rings. Is there an ideal day when to release a press release? Definitely. Editors will check their emails all throughout the business week, but you should try to avoid three things: 1) Heavy communications traffic 2) Holidays in other regions which you may not be aware of 3) Days when editors and virtually all types of workers are eager to skip out Mondays are busy days for everyone, not just editors, so prepare to be elbowed out by a ton of competition. Because of the influx of all types of communication on a Monday, working people have developed the habit of cleaning out their inbox on this day. If your PR title and email subject are not as strong as they should be, there is a greater chance of your work ending up in the virtual trash bin. So Monday’s not exactly the best day when to release a press release. The problem with Fridays is that most people are thinking “Thank Goodness!” TGIF. In their eagerness to end an exhausting week, most editors are not keen on going through a long roster of PRs. In the case of paper publications, press releases picked out on a Friday are published in the weekend edition, so that’s not an ideal situation either. Saturdays and Sundays are slow days for press release engagements. Unless you historically have a high success rate on weekends, don’t go for weekends in deciding when to release a press release. Finally, you have to take note of all the holidays that might affect your PR distribution strategy. In deciding when to release a press release, you should avoid releasing PR the day before a holiday and the holiday itself. The key is to catch editors when they are in work mode, which means they want to seek out great and informative PRs to publish. On holidays and the day before one, people are thinking about rest and recreation, and quality time with their families. So even if you have a brilliantly written PR, your target is just not in the mood for it. Include international holidays in your Smartphone or computer calendar so you get instantly alerted as you decide when to release a press release. Especially if you are targeting a global audience, you should be aware of time differences and special holidays. What time is it in London? What day is it in China? Deciding when to release a press release also involves studying business schedules in other regions not just your home city. The consideration when to release a press release has become an integral part of PR distribution especially now that competition is tough and audiences are global. If you don’t develop a keen sense when to release a press release, your well-written PR may never get the attention it deserves. Timing may not be everything in love, and conversations, but in PR distribution, strategy is everything in knowing when to release your press release. The best pointer on when to release a press release is to religiously track your own success, and … Read more

PR Tactics: When to Release a Press Release

January 1, 2021October 9, 2013 by Adam Oakley

“When to release a press release:” this is a frequently asked question in today’s PR & online marketing world. It might sound silly, but the answer matters a great deal now that everyone is vying for the (limited) attention of key online and paper publications. Even the most brilliant PR writers might be at a loss as to why their response rates are so low. Was the writing poorly done? Not necessarily. The problem might be in distribution, particularly timing. When to Release a Press Release: PR Distribution Tips To develop a keen sense of when to release a press release, PR writers ought to ask themselves a couple of simple questions: 1) When do editors check their emails? 2) How do I make sure that my email and PR land at the top of the inbox by the time editors sit down to work? 3) When are editors too busy to give my material a chance? 4) How do these factors come into play when I decide when to release a press release? If you work on answering these questions, planning when to release a press release becomes more strategic. Let’s talk about days first. When to release a press release? The best day is Thursday. Weekends are for rest and recreation. Saturdays and Sundays are usually earmarked for quality time with kids, or to catch up on hobbies. It is generally not advisable to distribute your PRs on weekends when editors aren’t thinking about work. The best days to release a press release are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Mondays are fine, but reporters, editors, and practically everyone who is working is busier on the first business day of the workweek. Getting a PR published on a Monday is like driving to work at rush hour. Remember this the next time you decide when to release a press release. Based on data provided by GetResponse, Thursdays record the most number of click-throughs compared to any other day of the week. This is a very useful pointer on when to release a press release, but remember that PRs are still news. They are meant to be timely and fresh. If a product is launched on a Monday, and you would like to send out news on how the launching went, release the PR as soon as possible: on the same day or on Tuesday. You don’t have to wait for Thursday just because we say the stats are higher then. “Strike when the iron is hot” is a good tip to remember when deciding when to release a press release. Editors couldn’t care less about old news. Also factor in holidays and vacations when you figure out when to release a press release strategically. Obviously these are very slow days, and are among the worst days for PR engagement (unless you own a retail shop or a small restaurant so your business is at its peak). For most types of businesses though, it is poor timing to send out PR: On three-day weekend holidays like 4th of July, Labor Day or Memorial Day weekend. Never go for long weekends when you pick a date to release a press release. During the Christmas week, particularly three days before Christmas Day A couple of days before the New Year and a day after Other major religious holidays in your country and abroad When is the most ideal time for distributing PR? 8:30 to 9:00 A.M. To figure out the ideal hour when to release a press release, here are some useful stats and facts from the Entrepreneur: The fewest emails are sent from midnight to 6 am because everyone is asleep probably (including PR writers and distributors) The majority of emails are sent from 6 am to noon, and click-throughs occur more between 8 A.M. to 9 A.M. In the afternoon, there is a high-click through rate from 3 P.M. to 8 P.M., but opens happen mostly from 3 P.M. to 4 P.M. Finally, most PRs sent through email are responded to within an hour after they’ve been sent. The chances of PRs being read drops after that first hour As you plan when to release a press release, take note of what these numbers tell you about the habits and schedules of editors. At 6 am, very early birds send their PRs out in the hopes of getting ahead. The problem with this tactic is that at six, editors have probably just gotten up, and are still preparing to get to work. By the time the clock strikes eight, there’ll be more than a hundred emails listed ahead of the very early bird’s PR. It won’t be noticed. Wondering when to release a press release for maximum exposure? Sometime between 8:30 A.M. and 9:00 A.M. is the best time to email in a PR. There is a greater chance that your target editor will be at his desk and ready for work. He will instantly see your material as it comes. If such clever timing is combined with catchy titles and well-written leads, you might actually get the response you are hoping for. In some cases, news breaks midday. If you don’t want to wait for the next business day to spread the buzz, email in your PR early in the afternoon. Because of high-click through rates recorded at this time, 3 P.M. to 4 P.M. is an ideal hour to release a press release. Business days usually end around 5 P.M. to 6 P.M. Editors don’t have the energy and the inclination to scout for great PRs towards the end of an exhausting day. The state of mind of your first audience (journalists and editors) is an important consideration in deciding when to release a press release. Some online resources on when to release a press release claim that people check their emails around 8 pm just to make sure they haven’t missed anything urgent. You can give it a try if you want (competition for attention might be less tough at 8 … Read more

Go Fishing Every Time You Release a Press Release

January 1, 2021September 26, 2013 by Adam Oakley

The Internet is a vast sea of information. One can only imagine the successful quantification of the information contained in the worldwide web. This sea of information, and the people accessing this information, is a great location for you to go fishing if you know when to release a press release.

A Friendly PR Reminder: The Buzz Says When to Release a Press Release

January 1, 2021September 21, 2013 by Adam Oakley

The format most (if not all) companies use when they release a press release can be simplified by their answering these questions: What’s the buzz? Where’s the buzz? Who’s in the buzz? When did the buzz happen? and How did it happen? A skillful combination of all or some of the answers to these questions makes up the entirety of your press release. Moreover, notice that all of these questions ask about one thing: buzz.

Release a Press Release That Nails Today’s PR Rules

January 1, 2021September 16, 2013 by Adam Oakley

The decision to release a press release is still smart. This classic newsy kind of material is not dead, but it has significantly changed (which is probably why it is rumored to have passed).