Here are a couple of scenarios where it makes sense to manually email your press release to key journalists instead of using a distribution services:

Your News is of Local Interest

Press release distribution websites are handy if your news is of somewhat general interest or wide appeal. But it might not be worth the cost (or even be helpful) when your news is only of local interest.

At the same time, there’s no guarantee your local media will even use those distribution sites as sources, meaning your news might never get into the right hands.

This is an ideal time to send your press release directly to local journalists and bloggers who care about your news. It’s a chance to cultivate those relationships, which is the most important part of routinely being able to land media coverage.

Your News is Industry-Specific

Similar to local news, sometimes your news is of significant importance within your industry, but more general media outlets won’t care. So wasting time and money on generic distribution websites isn’t worth it.

Instead, email your news release directly to journalists at industry publications. That includes trade magazines, broader-interest magazines with sections dedicated to your industry, industry newsletters, blogs, and other industry websites.

Again, this is about cultivating relationships, so pay attention to each journalist’s rules for submitting news, and get to know their audiences. If you give them garbage they can’t work with, they won’t take later pitches from you as seriously. But if you regularly give them what their readers (or listeners, subscribers, or viewers) want, you might become a go-to source.

These are the two most common situations where it makes sense to bypass press release distribution sites and focus your efforts on manually distributing your news to the media. But manual press release distribution is something you should use every time you have news to put out. Distribution sites might help you get picked up in smaller outlets — and there’s a longer-shot chance they’ll earn you placement in bigger ones. But don’t rely on off-chance coverage.

The best results come to those who go out there and earn them. So if you want coverage in Publication A, get your press release directly to the best editor at Publication A — every time.

Need help drafting a press release? Contact me and let’s talk about your company’s news.

The post When Manual Press Release Distribution Makes Sense appeared first on Pro Business Writer.

First though, let’s look at a problematic middle ground of sorts — the media blast.

What is a Media Blast?

A media blast falls somewhere between manual press release distribution and using a distribution site to send your news out into the world.

This is when you might manually build your media list, but you’ll take a “spray and pray” approach to distributing your release. You send it out in a mass email newsletter (or some similar method), hitting dozens, if not hundreds, of journalists in one shot.

In other words, it’s lazy press release distribution.

It’s also not particularly effective and can get you, or your clients, blacklisted from coverage with some blogs and media outlets.

What’s Wrong With Media Blasts?

The problem with media blasts is there’s no personalization, and often little-to-no selective targeting.

Journalists tend to hate being on the receiving end of these pitches (as do bloggers) because the news sent to them is frequently a bad fit for their readership. There’s nothing to tell them why you think the news is of value to their audience. And frankly, they (we) can see these pitches in huge volume.

That means not only is your pitch less effective because you haven’t taken the time to tailor it to a specific journalist and what they’re looking for, but also that you’re just another fish in a very big pond, and your news release will very likely drown there.

In my next post we’ll look at a better alternative in manual press release distribution (and yes, it does involve more work — but, I promise, it’s worth it). In the meantime, if you’ve been tempted to send out a media blast, do journalists (and yourself) a favor. Don’t.

If you have news to share and you haven’t written your own release yet, get in touch if you’d like a professional press release writer to handle the writing for you.

The post What’s Wrong With a Media Blast? appeared first on Pro Business Writer.

While I write press releases for clients, I no longer run a full-service PR firm, so I don’t take on distribution. So instead, I want to go over some of the basics with you if you opt to do this yourself. Let’s explore some important dos and don’ts that can increase your chances of media coverage and help you avoid getting in hot water with journalists.

4 Dos for Press Release Distribution

If you want earned media (coverage you aren’t paying publications for), you have to think beyond yourself. Your news has to be about consumers of the media you’re targeting.

But having something interesting and newsworthy to say isn’t enough. You have to get your press release into the hands of the right people. Here are some tips to help you do that.

1. DO use a well-targeted media list.

Not all of your press release distribution has to be manual. But you should be building relationships with key journalists and bloggers who cover your industry.

As you build those relationships, reach out directly to those people when you have news you feel would be a good fit for their outlet. You can’t expect them to stumble across your release just because you’ve put it out over a newswire.

2. DO put your press release online.

Those one-on-one relationships aside, you should still put your press release online.

While you’re manually targeting key media outlets, there are countless smaller publications and blogs that could amplify your story’s reach. But chances are, you don’t know most of them yet.

Putting your press release online through a distribution service makes it possible for people you would never think to pitch to find your story and cover your news.

3. DO include relevant media.

Would high-resolution photos be appropriate if a journalist wanted to pick up your story? Do you have a video that provides more background? Include these things in some way, even if it’s just a link where they can be accessed or downloaded.

Not all journalists will bother to contact you to see if you have these things available. But if you provide them when you initially distribute your press release, you’re giving those reporters what they need to do their job. The easier you make things on them, the more valuable a resource you are.

4. DO experiment with distribution times.

It makes sense that you’d want to put your news out on a weekday morning, getting in front of journalists on days they’re working, and before everyone else. Right?

Here’s the thing about that — everyone else is thinking the same way. So if you aren’t getting coverage when you put press releases out at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday mornings, try releasing your next one in the afternoon or (*gasp*) over the weekend.

Sure, some in the media might not see your news then. But for those who do, you’ll stand out rather than being just one of dozens of stories they’re bombarded with during more popular press release distribution times.

3 Don’ts for Press Release Distribution

Even a perfectly-written press release can fall short if you screw up its distribution. Here are some big — and all too common — mistakes. Speaking as both a PR professional and a writer who can receive dozens of press releases every month, pretty please, don’t do these three things.

1. DON’T demand immediate action.

I used to run a fairly well-known regional music publication where I constantly received press releases from artists, record labels, and venues. One time I received a press release from a manager of one of those venues. It was well-tailored — an event press release / media advisory with a nicely-written personalized invitation.

They were hoping I’d write up a spotlight on them, and they wanted me to check the place out during an event with some of the biggest local acts performing. Normally I’d be all for that. It was perfectly-handled actually.

But there was one problem.

The email came in on an early Friday afternoon. And they wanted someone there that evening.

I didn’t have any contributors in that area I could assign this to, especially last-minute. So it would have fallen on me. And I still had to finish work for that day. I’d have to put myself together. I’d need to squeeze in a bit of background research. And I’d need to make a two-hour trip to get there. Not happening.

That was back in my somewhat more polite days, so after telling the manager he was delusional, I said I’d consider setting something up another time, but not tied to that event. He understood. We actually became friends, and I even hosted a couple of charity shows there with my own clients down the road.

But that’s very much an exception.

Most journalists would be pissed off (if they didn’t immediately delete it or die of laughter first). Don’t be “that guy” who thinks your news is “drop everything and fawn all over us” good.

I promise you. It’s not.

Always respect journalists’ time. Your pitch itself is already an intrusion on it.

2. DON’T send press releases to people who don’t want them.

Okay. So this is actually tricky. No journalist wants crap press releases littering their inbox. So don’t spam things to overly-generic lists hoping for a few bites.

But let’s assume you’re a semi-responsible individual. Your release itself rocks. And you have a well-targeted media list. You still might get in trouble with some reporters (and especially bloggers who will sometimes “out” you because they can rant publicly at a moment’s notice — not the kind of coverage you’re looking for).

When you build your media list, it’s not enough to know someone covers your industry. Find out if they actually accept news releases before you add their contact information to your pitch list. Many do. Some do not. At the very least, read their contact page carefully. If they specifically say they don’t accept press releases, don’t send them one. Ever. Find another way to connect if you want a relationship with that person or the outlet they write for.

3. DON’T post your release to dozens of free distribution sites.

This is an old school SEO press release distribution tactic. Some people still promote this service. If you’re thinking about hiring someone to mass-submit your news release to dozens, or hundreds, of distribution websites for quick backlinks, don’t. They’re screwing you over.

I won’t go into this in detail because I already did when talking about SEO press releases, but the real value isn’t in links from distribution sites. It’s in the links you get from legitimate media outlets, or blogs, that run your story. Google doesn’t give press release distribution site links much weight anymore because they were being spammed for years. So don’t waste your time (or your money hiring someone to do this).

If you use a press release distribution service, one is enough. Make it a premium one that can reach the kinds of media outlets you’re seeking coverage from. If you want it online elsewhere so you can promote it via social media, put it on your own website as well.

Look. These are far from the only dos and don’ts you should be following. But they’re some of the most important things to keep in mind when it comes to press release distribution.

You want to stand out because of your news itself. You don’t want to stand out by being that jerk who wasted a journalist’s time, spammed a blogger you hoped to build a relationship with, or published too many garbage releases for SEO’s sake to be missed.

Get on the wrong side of journalists once, and you could stay there even if you try to clean up your act later.

Feeling ready to distribute a press release? You need to have it written first? Get in touch and let a professional writer (and experienced PR pro) handle it for you.

The post Press Release Distribution Dos & Don’ts appeared first on Pro Business Writer.

Header

When writing a press release, you should always include a header with the contact person’s name and contact information (such as phone number and email address). Beneath the contact information, you should type FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. (For online press releases, contact information may be placed at the bottom.)

Headline

You should write a catchy, yet informative, headline (or title) for your press releases. This should be centered a few lines below your header information, and can be placed in all bold type. While some people like to use all CAPS when typing a headline, you should avoid that. Many online news services (press release distribution sites or newswires) won’t accept a title in all caps.

Summary

This is an optional 1-4 sentences briefly summarizing the news angle of a press release. This is traditionally added to news releases when the company plans to utilize online press release distribution sites or newswires. If the release is being distributed manually offline (such as via fax), a sub-heading can still be used in its place.

Dateline

Every press release you write should have the date included. The dateline usually occurs in one of two places: either under the header and before the headline, or at the beginning of the press release body, along with the city and state. For example: New York, NY – March 14, 2006 – ‘Body of your press release here.’

Press Release Body

The body of every press release that you write should answer the questions of who, what, when, where, and why. Ideally, these questions will be answered in the first paragraph of your press release, and you’ll expand upon the details in a following paragraph. Quotes are often effective in the body of a press release, as long as they’re not testimonials (not promotional in nature).

Boilerplate

At the end of your actual news, you should include a standard boilerplate. This can be a simple paragraph talking about the business, organization, or individual presenting the news found in the press release. It’s your opportunity to give background information and statistics about who you are and what you do.

Call to Action

Add a line after your boilerplate similar to: “For more information, please contact Your Contact Name at Your Phone Number.” This can simply be a repeat of the contact information presented in your header.

Media Instructions / References

At the very end of your release, before the closing, you should include any details about photos or other materials you’ve included or referenced (such as naming the individuals in the photo), and include any media instructions if the release is in reference to an event they may be interested in covering (such as where they can park and set up their equipment).

Closing

You should always end a press release with ### or -30- centered at the bottom of the page. That tells the reader that they’ve reached the end of your release, and there are no additional pages. If you do have more than one page because of addenda being attached or because it’s a long release, you should use the -more- tag at the bottom of every page but the last one.

The post How to Write a Press Release appeared first on Pro Business Writer.