A press release is perhaps the best way to increase brand awareness in the market while gaining the attention of the media. Many business organizations across industries utilize press releases as their marketing tool that helps to promote their products, services, and other events. With its paramount importance, press release has a high demand among all and there are plenty of press release distribution agencies that can help to serve the purpose.
If you want to submit a press release, there are two ways to do it.
- You can hire a distribution agency, buy a package, and submit your PR content to distribute to news sites and media platforms.
- Or, you can also pitch niche journalists and send your PR content to be picked and distributed.
How to Send a Press Release?
By following the nine simple steps given below; you can submit a PR successfully and secure a feature in distribution.
1. Identify the Journalists who might be Interested
Once you perfectly crafted your press release, you need to start looking for the journalists who would be most likely to cover your story. The market is filled with thousands of journalists, reporters, and marketers. If you want to grow in your business; you need to keep an eye on the niche platforms, communities, and the industry to find out the potential journalists who would like to cover your story. Look for media professionals who work in the same field and are capable of writing on similar topics and industries.
To find the right journalists, simply go to Google and look for articles that speak about your industry and other similar products. If it is something relevant to your avenues, look for the writer or reporter who has written it and find their email ID to personally pitch them. With a fair share of research, it is recommended to find several potential journalists from niche and make a list of them.
2. Gather Contact Information
Contacts are highly crucial for any business and in this case, you have to find the contact information of the journalists. Do not just rely on one journalist. Instead of making a list of journalists along with their contact information opt for a single one. Whether it is the contact no. or the email address; make sure to gather every contact information that you help to communicate with them better. In case you are unable to get the contact information for all journalists; you can purchase a paid media database that helps to gather more attention from the professionals in the field.
3. Create a Captivating Subject Line
Do you know what journalists can read before even opening your pitch email? It is the subject line that every reader notices first and then decides to go through the whole content. The subject line helps to increase email open rate as it offers the idea of what is content is about. Journalists are quite busy and they receive a lot of emails every day. If you want to send a pitch email to them, there is a chance they will ignore it without even reading it if the subject line is not appealing enough. Here are some tips to create the perfect subject line so that your PR stands out among all the other emails.
- Keep it Precise – No one has the time to read and it only shows a few words in the subject line. So, there is no point in creating a headline for more than 10 words. Keeping it short and precise can help to increase the open rate.
- Be Specific – Use the subject line to specify what the press release is about. Include relevant keywords to the topic that piques more interest.
- Make it Unique – The subject line must be unique and have some human value or else it will just sound like another AI-generated content. Add your individuality and make it unique.
- Add Exclusivity – Almost every other person pitches the journalists to gain exposure. And therefore there should be some exclusive element in your PR that makes it more worthy of distribution. When the journalists know how important your story is, they will be eager to publish it.
4. Craft a Lead for Your Pitch
Now, it is time to develop a pitch for the press release content. The pitch email consists of a pitch along with the PR content. It is the most preferred method of press release distribution that can be done by pitching personally. Learn how to craft an effective lead that sets your pitch apart from thousands of others. You need to keep the lead succinct and focused on the most important information only that helps to pique interest. In case you are not sure what is the most important data in your content, utilize the 5Ws method to find out.
- Who is this about?
- What is the press release about?
- When does it occur?
- Why is this important?
- What effect does it have?
5. Pitch Email & the Body
Now, it is time to craft the body of the pitch email where you explain the information you provided earlier in the lead, in detail. Start with the most important information and then gradually develop your pitch which not only grabs the reader’s attention but also helps to retain them. However, the body of the pitch email should not be more than 150 words. This is an easily readable word count and chances are there that even journalists will read the whole content in one go.
6. Include Your PR Content
Insert a liner space between your pitch email and the PR content and paste the full content there. While some might recommend attaching a PDF of the press release in the email, it is not always the best way to follow. When you copy and paste the whole content into the email, it saves time to download and read it for journalists. They simply open the pitch email and get everything in one place. This also increases the likelihood of them going through the whole PR content.
7. Provide Contact Information
Now it is time to add the contact information at the bottom of your email. This helps the journalists to contact you easily without searching for it. In case they want to follow up, set an interview, or talk business with you, your contact information will help them do that. Do not just add your phone number and email ID, but also the link for the business website along with social media handles. The contact information is also a reflection of authenticity as a company is not trustworthy if it does not have a potential medium of communication.
8. Send Your Pitch at the Right Time
Press release is a time-sensitive content and the time you choose for pitching also plays a vital role in your PR distribution. For example, if you send the pitch email in mid-morning; it offers a small window to grab their attention when clearing their inbox of emails from the previous day and before the other pitch emails for they have not arrived yet. It is not just the hour of the day but also the day of the week that determines success for pitching. Sending your pitch email in the middle week is the best time to enhance your open rate as the rush is more vivid on Mondays and Fridays. Sending the PR on a day when they have fewer emails to read ensures more success.
You can take the help of an email scheduling software that helps to opt for a date and time when you would like to send your email. It also helps to stay organized, saves time, and increases efficiency in pitching. It is easy, convenient, and effective.
9. Follow up with the Journalists
Take time to follow up with the journalists you have pitched. It should not done right away, since it is professionally rude. Wait for a few days after you send your pitch email, and then ask them politely whether they have received your PR or not. Or, you can improvise and send a new pitch email with different facts and key details that were not mentioned in the earlier email. Perhaps, this time it will gain their attention even if they have missed the first time.
Concluding Thoughts
As you can see, pitching journalists is an intriguing process and it requires a fair share of time and patience to make consistent approaches. It largely depends on the trial and error method with a guarantee of success. If you have an ample budget, it is always recommended to hire a professional press release distribution agency where you have complete ownership of the distribution campaign in exchange for a nominal fee for the service. When you hire an agency and purchase their PR distribution packages; you do not need to wait for any approval. You can gain exponential results within a short duration with the agencies. So, check your budget and PR requirements to opt for what suits you the best.
