Press releases have been in practice for decades. It is the most effective and cost-efficient alternative to traditional advertisements. Still, many struggles to access the full benefit of press release issuing. The most important factor in press release issuing is the timing. If you fail to pinpoint the perfect time to send it, it will not have the slightest effect on your brand’s visibility. Sending your PR through a paid press release distribution site at the ideal time will help you build a good reputation with the journalists, publishers, and the entire market. Let’s discuss the best time to send a press release below.
The best days to send your PR
A survey in 2015 proved that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the most effective days to send a press release for distribution.
- Press releases sent on a Thursday had the most attention as the email opening rate is greater that day. The journalists want to get things done, before the weekend hits.
- The next best email opening rate goes to Tuesday. Journalists are highly efficient that day.
- Wednesday has the lowest email opening rate. With the workload of other projects, the press releases are not looked at much.
Not all of your emails will be read by the receivers. The email open percentage varies from industry to industry. Whichever industry gets the most number of emails, will have a lower email open rate than others. There are other reasons that contribute to your low rating.
Maybe it is your pitching. Using copy-pasted email pitch will not get you further into the PR market. Write an original and interesting pitch that makes you stand tall in the crowd of other PRs. Also, check your timing; this could bring a revolutionary change in your press release success rate.
Now that you know when to send a press release for best results, you must also know when not to send.
The worst days to send a PR
As per a survey, journalists get nearly 300 emails written to them, every morning. The number varies based on the day. They get the highest number of emails on Monday, almost 1000. It is clear that they will not be able to go through all of them that day. So there is a higher chance that your press release will not be read by them if you send it on a Monday.
You may think that Friday is the perfect day for sending a press release. As it is the last working day in a week, they may not have much work on their hands. You are wrong. Fridays, mostly Friday evenings are the worst day to send a press release. Just like every other professional, journalists also look forward to the weekend. They certainly won’t look at a brand new press release that is sent to them on a Friday evening.
It is best to avoid Mondays and Fridays when you are sending a press release. Your press releases will most probably go unread if you send them on either of these days.
Never Send a PR on the weekend
Journalists work the whole week they relax on the weekends. They completely stay away from their work-life these days. They will never open their work email on a weekend unless there is an emergency. There is an absolutely 0% chance of email opening rate on the weekends.
The Best Time to Send A PR
After the days, come the timings. You need to know the right time slot in a day which is the best for sending a press release. Studies say that most of the press releases are opened between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
It is quite difficult to manage to send your press releases at that exact time frame. As thousands of companies are sending their pitches to them at the same time, it is quite difficult to get between their emails. Your target journalists may get flooded with hundreds of fresh emails between 10 a.m. and 10.30 a.m.
You need to make your own strategy and choose a slightly different and off-beat time like, 10:17 a.m. or 10:23 to beat the competition. That way you will be able to increase your PR read rate.
The Worst Time to Send Your PR
Early mornings are an extremely bad time for sending a press release. Most of the journalists start their workday at 10 a.m. So if you send anything before that it will most probably get ignored. They will even get annoyed as it will invade their personal space. For a successful PR, you need to avoid the early mornings. Maintain professionalism and send your press releases during working hours.
Never End Your PR at Night
The journalists are also human; they are like everyone else who goes home and have their personal time at the end of every working day. They absolutely do not want to get bombard by work. When you send the pitching at night, they most probably will get annoyed and avoid your emails in the future. So it is best to avoid the night time for PR sending as it has the lowest email open rate.
There are some exceptions to that rule. It is broken for financial releases that are sent after the market closes to align with breaking news and regulations.
Keep The Time Zones in Mind
While distributing your press release on a global scale, you need to approach journalists from all around the world. It may be 10 a.m. at where you are based but could be midnight where your journalist is based. So always check the time zone before you send your email.
Also, check the workdays at that place. Not every country follows the same workweek culture as you. So what may be the best time at your location can be the worst time where you are sending it. It will decrease your chance of getting read.
Conduct thorough research on the workweek, holidays, time differences, and other local customs before you send your PR. These kinds of information could change how your press releases are perceived by the media.
How Advance should You Send Your PR?
Most press releases are sent before the actual event happens. As these events need the attention of the target audience when they happen, you need to create hype before the actual occasion. If you are launching a new product you need to make people aware of it at least a month before. That way you will make the desired amount of sale when you actually release it.
You have to determine when you want your consumers to know about it. Some stories need to stay confidential before a certain date. Make sure to tell the journalists about it so that they hold the news until your preferred time.
Let’s discuss how far in advance you should send your press releases in different situations.
- Breaking news. Breaking news is a current story that has just happened. The more you late the less interesting it becomes. So if you are dealing with such a story, make sure to put ‘immediate release’ in your email.
- Response to ongoing news. There are certain events that get continuous coverage from the media. Like the current pandemic situation. The media is covering it for more than a year and it is most likely to go on for the rest of this year. Check the relevancy of your press releases with the ongoing news and send your email according to it.
- Events. There are numerous events happening within a company. It could be an anniversary, conference, new launch of a business. You need to let your target audience know about it at least 3 weeks ago.
- Product launch. These kinds of press releases need immediate attention. You need to send your PR a maximum of a month or a minimum of 1 to 2 weeks ago before the release.
The Press Release Timeline
To achieve maximum traction you need to follow a specific timeline. You must go through these processes for a successful press release.
Before sending
- You need to make sure that everything is perfect from your end before hitting send.
- Proofread your writing thoroughly. Make sure there are no grammatical or spelling errors and typos.
- Check if all the links within the content are working. A broken link will ruin the reputation and credibility of your brand.
- Add all the contact details at the end of the press release. Do not miss a single one.
- Check if the format of the content follows the international structure of PR writing.
Post-Publication
Use a syndicated PR distribution service for guaranteed results. After the press release is published you need to do your part to make it successful.
- Promote it through your social media pages. Share and repost them as much as possible.
- Post it on your own website. Write eye-catching descriptions with the links.
- Share the PR posted on the major media outlets on different mediums.
When you understand the value of timing in PR distribution you overcome one of the biggest hurdles in the marketing industry. Follow the tips above and reap the rewards of an effective press release.
