When and How to Publish a Press Release

An online press release is a short, compelling news story that targets members of the media and other publishers to provide your company with instant exposure. The primary goal of a press release is to grab their interest in hopes that they will write a full article on you or at least pass our information to someone who may be interested. Press releases can increase not only your businesses’ reputation and brand, but your website traffic as well.

When to write a press release.
Press releases aren’t like a blog post; you aren’t making company announcements just because you can. Press releases are formal and cover a special occasion. Here are some reasons businesses write press releases:

• Grand opening
  
• New product or service
  
• Company anniversary
  
• New location
  
• Damage control/answer to accusations
  
• Announcing an event
  

When NOT to write a press release.
Here are some examples of topics that are not press release-worthy:

• Slander competition
  
• To be humorous
  
• Announcing a trade show booth
  
• A change of telephone number
  
• Expression of opinion
  
• Here’s a fun list of BAD press releases.
  

What to include.
Press releases are short, sweet and to-the-point. They are written so that a journalist can get the who, what, when, where and why as quickly as possible. The release should be written in third person and include a location, website and contact information. SEO keywords will enhance the visibility of a publication once it is released and an image always helps as well. Because it is the first thing they will see, the title of your press release should read like a news headline: establish the who and what right away.

Most importantly, a press release should be written by someone who knows what they are doing — the composer should understand very clearly a press release’s purpose and carefully follow all of the formatting quirks it requires.

Distribution.
After you’ve decided on a topic you want to tell the world about, look into when and how you will distribute your press release. Studies show the best times to publish a press release are Monday-Thursday between 8AM and 10AM. Fridays, weekends and holidays are the worst times to distribute.

JTech both composes and distributes press releases for our clients. Our composition process is backed by thorough research, keyword integration and industry expertise. If you need advise or help with a company press release, please feel free to give us a call!