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There are two important steps to getting your press release
noticed; writing a great release and pitching what you’ve wrote. Here are some
tips on getting your press release noticed.

The Pitch

Writing a great press release is crucial to it being noticed
and published, however, the media has to be intrigued enough by your pitch to
even give your press release a chance, so the most important part of getting
your press release noticed is pitching it correctly.

The most important part of the pitch is when you pitch it
and who you pitch it to. It’s a big PR no-no to send a press release on a
Friday, the weekends or after about 3:30pm during the week. Monday’s aren’t
great either; people are returning to work from the weekend and are catching up
on emails. It’s more likely your email will get lost in the mix. The best days
to pitch a release are Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Don’t blast your press release. The media hates this. Do
some research on the best person to send your release to. If it’s a technology
announcement, don’t send it to the sports editor. Adding a name to an email
pitch shows that you care about where you’re pitching it and you’re not just
sending it to the masses.

Have a strong subject line. The media is inundated with
press releases and emails all day long, so your email has to have an intriguing
subject line that makes the reporter want to open your email.  Your subject line should highlight the most
important part of your press release: the main announcement you are making.
Example: (Ad2 Launches New Website).
Now that the media has opened your email, you want to
provide them with a short pitch of what your press release is about. It’s
important to highlight the who, what, where, when and why. The media should be
able to know all the details of your press release just from your pitch.

Lastly, let the reporter know that you’ve attached a press
release with more details about your announcement and to let you know if they
need anything else.

Writing a great press release

If you’ve gotten the media all the way to the point of
opening your press release, the last thing you want to do is lose their
interest with a poorly written release. Here are some press release writing
tips:

Don’t waste your headline. Your headline is the first thing
the media will see. Think of your headline as the subject line of an email. You
want to say something that gets the media to open your email and read more of
your press release.

Say it in the intro. You want to give the who, what, where,
when and why in the introduction of your press release. A lot of writers think
this information needs to be sugar coated, but the media is busy and they don’t
care about fluff, they want the facts.

Add a quote. Adding a quote to your press release makes it
look credible and adds a element of personalization to the release.

Keep it short. If they want more information then you’ve
provided they will call or email you. You shouldn’t need more than a page.

My last bit of advice is to follow up with your media
contacts. If your press release gets run, shoot a note out to the reporter or
editor and thank them for picking up your release. Public relations is all
about the relationships you build and if you have a good relationship with the
media you won’t have to try so hard the next time you pitch something. They’ll
get used to seeing your name and will know you produce good releases and you
won’t have to stress about a great email pitch to get it picked up. So keep it
quick, simple and good.

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