When To Issue A Press Release

When people hear “public relations,” the first thing that often comes to mind is a press release. A press release is a powerful tool and one of the most effective ways a PR professional can deliver content; however, when to issue a press release can be tricky for some.

Writing an effective press release is a great way to get your message across to a journalist. 73% of journalists say they read press releases and use them to build their stories. However, to catch the journalist's eye, your press release must have a great headline, no acronyms, and must clearly tell the story's angle. But even after you cover the fundamentals, that doesn’t guarantee that a journalist will even take your release to their editorial meeting.

As PR professionals, our job is to turn that release into a compelling story, inviting the journalist to contact you to set up an interview. You never want a reporter to read through your release and not be able to pull out key takeaways. 

Now that you know what should be included in a press release, deciding what stories warrant a release is the next step. Press releases should contain timely, relevant, and impactful information, such as a campaign announcement, launching a new product or promoting an upcoming event. If you keep this in mind, you should have a much easier time getting your stories published.

So before you write a press release, ask yourself if what you are announcing is timely, relevant, and impactful and if a journalist can use the information for a compelling story.