Now that you’ve crafted your first press release (PR), it’s time to distribute it. You spent hours reading guidelines on how to write a compelling piece and make it worthy. The only thing you left out was the right time to send a press release. Knowing the perfect time for press release distribution is crucial and essential for the whole process.
So when should you roll out the news? Some experts suggest following a specific time, while others recommend posting randomly. I’ll go with the first option; distributing the PR at the right time.
Press releases are pretty different than writing a blog post. You can post a blog even on holiday, and it still will catch your attention. For PR, that doesn't stand true. Journalists and publishers usually don’t see their emails on the weekend. So weekends are probably not the time for your PR distribution.
Before knowing the right time to distribute a PR, let’s see what market experts say about that.
What Experts Say About the Press Release Distribution Time?
According to some experts, Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best days for rolling out press releases. The reason is pretty valid. Mondays are pretty busy for publishers. Their inboxes are highly overloaded. So they might miss out on your email. The same goes when it comes to Fridays. They want to reduce the workload and may not read your email with attention. Wednesdays are usually the busiest days of the week.
Some journalists don’t suggest following a particular day or time. They recommend distributing press releases according to the publishers’ schedule. According to these industry experts, asking for accurate press release distribution is more valuable than following a strict plan.
Experts also suggest rolling out the PR emails when the publishers are just starting up at the beginning of the day.
But what if your PR has to go out immediately? Should you still wait for Tuesday? That’s a judgment you need to make. And if you know your publishers’ posting schedule, you don’t have to worry a ton. You just start writing according to their plans and roll it out.
Knowing the Right Day to Distribute Press Releases
Besides following industry experts, you must research once and keep that plan updated. You don’t have to have the best day every time you’re rolling out a press release.
Mondays and Fridays are the busiest days, even for blog posting. According to some sources, Thursday is the best day for press release distribution. It’s followed by Tuesday and Wednesday.
According to our A/B tests, the above stands valid. While testing, we sent a press release for each day to several journalists and found that Thursdays were the most responsive days of the week. In contrast, Mondays and Fridays were the least responsive days.
Forget weekends. Maybe a few journalists from your media list may access their inboxes and respond to your email. You don’t want some responses. You need as many as you can get.
Knowing the Right Time to Distribute Press Releases
Once you have the perfect day to roll out your PR, you now need the best time. Figuring out the best time could be highly crucial but can be recognized.
According to various sources, sending out press release emails between 10 am to 2 pm is the best time. It’s the time with the highest email click-through rates (CTR), up to 45%. After that, the CTR starts dropping and goes as low as 15% (even lower after working hours).
Another study suggested sending out emails at a specific time, such as 10:17 am. Times like that have better CTRs than on the hour or half-hour marks.
The other thing to keep in mind is the time zone. You’ll be sending out emails to journalists in different time zones. Thanks to technology, you can now easily schedule emails and send them out as and when required.
Sending Press Releases During Holidays
It’s pretty obvious not to send out press releases during holidays. A day before or after holidays is also not a very good idea. But sometimes you have to.
If your press release is about the upcoming holidays, like Christmas, you can roll out the email two or three days ahead of the holiday.
The worst comes when your company suddenly plans to roll out a press release during the holiday season. Be you’re a rookie or an expert, try to make good terms with journalists so you may reach them even when they don’t respond to others.
The best alternative to that is acquiring press release distribution services. You don’t usually have to worry about knowing the best time. They typically serve round the clock - especially the best PR distribution service providers would do that for you.
Sending Press Releases Right Away
Some press releases can’t stay long in your drafts. They just need to send out and spread across all available channels.
Daily news is one such example. Such news can’t wait for long. Even PR professionals know that and are waiting for the news to rewrite a story. Stock market news is one such example. Financial publishers wait for the whole day to hear news and re-write their side of the story.
Breaking news also falls under this category. Such news also can’t wait for long and need to send out immediately. Examples of such news include global or national news.
Other examples of immediate-release can be announcing upcoming corporate events. Although these events are pre-planned and organized way ahead of the actual event, reminders and follow-ups can also become news and may require an immediate release.
Types of Press Releases
There are several types of press releases, each having its purpose and a bigger purpose, usually brand awareness. Some of the most common PR types include:
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- Book Press Release - Whenever a writer publishes a new book, the world needs to know that. And what better thing could a writer do than distribute a book press release.
- Funding Announcements - This type of press release is all about new findings the company just scored. Funding announcements are usually for stakeholders curious to know where the company is heading. Use an exciting tone while writing such press releases. Also, inform readers where and how the company will utilize new funds.
- Press Release for Announcing a Conference - A faux invitation for interested people to attend a conference is usually known as a press release for announcing a conference. It isn’t an invitation. This PR is intended to inform the general public of an event and target the audience most likely to respond to it positively.
- Event Press Releases - Even when you aren’t inviting readers to the event, it’s necessary to inform them about the company's events. For that, an event press release is generally used.
- Music Press Release - This PR is for music lovers. Artists roll out music press releases to let the world know about their new work. It works the same for contemporary artists.
- Charitable Initiatives - A charitable initiative could also become part of a company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) and is pretty valuable to share with interested communities. Tell them what the company has planned and where it would spend its fundings.
- Hiring Announcements - In the corporate world, external stakeholders are interested in knowing the company's important runners. All such news falls under this category. Startups are taking a step forward and disclosing such info for almost every new member. While it doesn't directly affect business operations, it certainly informs readers that it’s growing.
- Award Ceremonies - Again, award press release announcements don’t affect a company’s operations but will help related stakeholders know the company's insights.
- Product Releases - How would users know about the company’s new or upcoming product(s)? Press releases are one way. I’m a technology fanatic and keep reading new announcements from companies like Google, Apple, Samsung, etc. These companies usually announce the news using their official Twitter handles or the company’s official forums.
- Rebranding Press Releases - Recently, Qualcomm announced its new smartphone chip, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The company changed the brand name and will be using this new name for the so-called Snapdragon 898. News like that goes under the rebranding press release category.
- Partnership Announcements - It’s required by local law to inform stakeholders about the change in partnerships, be it at the managerial level or the entire company. Such news will help readers why they need to go to the new collaboration.
Writing an Eye-grabbing Press Release
Writing an impressive press release is a 7-step process that goes like that:
- Define and set your goals - while the broader purpose of press releases remains the same (brand awareness and generating more revenue), there could be smaller goals for each PR. Defining and setting the goals will significantly help you write a clear PR.
- Write for journalists - journalists aren’t the end readers of any press release. However, you may think of them as readers for your PR. Write in a tone they understand and can re-share the same on their platform.
- Know your target audience - just like your company’s target audience, your PR also has its audience. Know them first before you pen down your PR.
- Be accurate - don’t flush away essential details out of your PR. Keep it simple and precise. Add details that are accurate and true.
- Create a compelling title - I’ve seen some press releases with long titles that don’t tell what the content is about. They get pretty dull and fail to grab readers’ attention. While impressive titles, use action verbs, be straightforward, and informative.
- Structure your PR - everything you write demands a format. While PRs don’t have to be too long like blog posts, they need to follow almost a similar structure. Tell readers what the PR is about, share some details, and tell the benefits or essence of the PR.
- Follow SEO best practices - that is one of the significant factors serving your bigger goal - brand awareness and generating revenue. Since the press release will go on the internet, you must follow SEO guidelines to make the PR more useful.
Summary
Press releases play an integral part in brand awareness, generating leads and revenue. So the whole process of press release distribution must be carried in a well-organized manner. It all starts with writing valuable, informative, and unique content.
The next important thing comes when deciding the right time for sending out the PR. Thursday and Tuesdays are usually the best days to roll out the PR, with the first half of the day being the best time. Following these simple rules will help you stand out from the crowd, and you’ll get all that you want.
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