Making Business News Newsworthy Part 3: Sending the Release

Part 3 of a 3 Part Series Making Business News Newsworthy:


Part 1: Learning What is Newsworthy
Part 2: Writing a Capturing News Release
Part 3: How to Send a Press Release 

In part 1, readers learned what is classified as newsworthy news.  In part 2, readers viewed press release samples to understand writing styles that work for media outlets.


In this final part of the series, part 3, you will learn what to do with a press release once you have it written it as if it is important news and in media contact.  Where should you send it and how?


How to Send a Press Release


Establish a list of local media outlets
Use free online press release distribution websites
Analyze if paid national distribution is cost effective 

For small to medium businesses in a city that is a not a major metropolitan area such as New York City or Los Angeles, you should be able to create a media list fairly quickly.


To submit a press release to a newspaper, is fairly simple as most newspaper websites include a news submission area.

To save time, I recommend creating a distribution email list.

Visit various media outlet's websites by Google searching "media outlets in [your area]" and identify emails for your media list:


Reporters assigned to your news subject
Editors over newspaper content - there are many sections
Assignment desk emails for television news
TV reporters covering your "beat" or area
Fax numbers for each media outlet

Creating a list for my area in Naples, Fla.

for example took about one to two hours.  You also have the option of buying media lists from a number of online providers, just search Google. But unless you are in a very large metropolitan area, it is really a waste of money to pay for a list, as there are often outdated.

Using free online press release distribution sites is an easy choice for small businesses, but do not only depend on getting your news out through online resources. In today's technology world, reporters still like to have a personal connection with story sources.


Nearly all newspapers allow you to submit for free online and often that works better than emailing attachments. The Associated Press news release submission area, is simple to use. But you cannot attach releases, you must copy and paste them into an email.


Another great site where I have had international interest from press releases is www.PitchEngine.com, an online press release distribution firm. They do not fax media. It is however a site media frequently visit. Several online articles are wonderful sites such as Ezine Articles, but traditional "sales" news releases have trouble getting published. You will need to rewrite your release as true articles.


Finally, I recommend analyzing whether paying for national press release distribution is worth your company's time and budget.


National distribution of a press release is very costly, especially for a small business, perhaps with news that may not be of international or national interest.


If however your company is developing a cutting edge creation that you know is hitting it big, then it may make sense to invest money to distribute your press release nationally. When you hire a PR firm to distribute nationally, it is more expensive than doing it yourself, unless the firm is handling all sectors of your marketing plan.


Pitch Engine is a free site previously mentioned, but you may also pay between .99 and .99 for various newsroom plans so your releases never expire. PR Web charges 0 per news release if you want your news to be sent to premiere outlets such as USA Today.


PR Newswire has a lot of hidden costs although a low subscription fee. It cost 5 to have a logo on a subscriber's online releases.


The only national distribution site I would confidently recommend for cost effective purposes and news reach is i-newswire.  It is reasonably priced between .33 and .50 per press release and goes to many of the same media outlets as the more expensive distribution programs.


In summary, make sure you news is really news and ensure you are writing your business news just as a reporter would to ensure once you have your media lists, company news publishes seamlessly.





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