How to Send a Press Release[edit]

While social media is gaining in importance, getting coverage in traditional news media is still the best way to reach large numbers of people. Traditional media also tends to get the attention of decision makers, who monitor public opinion.

A few simple steps[edit]

Journalists are always looking for something to report. Reaching out to them is a fairly simple step-by-step process.

1. Figure out what your story is.[edit]

What is your story and why is it important? Try to boil down the answers to these questions into one or two sentences.

2. Write a press release.[edit]

A press release can be anything from a short tip to a well-formatted news article with a headline, an introductory summary and quotes. Which format you choose is less important. What matters is whether you give the journalist a good story.

Get to the point quickly. The first paragraph, the first sentence if possible, should make clear what the story is about and what makes it newsworthy. If a bit of background information is necessary to make the story comprehensible, put that background information at the end.

Remember that in most cases a news article consists not only of text but also of a picture that illustrates the story. If you have a picture that could contribute to the story, send it along.

Don't forget to include contact information, either your own or that of someone else who is willing to answer follow-up questions.

If you want in-depth instructions on how to formulate a professional-looking press release, that's easy to find on the web. However, remember that it's the news hook that matters — not the format.

3. Pick your news outlets.[edit]

One strategy can be to target broad news providers as well as those with a more narrow focus on a certain industry. Wikimedia-related issues can be interesting to media that report on ICT, technology, culture, etc. If the news concerns a certain category of Wikipedia articles — such as articles on architecture or on cat breeds — media reporting on those topics may be interested.

With news channels that have a more narrow focus, your chances of getting your story picked up are often better than with the big mainstream news channels.

All major news offices have email addresses, or sometimes web forms, to which they encourage you to send news tips. While there are many who compete for their attention, journalists are always interested in a great story.

4. Send it.[edit]

Once you have gathered a lists of recipients and written the press release, send it.

Don't throw all the email addresses into one message even though it saves time. Instead, send each recipient their own mail.

5. Be prepared to take questions.[edit]

Or make sure that someone else is.

If you have given the journalists your own contact information, try to guess what questions they may ask so that you can prepare answers.