What are the pros & cons of using a press release distribution service?

Press release distribution services are great for dispersing your press release to sometimes thousands of outlets at a time. Many offer the ability to target your press release by industry and location, helping to ensure you reach your intended audience on a large scale. Finally, if you are a small business owner with little press release writing experience, many offer added benefits to help you, like press release writing, editing, proofing, and consultation services.

However, it is still a good idea to target journalists outside of a press release distribution service as well. When you do, you can tap into networks and relationships you have already cultivated with journalists and so increase the likelihood your press release will be distributed before targeted audiences. Then, once journalists have used your story, you can continue to cultivate that relationship for a mutually beneficial relationship going forward.

How do I send a press release?

You can either send a press release^[10] manually or via a press release distribution service. To send one manually, simply use a tool like Hunter.io to locate the contact information of the journalist you’d like to send your press release to for consideration in their publications. Then, craft an email that tells the journalist that you are sending a press release for their review, when you would like the story covered, and why it would be valuable to their audiences.

Another way to send a press release manually is to visit the site of the outlet to which you’d like to submit your press release. Use the footer or header menus to search for a link to the website’s contact us or submission pages. Follow the instructions to submit your press release.

Lastly, you can distribute your press release via a press release distribution service. Simply choose a distribution service, then choose your plan. Follow the prompts to upload your press release and its multimedia, then choose how you want to target it (by state or industry, for example), what add-ons you would like (e.g., social media blasts), when you want your press release distributed, and your contact and payment information.