4 Reasons Your Press Release Isn’t Getting Covered

Your company has an exciting announcement and you’re ready to tell the world. Maybe you just scored your first major investment, or you’re ready to launch your fledgling product.

Whatever the news, a press release is a great way to get the word out and start generating buzz among journalists and bloggers.

…Except when you go about it all wrong.

All too often, I see companies send out press releases that land on deaf ears, wasting time and sometimes money.

If you want your news to get picked up by media outlets, avoid these four common press release pitfalls.

Press Release Mistake 1: It’s too far away

When I was a reporter, this was the number one reason I would open a press release and send it immediately into the trash.

If I’m in West Palm Beach working at a local news station and the press release is coming from Orlando, it’s already way too far away. It doesn’t matter if there’s a leprechaun dancing around a pot of gold at the end; the story is outside my coverage area, and therefore not relevant.

This is why it’s so important to do your homework on the outlets you’re sending your press release to.

If the press release is about a topic of local importance (store opening, holiday sale, local event, etc.), you should only be sending it to your local media outlets.

If the press release has the potential to be of national importance (major business merger, industry-wide conference, launch of a disruptive new product, etc.), you can go ahead and send it to national outlets as well.

This is also important to pay attention to if you’re using a press release distribution service like PR Newswire, so you don’t spend money unnecessarily.

For that same local story I mentioned above, there’s no need to use PR Newswire’s comprehensive (but expensive) national distribution package. Instead, you only need a distribution that covers your region or, at a maximum, your state.

Press Release Mistake 2: It’s too long

More than ever before, journalists are up against a ticking clock.

If they open your press release and see a 2,000 word dissertation, they already feel like covering your story is going to be an uphill battle.

I advise an ideal press release length of 500 words; there are very few circumstances where it’s necessary to go any longer.

Your press release should be a summary of your story’s high points, not an in-depth report of every single thing a person could ever hope to know about it.

As for quotes, two to three is plenty.

Press Release Mistake 3: It’s not the reporter’s beat

Some reporters are general assignment reporters, meaning they cover whatever general news comes their way.

Most reporters, however, have a beat, also known as a specific coverage area they focus on.

Beats include politics, crime, technology, travel, food, business, and nearly every other niche topic under the sun.

If your press release isn’t getting bites, you might be casting too wide of a net. Rather than blasting it out to anyone with an email address, instead hone in on the reporters who cover exactly what your release is about.

A good way to do this is to set up Google Alerts for your topic in advance and monitor which reporters cover similar stories.

Start by going to Google.com/Alerts and registering for a free account. Then, create an alert for your subject area.

Let’s say I’m about to open a new business in Detroit. In the text bar, I might type ‘Detroit business’ and hit ‘Create Alert.’

Then, edit the alert’s settings by clicking on the small pencil icon.

You can choose how often you want to be alerted, which sources you’ll follow (news, blogs, forums, etc.) and how many results you’ll receive. The default for how many results is set to ‘only the best results,’ but I recommend changing this to ‘all results’ so you won’t miss smaller publications and blogs that are local to your area.

Next, it’s time to monitor your results. Once a day (or more frequently, based on the settings you selected), Google Alerts will send you an email with the latest stories about ‘Detroit business.’

Each time you receive a Google Alerts, skim through it and click on any story that seems similar to the news you’re about to announce. Make a note of the reporting outlet and the name of the reporter who covered the story. It’s a great idea to keep a spreadsheet of these target journalists.

When it’s time to send your press release about your new business launch, these are the people you’ll want to make sure are on the receiving end.

In my media pitching course, I cover an even more in-depth process for finding the best media targets for the story you’re pitching, plus a whole other truckload of information to help you get the media coverage you’re looking for.

Press Release Mistake 4: You haven’t made its news value abundantly clear

The fourth and final major mistake I see companies make is sending press releases for anything and everything, even if it has no real news value. I swear someone could sneeze and they’d issue a press release.

You can sometimes make all of the other mistakes above and still get press coverage, but if you make this one, I guarantee yours is going directly into the trash.

If you want your press release to generate media coverage, you need to make its news value abundantly clear. This means showing the recipient exactly why and how the story is important to his readers.

I outline the six principles that make a story newsworthy in this post.

Have you ever issued a press release that got zero results? Tell me what your biggest challenge is in the comments below.