Helen Croydon is an author and journalist turned PR professional and founder of Thought Leadership PR.
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As a PR professional, people are surprised when I say that I don’t send press releases. Professionals or businesses who want to get into the media assume that writing a press release is the way. But at the PR agency I run, we tell our clients that press releases don’t work.
A press release is no longer relevant. They do not reflect how the media has evolved digitally and how they find or commission stories. I am always surprised by how many PR agencies or freelance PRs still write and send press releases and how many distribution services exist.
As a former journalist, I have been on the receiving end of press pitches. So I have five reasons why press releases do not work in getting coverage.
1. A press release is old-fashioned.
In the days of print journalism, before we were flooded with digital platforms competing for clicks, there were a finite number of publications. They had daily deadlines, a set number of slots to fill and no social media! Journalists did indeed receive many of their story sources from press releases. They arrived via a wire service (like a wholesaler for news outlets), or they came directly from comms teams at large organizations.
Today, journalists receive hundreds of pitches per day. They are tapped into a myriad of digital sources: They follow celebrities’ Twitter feeds to get an exclusive bit of gossip; they follow local news websites for any escaped zoo animals in case they can make a national story for them. Anyone who thinks that journalists sit at their desk waiting for press releases to drop into their inbox for a story is delusional.
2. Press releases should only cover news.
The traditional purpose of a press release was to announce "news," with a clear top line highlighting something new. For example, a government department announcing new legislation, an academic institution announcing new research or a public company announcing a new CEO.
In these instances, press releases are justified because those sorts of announcements are of public relevance. But somehow, press releases have evolved into briefing documents, written by experts on anything from eyebrow threading to decarbonization, announcing simply that they are available for an interview.
As a journalist, I used to receive many emails labeled "press release" that were actually someone informing me that they were a business consultant—with a podcast—and a list of things they could comment on.
That sort of media approach isn’t bad. But it would be better defined as a pitch. To let a journalist know that you’ve launched an event, started a business or that you "are available to comment on tax laws on budget day," there's no need to make it a press release—make it a bespoke pitch. In which case, you should tailor your words to the publication, or better, the section of the publication where you envision your idea being used.
3. Press releases are overused.
Some of my clients want to issue a press release because it pleases investors or stakeholders. For example, after an acquisition or a new policy.
This is indeed a valid reason to write something but does not call for a press release. This is an announcement, suitable for a blog, newsletter or social media post. Unless you are Apple announcing a new iPad that will light up the night sky, it just won’t interest a discerning journalist.
There are also cases when PRs or individuals write a press release to summarise a product. For example, a book release. These are really useful, but I’d define that as a "press briefing"—something to send to the media after you’ve sent a bespoke pitch.
4. The media don’t want something that’s been elsewhere.
When I interview editors and journalists for my podcast, The Media Insider, the common reason they give as to why they don’t look at a press release is that they don’t want something which has done the rounds at their competitor publications.
As soon as you label a document a "press release," the assumption is it has been widely distributed to every news and features desk in the country.
“But I saw the same story on five different news sites today,” you may protest. That is certainly true if it is a mainstream news agenda item like the Queen of England endorsing Camilla’s future title. But for human interest stories and smaller titles, their raison d'etre is that they cover stories that the big players don’t.
5. Press releases are full of corporate language and marketing messages.
How excited do you get by this?
“We are proud to announce a new partnership with X, which will reinforce recognition of our specialist capability to provide exceptional services and innovative solutions to Y.”
These phrases, cooked up by marketing teams to get across subtle psychological "messaging" may work well for owned channels like your website or newsletter. But they would not attract attention in a press release. Journalists care about meaning, not messaging. They want real, human language that tells them what, where, who and why. If they don’t see through your buzz words and superfluous adjectives, their copy editor further down the production line, who has to make 600 words into 400 words, will!
Anything sent to the media—whether it’s labeled as a press release or not—should be written to pique interest, not to impress the public.
What are the alternatives to a press release?
Instead of scattergunning a press release to every media contact you find online, read—no, study—the publications you want to be featured in and consider how and why they'd include you. Could you give a quote on a wider news story that you have some expertise on? Do they run opinion pieces by other non-journalist contributors? Do they do Q&As? Do they have a podcast?
If you communicate like a human you will probably get through to one.
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