A press release is part of public relations or PR activities to publicize a company’s products, services, and achievements. By asking a PR firm, you can increase your chances of getting more media coverage. However, without a large budget, it’s difficult to hire an outside professional company.
Table of Content
Free Effective Press Release
What is a Press Release
Let’s Create a Press Release Statement
Free Tools to Use When Creating a Press Release Statement
Distributing the Press Release Statement
Introduction of PR companies that can be Used for Free
Tips for Selecting the Destination and How to Check It
Conclusion
Free and Effective Press Release
When a company wants to spread information about its products and services, it would engage in PR work. This includes using their websites, any social networking sites also called SNS, and other media outlets. When a product is launched, a PR is sent to the media.
What is the best way to create a press release that the media will pick up?
Some companies want to ask a PR firm but don’t have the budget. Some want their press release to be seen by many people. Others want them to be picked up by the press.
What is a Press Release?
Let’s explain what is a press release again. A press release is an official statement that describes the details of a product or service of a company to announce it to media such as TV, newspaper, magazine, and news sites.
Let’s Create a Press Release Statement
Before writing a press release, read press releases from other companies.
For the most part, a press release contains the company’s logo, a headline, a lead paragraph summarizing the announcement, and a newsworthy angle. A press release also includes three to four paragraphs with hyperlinks, social media links, quotes, and multimedia.
Let’s create a statement that follows the standard basis of the press release!
Many people who know the basic format of a press release statement are still hesitant to create their own for the first time.
There are plenty of press release automation tools that allow you to write a press release in a short time by filling out the required items. Since this is an automation tool, some text is a bit unnatural. So it’s important to read over and revise the text yourself. Either way, this is a great tool for first-time writers.
After writing a statement, it’s going to be sent to the media. So make sure it’s free of mistakes, have someone else review it, and proofread it!
Some tools can read difficult kanji and have it be read in hiragana. Search for these terms for these tools:
- Japanese Proofreading Support
- Press Release Proofreading Tool
Of course, if you are not confident in your writing skills you can ask a professional writer to create and proofread the press release statement. Consider hiring a company that specializes in press release writing, or even a freelance writer or copywriter.
After writing the press release statement, now it’s time to distribute it to the press. Here are two ways to do so without spending money.
The first option is to use a PR service that will for free.
The second option is to find a media outlet and sent it yourself. When in doubt, try out both.
There is a free version on a trial run, but you can pay for a full version. ValuePress! has a distribution list on the free version. This list is not disclosed to the public, but some of these include TV Tokyo, Keiko to Manabu, and Tokyo Walker.
A free press release site that specializes in IT and similar fields. Images and videos are also posted.
A free site that automatically posts press releases. Images can not be posted.
If you're using a free automation writing system, be sure to check the grammar!
how to check it
Do you know which media outlet you will be sending your press release to?
The most important thing when sending your press release is finding an outlet that matched your target audience.
For example, when disturbing a press release of a new production application for business people in the IT field, it’s unlikely that the statement will be sent to a women’s magazine. In this case, IT-specialized sites and magazines are the target media outlet for their audiences. Mismatching media outlets is a waste of time and effort.
In addition to large media outlets, if your product or event is community-based, you can send it to local free newspapers, radio stations, local websites, and so on. When searching for the media destination, look at their website to contact them. For example, if it’s a magazine, their contact information is usually found on the back of it.
If there is no contact information listed, then search for the book “Public Relations Handbook.” Not only does this handbook gives a comprehensive and detailed explanation of the field, but also a list of mail addresses and fax numbers, and company to reach out to
Social media are frequent updates, so timing is everything. For social networking sites, weekdays work the best. For paper media, newspapers are preferred. Make sure you have a way of communication such as email.
Due to the submission process for magazines, including an interview for the submission. Depending on how often they release the magazine, it can take two months for a monthly magazine, a month and a half for a biweekly magazine, and a month for a weekly magazine.
The press is busy with deadlines to complete their manuscripts. So, there is a high possibility that you will not be contacted because there is no time to spare. It’s recommended that you contact them after the deadline since now they have more time and looking for their next story. For example, if you are using a magazine, check their ad submission page to find out the ad’s completion date.
Now you have a list of recipients and are ready to send it’s time to send out an email. When sending this email, pay attention to the following points:
- Email Title: “(Press Release) Release Title (Company Name)”
- The title should be eye-catching: not too long
- Write an easy-to-understand appeal point. Use a lead sentence at the beginning of the email
- Include :
- full text of the release in the body of the email
- URL of the product and other related information
- Images for the press release
- Attachments should not be too large
Be sure to include images in a press release. Some reports show that press releases with images have a higher click-through te by an average of 12% compared t those without them.
After sending your press release, be prepared to update your website and other affiliated social media. Be prepared to answer some questions that may come your way.
It’s a great feeling when your press release is picked up by the media. If you have connected with a reporter or writer, be sure to send your next press release to them. This will increase the probability of your next release being picked up by the media again.
