How to send a press release
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Send your press release Tuesday to Thursday, 8am to 10am newsroom local time, to a targeted list of journalists who cover your beat. Lead the subject line with the news, name the company, keep it under 60 characters, personalize each email, send to each reporter individually, then track opens and replies.
Sending is where most releases are won or lost
By now you have a newsworthy story (chapter 1), a tight release (chapter 2) and a focused media list (chapter 3). Sending it well is the last lever, and the one most people get wrong. A perfect release sent on a Friday afternoon to a generic inbox is a wasted release. This chapter covers the six decisions that turn a good release into earned coverage: timing, the subject line, personalization, the embargo, self-distribution versus a wire, and the send itself.
The six steps to send a press release
Step 1: Build a targeted list
Send to 20 to 40 journalists who cover your exact beat, not to thousands. Chapter 3 covers how to build this list. The fit of the list, not its size, decides your coverage. A reporter who already writes about your space will open a relevant email; one who does not will mark you as spam, which damages your sender reputation for everyone after you.
Step 2: Write a specific subject line
The subject line decides whether your email is opened at all. Lead with the news, name the company, and keep it under 60 characters so it is not truncated in a phone preview. Write it the way a journalist would write the headline, not the way a marketer would write an ad. No clickbait, no all-caps, no exclamation marks.
| Avoid | Write instead |
|---|---|
| Exciting news from our team!!! | Carimmat raises 2M EUR to expand car-import service |
| Press release: a big announcement | Acme launches free API for indie developers |
| You won't believe what we built | Beta data: remote teams ship 18% faster on Acme |
Step 3: Time the send
Send Tuesday to Thursday, between 8am and 10am in the newsroom local time. That window catches reporters as they plan the day, before deadlines take over. Avoid Monday mornings, buried under weekend backlog, and Friday afternoons, when the newsroom is winding down and your email is lost by Monday. If you are pitching across time zones, schedule the send to each reporter local morning, not yours.
Step 4: Personalize at scale
Open every email with one true sentence about that specific reporter: a recent article, a beat they own, a question they have raised. Then use merge fields for the name and outlet so the personalization scales across the list. A pitch that proves you read their work is opened and answered. A copy-paste blast is deleted. The opening line is the entire difference.
Step 5: Send the release
Paste the release into the body of the email, do not attach a PDF that a reporter has to download. Link the online version of the release for anyone who wants the full page. Send to each journalist individually. Never put a visible list of reporters in the To or CC field: it tells every recipient they are one of a crowd, and it leaks your media list to your competitors.
Step 6: Track opens and replies
After sending, watch three signals: opens, link clicks and replies. Opens tell you the subject line and timing worked. Clicks tell you the news interested them. Replies tell you the pitch landed. Tracking turns the next send into a decision instead of a guess: you know who to follow up with and who to drop. Chapter 5 covers how to follow up on these signals.
What an embargo is, and when to use one
An embargo is an agreement that a journalist will not publish your news before a stated date and time. You use one when you want reporters to prepare a deeper story in advance, typically for a major launch, a funding round or a report, so several outlets publish at the same agreed moment. State the embargo clearly at the very top of the email ("Under embargo until Tuesday, 9 July, 9am CET"), and confirm the reporter accepts it before you share the details.
An embargo is a favor a journalist does for you, not a rule you impose on them. Only use one when the extra preparation time genuinely makes the story better. Embargo a routine update and you simply look self-important.The embargo rule
Sending it yourself vs a wire service
You have two ways to distribute: send it yourself to a targeted list, or pay a news wire to push it to a mass list. The wire is broad, untargeted and expensive, and pickup is often thin because the release lands in inboxes that never asked for your beat. Targeted distribution reaches fewer journalists but the right ones, which earns more relevant coverage for a fraction of the cost.
| Factor | Targeted distribution | Wire service |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | Journalists who cover your beat | Mass, untargeted list |
| Relevance of coverage | High, reporters chose the topic | Low, recipients did not |
| Personalization | Per journalist | None, one blast |
| Cost per release | Low | Hundreds to thousands |
| Tracking | Opens, clicks, replies per journalist | Distribution report only |
| Best for | Earning real coverage | Legal or regulatory disclosure |
The exception is genuine: if you have a legal or regulatory obligation to disclose news widely, a wire is the right tool. For everything else, targeted distribution wins on both relevance and cost.
Doing it in one flow
Done by hand, this is real work: build the list, personalize each email, send individually, then watch a separate tool for opens. PressPilot handles targeted distribution and tracking in one flow: it matches your release to journalists who cover your beat, sends each email individually, and reports opens, clicks and replies on one dashboard, from 30 EUR for 100 journalist credits. See the pricing page. Whether you use a tool or your own inbox, the six steps above are the same.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I pitch a journalist?
- Send a short, personalized email to one journalist at a time. Open with one true line showing you read their work, state your news in the first sentence, paste a 300 to 400 word release below, and add a contact and a link to the online version. Pitch the right beat, not the whole newsroom, and never CC a visible group.
- What is the best time to pitch a journalist?
- Tuesday to Thursday, between 8am and 10am in the newsroom local time. That window catches reporters planning the day before deadlines hit. Avoid Monday mornings, which are buried under weekend backlog, and Friday afternoons, when the newsroom is winding down and your email gets lost over the weekend.
- Can I distribute a press release myself?
- Yes. Self-distribution means emailing your release directly to a list of journalists you have chosen. It is the most targeted and most cost-effective method: you control who receives it, you personalize each send, and you see exactly who opened and replied. The only cost is the time to build and maintain the list, which targeting tools remove.
- Should I use a wire service?
- Usually no, unless you have a legal or regulatory disclosure obligation. A news wire pushes your release to a mass, untargeted list and costs hundreds to thousands per release, often with thin pickup. Targeted distribution to journalists who cover your beat earns more relevant coverage for far less, which is why most startups skip the wire.
- What is an embargo and when should I use one?
- An embargo is an agreement that a journalist will not publish before a set date and time. Use one when you want reporters to prepare a deeper story in advance, typically for a major launch or funding round. State the embargo clearly at the top of the email, get the reporter to accept it, and only embargo when the extra prep time genuinely helps your story.