A news release is still the best way to communicate your story to the media. Here are some tips to increase your 
chances of it being seen:
- Create a great headline –it’s the first thing reporters see –and it increases your open rate on social media. Think of it as a tweet – make it between 90-120 characters so it could be retweeted and put the most important keywords for SEO at the front in the first 65 characters.
- The lead of the release should contain the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY of your story. The rest should be information that supports those five.
- They should know what the story is in the first sentence in case they stop reading.
- The rest of the release should contain all the details, quotes, supporting facts/statistics that the reporter could write the story without having to contact you.
- Make sure it has your contact info in case the media has questions BUT if you’re impossible to reach, put your assistant’s or someone who is accessible and who could get you quickly.
- Call the assignment desk to find out who to send the release to and ask how they prefer to receive it.
- If the release is for an event, send it 4-6 weeks in advance and then send another one two weeks in advance. If you want coverage (as opposed to being a calendar listing, make sure you include some kind of hook that answers the question “What’s in it for our readers/viewers?”
- Post it on social media and tag the pertinent media outlets as well.
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