I found that skipping the press release actually got me more coverage

For years I wrote standard press releases for product launches and got maybe 2 hits. Last quarter I tried sending personalized emails to 5 specific journalists with just the key details and a direct offer for an interview, and 3 of them wrote stories. Has anyone else ditched the formal press release and seen better results?

2 comments

2 Comments

baker.riley4d ago

3 journalists from 5 personalized emails? That is insane. Honestly, I thought the whole system was broken and nobody even reads pitches anymore. Tbh you might have cracked the code, I would have never guessed skipping the formal press release could actually increase your hit rate that much. Ngl I always felt like press releases were just a formality nobody really cared about, but I never had the guts to try something this direct.

mila_reed4d ago

Yeah I actually read this article from a PR veteran a while back who basically said the same thing. She argued that press releases are dead because journalists get bombarded with them and they all look the same. She said the ones that work are the short, personal emails that actually show you read their stuff. It makes sense when you think about it, like why would a journalist pick your generic press release over the hundreds of others they get. If you can show you get their beat and actually have something relevant, they're way more likely to click.