So, you’ve written a press release, or maybe you had a pro write one for you. Now comes the second most important part: releasing it to the world.

First of all, let’s remember the purpose of a PR.

Press releases are a great way to spread the word about your business. They can:

• Get the word out about your awesome “thing” (whether that’s an event, new product, etc.)
• Increase traffic to your website
• Grab the attention of journalists near and far

A press release lets you tell people about your product or service in a more journalistic-minded, unbiased way. It’s important to put emphasis on quality, newsworthiness, and branding over outright SEO or social media, and you definitely don’t want to try to sell your products outright—let your readers come to their own conclusion instead.

Remember… you want the right people to see your press release, and you want them to be IMPRESSED with what you have to offer! Keep this in mind throughout the entire process, from brainstorming to issuing the PR. You should make sure that the topic of your press release is newsworthy, or it won’t be worth the cost of writing and distributing it! Click here to read more about writing a newsworthy press release!

A lot of times, the “newsworthiness” of your press release depends on the craft and structure of it. A good professional writer can help you out if you’re struggling to craft a quality PR.

So, you’ve checked all the boxes… your PR is newsworthy, it sounds professional, and it makes your brand sound great! But there’s one more very important step before your news can reach the world. You have to actually RELEASE the press release. Here’s how to do it!

Issuing Your Press Release the Right Way

Here’s how you can take to make sure that your press release is promoted in the right way and seen by the right people.

Online Distribution Services—The most common way to issue a press release is through distribution services that harness the power of the Internet to get your news out to interested parties. PR Newswire is a major player that many of our clients use. You’ll have to pay if you truly want exposure, but if your PR is top-notch and your news is compelling, it will get you good results. Here’s a list of the current best PR distribution services as of the time of writing.

Local Outlets— If your news is about a local event or if you have a local business, send your PR to news stations and newspapers in your area. They might be interested enough to feature you on the local news channel or in the paper, and you’ll gain valuable exposure to customers in your area!

Industry Leaders—In certain cases it makes a lot of sense to go ahead and send your PR to industry leaders. Obviously, it depends greatly on your industry and your particular business whether this is a good idea. Sometimes it will get read, other times it will get ignored. Use your best judgement here.

Bonus Tips for Issuing Your PR

Here’s a quick synopsis of some tips offered by Kissmetrics:

• Take advantage of cross-promoting opportunities—This is a really great tool in a successful press release. By publicizing a dual effort between yourself and your cross-promotion partner, you can attract more customers and increase your overall credibility!
• Don’t just distribute it through the cheapest channels—The bottom line is this: cheap distribution is, well, cheap. Although good distribution can cost quite a bit, it is worth it in the long run. You can justify the cost with the knowledge that by reaching the right people, you could potentially be increasing your customer base.
• Set up social media to share your PR—In order to make sure that they money spent on the press release is not going to waste, it is important to make sure that all your social channels are set up to syndicate the press release. This easy step can really go a long way.
• Create “teasers” without copying the PR verbatim—Duplicate content is not good for SEO. Be sure to stay away from reposting, word-for-word, the actual press release. Instead, rewrite a couple teaser paragraphs to give readers an idea of what it’s about, and release that. This way you can increase your credibility without damaging your Google ranking/score.

By taking these few simple measures, you can make sure that you are getting the most out of your press release. Now you can really take the press release world by storm!