A press release is a short, one-page document that announces something new and meaningful about your studio, such as a school program partnership, a charitable outreach effort, a special event open to the public, or a business award you’ve achieved.
Press releases are a staple of the public relations world, and they help spread your announcement to the local community. Your goal with a press release is to get the attention of a journalist who can put your studio in the news! Try these tips for sending out your press release:
- Create a media list of contacts for your local newspapers, magazines, or television news outlets. This may take some research. You’ll want to have the contact information of journalists who can potentially take your press release and run with it, such as the arts editor of your city’s monthly magazine.
- Don’t send your press release as a mass email. Send a short, personal message to each recipient.
- Copy and paste the press release into the body of your email. Most journalists are simply too busy (and get too many press releases) to open attachments. Attachments can also get blocked by an email server, or seem too risky to open.
- If you want to share a photo or other digital content, don’t attach that either! Include a link instead, such as a link to your Facebook event page or a link to a Dropbox photo.
- Send your press release on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday in the morning. Statistically these are the days and times with the best email open-rates by journalists.
Don’t get discouraged if your press release isn’t immediately picked up; remember that publications and news stations are regularly bombarded by news and can’t always include every story they want. Keep trying and keep your media list up to date! Your persistence will pay off.