Many different factors contribute to the success of a press release. You have the actual content of the press release, its adherence to SEO guidelines, the type and number of platforms it is published on, and much more. Another factor you have to consider, however, is the timing of its publication. Press releases, by default, have to engage with the market in a very specific way.
This means not publishing it too early or too late, especially relative to the development you are trying to promote. In this article, we will break down the tricky process of timing a press release and how to win at it.
The Importance of Press Release Timing
First and foremost, it’s important that you become aware of why press releases need to be timed a certain way. A PR is both a legal document and a piece of news. The best possible outcome is that journalists pick up on the press release and write stories about it. This, in turn, will see even more attention being paid to it. But to do this, you have to get things right on time.
-
The Publication Cycle
Getting journalists to cover the developments in your PR means getting into them at the right time. It has to be early enough that they are reporting on your news and developing story. If the news is delivered too quickly before it is relevant to the market, it might not be published. This might happen if they come across the press release too late to build a story around it, or during the close of their workday or week.
-
Public Attention
Outside of journalists themselves, it’s always important to put out your PRs at a time when the public is mentally able to engage with them. It’s known that there are certain times of the day or week when the public is less interested in new developments and generally disconnects. In fact, the entertainment industry often times things like album launches and revelations of personal news around certain times of the week so that the public either has more time to engage with it or forget about it very quickly. When it comes to press releases, choosing the wrong time of the day or week means that the public might not engage much with it, and this can lead to wasted resources.
-
Relation to the Development
Forgetting about those outside of your business, your press release has to line up with the development it is announcing. If you’re launching a brand of products, for example, you want to put out a PR close enough to when it is happening, but the reader can take action. Some businesses choose to release a press release after the product has already gone live or shortly before. On the other hand, the press release can be used to build anticipation of an incoming product or service, and this can often be well utilized. Either way, the press release has to work well within your overall marketing and publicity goals and not against them.
The Principles of Timing a Press Release
To reap all the benefits of a well-timed press release, you will have to look at both your timeline and that of the general media landscape. This can be done in the following steps:
-
Map Out Your Development Rollout
Some things you might need a press release for are a one-and-done. If you are announcing a change in leadership, for example, you might only need to put out one PR. But if you’re launching a line of products or are announcing a token presale, it might be a bit more complex than that. In that case, you might have a multi-stage rollout, including the launch of websites, product launches, and ongoing promotion. Ideally, you want to create a visual timeline of when each development will happen, as this will guide the release of every press release.
-
Choose The General Time of Publication
Once you know when each development is going live, you can consider how soon you want to announce it to the public. You might not want to announce a change in leadership until the official handover is complete, for example. On the other hand, you might want to announce a pre-sale weeks or even months ahead of time to build anticipation. In the same manner, map out how soon a press release has to go out before or after the development. Ideally, you want to give yourself days or hours of grace to account for unforeseen circumstances.
-
Choose the Right Time of the Day or Week
To keep in line with both the expectations of journalists and catering to the needs of the public, you want to time your press release for a reasonable day of the week. You don’t want to send out the press release on a Friday late afternoon, for example, as many journalists will be wrapping up for the week and people will be less receptive to news.
You also don’t want to send it too early in the morning on a Monday, lest it gets lost in the sea of dozens of other press releases coming out around the same time. The industry standard is that the best time to publish a press release would be around late morning or early afternoon on a weekday. People are already in the rhythm of work but have not yet become exhausted.
-
Leverage Various Tools to Time Publication
Once you’ve decided the best times and dates to put out your PR, you want to make sure it adheres to that time as much as possible. A delay in publication by even a day can mean that your plans are derailed. Luckily, services like what we offer here at XpressWire mean that you can time the publication of your press release and enjoy some level of accuracy.
Conclusion
The timing of your press release can have just as much impact as what is said within it. This is why you’re recommended to carefully consider when your press releases are being sent out. Doing this means that journalists and the public can properly engage with it, and you can enjoy the results. Consider the factors we’ve outlined to determine your best time for these publications, and also reach out to us to have your top-notch press releases sent out to the world.