Best Days to Send Press Releases

A question I am often asked is "what is the best day to send a press release?"

When you consider journos are always on the prowl for a good story, any day could be a good day to send out a press release, however, the obvious answer is if your story relates to an event with a deadline, then NOW is the best time to send the press release.

Having said that you should always send your releases in plenty of time – never leave it to the last minute because there are no guarantees your release will be picked up by a certain time, if at all.

Don't think you can get your story priority listing simply by slapping "Urgent" in the subject. Your release may be urgent to you but be totally irrelevant and unimportant to the editors and journalists reviewing it. Some online press release sites require payment of a fee if you want your Press Release published by a certain date, otherwise if you have chosen the free option, it will sit in a queue and may, or may not, be published.

Of course, a bit of research will produce a personal list of your favorite newspapers and magazine editors to whom you can email your press releases direct. This will ensure your preferred media sees your release but it doesn't guarantee publishing. Realize editors receive hundreds of releases every day, most of which are total rubbish and pure promotion and advertising and which end up in the bin.

But I digress… you want to know the best days to send out a press release. Well, I always use Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Why? Common sense really. Mondays are always hectic because it is the start of the week. New mail and email vie for attention and can easily be overlooked. Busy editors don't have time to read everything – if the headline or opening sentence doesn't grab them, it will go straight in the bin. Friday are also hectic – they have to finish outstanding tasks before the weekend, and many have their minds on the weekend.

I never recommend sending press releases out over the weekend – there is no guarantee anybody will read it – it is the weekend after all – or who will read it or where it will end up.

So that's it – Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday are my days of choice. As for time of day to send them, the earlier the better, obviously, specially if you want it printed sooner rather than later. By sending earlier in the day you give your release the best chance of being read that day by the right editor or journalist and if they want more information, they have the afternoon to get it.

Mind you, having said this, I have sent out a press release on a Monday night after business hours and it was still published. I suspect this has more to do with content than good luck, which brings me to my last point…

The best way to ensure your press release will be published, regardless of when you send it out, is to ensure it meets the editorial guidelines of the individual magazines and papers to which you are sending. A common requirement is that your press release be newsworthy – it should not be self-promotional advertising or marketing.

You might consider it news that your business has created a new product and you are offering it for half price for the next two weeks but to everybody else that is pure advertising. Really it is a waste of time submitting such a release and it doesn't matter which day you send that type of press release – it will never be published.

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