By: Julia Brolin
Educators’ calendars are jam-packed. Back to school is always hectic, then comes fall break, Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, testing, the end of school, and summer vacation. It can seem like there’s never a “good time” to make an announcement in the education industry. And if you do find a time to send a press release, how do you make sure that what you’re announcing is exciting enough that media outlets or their readers for that matter, will even care?
We’ve learned from experience that a successful press release requires equal parts timing, relevancy, and content. Here are some dos and don’ts we’ve picked up over the years.
- DO consider the time of day. Be sure to take the editor’s schedule into consideration. Watch their publication schedule and send at a time to ensure your email doesn’t get missed.
- DON’T send a release on or near a holiday. During these times, the likelihood of editors or education decision-makers being out of the office or working feverishly to prepare for being out of the office is pretty high. Either way, your release won’t get the attention it deserves.
- DON’T send a release on Monday or Friday. According to PRNewswire, Friday is not ideal for a release, since it’ll likely be on hold until the following week. On the flip side, releases sent on a Monday tend to get buried in a reporter’s full inbox.
- DO make an announcement before a big conference. We find that press releases sent out the week before large industry gatherings do extremely well. If your company is attending the conference, a fresh press release provides your conference team timely and exciting news to discuss.
- DON’T forget to connect to today’s news. If your release is relevant to current events and effectively connects to important trends and topics, media outlets are much more likely to pick it up.
- DO tout your new products and product updates. Product-centered press releases give media outlets a clear, simple news item. Be careful, though: make sure your new product or feature is different enough from what came before to make it newsworthy to the industry as a whole, not just your customers.
- DON’T count on the appeal of personnel changes, awards, or company milestones. Yes, it matters a great deal to you that your company has a new VP of sales or just won a citation from your local mayor, but national media and their audience of educators simply may not care. (Want to know more about industry awards? Download our eGuide!)
- DO announce big implementations, renewals, and expansions. Innovative educators around the country watch what tools influencer districts are implementing, so if your release passes in front of the right set of eyes, you may have a new customer on the horizon. A well-written and widely shared press release also shows your current district partner that you are proud of your relationship with them and will work hard to maintain it.
Before deciding to send a release, remember to take a step back and put yourself in a reporter or editor’s shoes. Ask yourself, “Why should they care?” or more importantly, “Why should their readers care?” If you can’t answer these questions, maybe reconsider your approach. You can always send an email with your “big news” to your current customers, include it in your company newsletter, or share it on your website and social media platforms.
Thanks for sharing!
