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Timing Press Releases Strategically

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About this lesson

The timing of a press release is crucial to its success. Timing will increase both the odds of getting your press release approved for publication and the readership of your press release.

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Quick reference

Timing Press Releases Strategically

The timing of a press release is crucial to its success. Timing will increase both the odds of getting your press release approved for publication and the readership of your press release: news will be read if it is relevant.

When to use

When planning and writing a press release.

Instructions

Here are 5 factors that you need to consider when it comes to deciding the timing of your press release:

  1. Publishers’ timing guidelines: be aware of the timing guidelines of the publishers you want to send your press release to. Find out when’s the best time of the week and of the day for submitting a press release. It is your responsibility to time your press release to suit the guidelines of each media channel you want to use.
  2. Optimizing publication on social media: time the posting of your press release on social media to peak time so that more people are likely to be online. This is where knowing your audience is handy. Is your target audience American? If so, publish your press release at Americans peak times. It will be ineffective to publish your press release based on UK peak times when your target audience is in the US.
  3. Synchronize with related news: launching new products and publishing company news alongside related news will work to your benefit.  Equally, you don’t want to compete with other events, rather you want to increase coverage of your news and event attendance.
  4. Optimize your sales cycles: make the publication of your press releases coincide with those times during the month and year when your sales dip to increase sales. The point of marketing through press releases is to keep your company’s momentum going.
  5. The value in waiting: don’t be in a hurry to publish your press release the moment you have finished writing it. Only publish your press release when the timing is right. Don’t rush it.

These factors vary depending on your company’s needs and the nature of your press release.

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  • 00:05 Now we've come to an interesting section,
  • 00:07 which is timing our press releases strategically.
  • 00:10 The timing of press releases is really crucial to its success, and
  • 00:14 the good news is that you can control the timing, in your favor.
  • 00:20 So let's have a look at what timing can do for you, and why it's so important.
  • 00:25 Timing will actually increase the odds of getting your press release approved
  • 00:29 and published.
  • 00:30 And it will increase the readership of your press release.
  • 00:34 The news will obviously be ranked, if it's relevant.
  • 00:37 Now the many factors that you're gonna need to consider when it comes to deciding
  • 00:42 the timing of the press release.
  • 00:44 We're going to consider five of these factors particularly.
  • 00:47 Firstly, we're gonna look at the publisher's timing guidelines, and
  • 00:51 then optimizing publication on your social media channel.
  • 00:55 And then we're gonna have a look at synchronizing of this related news,
  • 00:59 optimizing your own sales cycles, as well as the value that there is in waiting.
  • 01:05 Now, each of these factors will obviously vary, and
  • 01:09 that will depend on your company's needs, and the nature of your press release.
  • 01:14 So let's go ahead and look at these factors one at a time.
  • 01:17 Now with regards to timing guidelines, from your publishers,
  • 01:21 we're gonna need to be aware of the timing guidelines of the publishing house, and
  • 01:25 of the newspapers, that will be accepting our press release.
  • 01:30 Make sure to find out when it's the best time of the week,
  • 01:34 best time of the day, for them to accept the press release.
  • 01:37 For some of them, Fridays are actually the worst day of the week, and for
  • 01:41 some of them, night emails might work better,
  • 01:44 because they finalize their work in the mornings.
  • 01:47 So the key is really, that it's up to you to time the press release, so
  • 01:52 that we can suit the guidelines, of each of these channels.
  • 01:57 Now social media is really powerful to amplify, so
  • 02:00 why not use it to spread the press release, when it's ready.
  • 02:04 You've gotta time the posting of the press release
  • 02:07 on social media to make sure that you can get it out there during peak time.
  • 02:12 That way more people will be online, and more people can subsequently share it.
  • 02:16 This is really where knowing your audience comes in handy.
  • 02:19 Is your target audience American, for example?
  • 02:22 If it is, then you've gotta publish the press release at America's peak time and
  • 02:27 not Australian or British peak time.
  • 02:29 It'll be ineffective really to publish it, based on UK peak times or
  • 02:34 European peak times, if your audience is indeed in the US.
  • 02:39 Now, another useful strategy would be to synchronize it with related news.
  • 02:44 So, when it comes to press releases, it can only work in your favor, if you launch
  • 02:48 new products and you publish your companies alongside some related news.
  • 02:54 This is really where we are going to be tactical.
  • 02:56 If you belong to a toy company and you're working on a press release about a range
  • 03:01 of Star Wars toys, then the launch has gotta be communicated
  • 03:06 near the release of the Star Wars movie and the Star Wars press.
  • 03:10 Another example, if your company's hosting a charity event for
  • 03:15 VIPs, then your press release should not be
  • 03:17 published around the time of the Grammy Awards or any other VIP events.
  • 03:22 Why not?
  • 03:23 Because you don't really want to compete with other events, but instead,
  • 03:27 we're gonna try to increase our coverage and our event attendance.
  • 03:33 Now we want to make sure that we can optimize the sell cycle.
  • 03:37 So what do we mean by this?
  • 03:39 We wanna try and make the publication of our press release coincide with
  • 03:44 those times, during the month and the year, when our sales cycle is down.
  • 03:48 In other words, during our dip.
  • 03:51 Because this will help us to increase our sales.
  • 03:54 The point of marketing through press release,
  • 03:57 is to keep the company's momentum going.
  • 04:00 So perhaps your company sees most of its sales at the end or
  • 04:04 at the beginning of the month.
  • 04:06 In this case,
  • 04:07 press releases about new products, should be launched in the middle of the month.
  • 04:11 And that will help us to have a much better,
  • 04:14 much more even spread in our sales.
  • 04:17 Now there's certainly value in waiting.
  • 04:19 Don't be in a hurry to publish your press release the moment you've
  • 04:22 finished writing it.
  • 04:24 It's exciting in the beginning and especially with social media,
  • 04:28 if you've got 100,000 followers,
  • 04:30 it's like sitting there with your finger on the nuclear button.
  • 04:34 But don't be rushed.
  • 04:35 Only publish the press release, when the timing is right.
  • 04:39 For example and this is a good example actually,
  • 04:41 Adele the singer launched an album towards the end of 2015.
  • 04:47 And thanks to effective press releases, it went platinum at least.
  • 04:52 So this resulted actually,
  • 04:54 in marketing agencies holding back the release of other top singer's albums,
  • 04:59 until the hype and the excitement of Adele's album had dwindled.
  • 05:03 So for those other singers,
  • 05:05 timing was actually crucial to the success of their own album.

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