When is the best time to send a press release to a journalist
Google and LinkedIn are full of articles and posts promising to provide the definitive answer to the question of when the best time to send a press release is. Always do it before 9am, never send it after 2pm, and forget Fridays altogether. The ‘guidance’ is often conflicting and unhelpful for those planning their press release projects and campaigns.
We wear two hats – one that helps inhouse teams to do PR for themselves, and one that does the PR for them. Our experience spanning 20+ years tells us that the ‘perfect’ time to send a press release simply does not exist. The truth is that unless your story relates to a subject dominating that days’ headlines, time is largely irrelevant.
Why timing is less relevant than you think
Journalists’ schedules vary radically. Some prefer early‑week pitching because they’re working to midweek deadlines; others are deep into weekend edition planning by Thursday and Friday. If you’re story is aimed at generating media interest within one of these specific timeframes, you need to be aware of the deadlines of those media outlets you want to cover it.
For everyone else, more than half in fact (MuckRack), they don’t care when they receive a press release. Their focus is the story itself, not the timestamp. Your role is to understand why your story should cut through the plethora of other story pitches that the journalist you are approaching receives that day (estimates put this at around 40!) and give them a reason to publish it. After all, they don’t care that it’s a big deal to you - their only interest is in sharing stories that are potentially interesting (and relevant!) to the audience they serve; it is not about you, it’s all about them!
Is your story a ‘story’?
Got a new website? A journalist won’t care. Hired a new junior level employee? This won’t spark a journalist’s interest. Relocated to new premises that’s a similar size to your old one? Sorry, this won’t get you any media coverage. There will be announcements from your business that will garner media coverage, but many more will be more suited to the company blog such as the examples above.
So, when considering the newsworthiness of your story you need to ask yourself a hard question:
Will anyone outside the four walls of our company really care about this story? If we stood up in a pub full of our peers to announce this to everyone there, would people look up to hear what we have to say or continue with what they were doing?
What journalists want
While timing is debated, journalists are very clear about their preferences in terms of the press release pitches they receive from clients:
1. Keep it short: Press releases under 400 words are most likely to be read and used.
2. Make it relevant: 55% of the stories journalists publish come directly from pitches and press releases they receive (Meltwater). If your news is genuinely meaningful, it will get picked up.
3. Give enough lead time: If you need coverage tied to a specific date, give at least 48 hours’ notice to the journalists you’re targeting.
These factors consistently matter more than the hour or day your email lands.
Time is a factor in that a story should only be sent when it is thoughtfully considered and at its strongest. That is easy for us to say because we have the benefit of over 20 years of media relations experience, and this is why businesses running their own PR function use us. We share our knowledge with in-house marketing teams and empower them to create and deliver successful PR projects and campaigns. Can we do the same for you?