This is why I’m not going to be covering your press release

As press releases are making their way into my inbox following the relatively quiet period, I thought I’d reiterate why they aren’t always such a good idea – and why it is always worth researching who you are pitching.

Every day my inbox is teeming with press releases. News of a new launch. A new product. A merger. A new campaign. Some of the news I might have covered in my old life as a reporter, where as the title might indicate, my job was to report on news in my industry. During that time, strong interesting news stories pinging in my inbox were gratefully received. But not now. Today, like many freelancers, I write features. So those press releases dropping in my inbox are often a waste of time for everyone. As well as most not concerning the sectors I write about (that's another newsletter), the simple fact is I don't write news stories so I'm not going to be reporting on your press release. I no longer sit on a news desk writing about launches/mergers/appointments/acquisitions/campaigns etc, so the hard truth is that unless you're able to come up with a solid feature idea (something I talk about a lot in my workshops and online course) related to the press release, it's just a waste of an email. 

Also, it's worth pointing out that if the news is going to get picked up, it will be covered by an in-house journalist so if we pitched the idea to an editor it's a bit useless as it's already out there. And they're not going to pay us to write up a news release. This is why it always pays to research and target the journalists you are pitching. Eventually many will block you for sending irrelevant emails through to their inbox. We much prefer those who have spent time sending us a targeted email and building relationships with us.