How to issue a press release

I saw this request and most definitely had to answer since this is my area of expertise.

There are two things you should do to distribute a press release.

1) Use a press release distribution service such as BusinessWire or PR Web. I personally prefer BusinessWire. For a minimum fee you have your press release distributed to all your local press and your trade press. Big business pubs such as USA Today, NY Times and Wall Street Journal will pick up a good, timely story from the trade pubs. This method will get a decent amount of pick-up.

2) You need to research media within your industry. I'm not sure what your press release entails, but research the publications and reporters that cover your sector. On the day you plan to distribute the press release (Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best), be sure you draft a pitch that will give a brief overview of the press release and it's significance to that reporter, your contact information, offer a spokes person, etc...and then include the full press release at the bottom of your pitch. The best way to find contact information is via a media database such as Bacon's Media Source, but if you do not have that, you'll need to do extensive research via the publication's website. Unfortunately, websites can be tricky and may not display specific contact information, hence the reason a database works best, but you have to utilize the tools that are available to you.