Press releases, Mumbai
Press release writing and distribution, and when not to bother
A release is a tool, not a strategy. Written well and sent to the right twenty people it earns coverage. Blasted to a database it earns nothing, and most of what is sold as distribution is the second thing.
Honest first
When a release is worth writing
Most releases are written because something happened internally, not because anybody outside would care.
Worth it
- Funding, acquisition or a genuine expansion
- Data you hold that nobody else has
- A senior hire that signals a direction
- A product that is actually new, not a new colour
- A result or milestone with a number attached
Not worth it
- An anniversary
- A website redesign
- A festival greeting
- Attending a conference
- An award you paid to enter and won
If there is no news, a release will not create any. The more useful move is usually an opinion piece or a comment pitch, which needs no event at all.
The craft
Why most releases are deleted on the first line
A journalist decides in about three seconds. Everything that matters sits at the top.
The news in the first sentence
Not the company history. What happened, who it affects, why now. If the first line is a mission statement, nothing after it gets read.
A quote worth quoting
Most release quotes say nothing. One with an opinion, a number or an admission in it is the part that actually gets lifted.
Facts a desk can verify
Figures, dates, names, spellings. Anything a sub-editor has to chase is a reason to run something else instead.
Usable images
High resolution, correctly captioned, sent as links rather than as attachments that bounce.
Distribution
Targeted pitching versus wire services
The difference is who ends up actually reading it.
Targeted pitching
Twenty to thirty named journalists who cover your sector, each approached individually with a reason this suits their desk. Slower, more work, and it produces nearly all of the real coverage.
Wire distribution
Paid placement into a syndication network. It produces listings on aggregator sites quickly, which looks like coverage. It rarely produces a journalist writing a story, because no journalist chose it.
Wire has its uses: regulatory announcements, or when a company needs a dated public record of a statement. For earning editorial attention it is usually money better spent on the pitching.
FAQs
Press releases: common questions
How much does a press release cost in Mumbai?
Writing and targeted distribution is usually sold inside a PR retainer, which published figures put from about ₹80,000 a month at boutique level. As a standalone it is priced per release. Wire distribution is charged separately by the wire service and is not an agency fee.
How many publications will pick it up?
Nobody can promise a number, and a specific figure should make you suspicious. A well-targeted release on genuine news might earn two or three real pieces, which is a good result. A wire blast might show thirty listings that no human read.
Can you guarantee coverage?
No. Editorial coverage is earned because a journalist judged it worth writing. Anyone guaranteeing a named publication is selling paid placement, which is advertising and should be priced and labelled as such.
How long should a release be?
Rarely more than four hundred words. The news, a quote, the supporting facts, the boilerplate. Length is not a sign of importance, and a desk reading fifty of these a day will not reward it.
Should we release in Hindi or Marathi too?
For regional and vernacular press, yes, and it is often where the better coverage is. Those outlets reach audiences the English business press does not, and they receive far less competition for attention.
When is the best time to send one?
Mid-morning, midweek, and never on a Friday afternoon. More importantly, send when the news is actually true rather than when the calendar suggests.
Tell us what happened
We will tell you honestly whether it is news, and what to do instead if it is not.