How to submit a press release

You submit your press release to us using an online form

• Insert a headline for the release
• Supply your company name
• Supply the body text of the release itself
• Add images / word documents / pdf's / spreadsheets
• Choose the date of distribution
• Target the right journalists - select the relevant subject/distribution categories
• Preview your release
• If happy, send your release

Within a few hours your press release will appear on the SourceWire website. The very latest releases feature on the home page, while releases from the last month run on the press release section of the site. Journalists can also research stories using the search the site's archive offor older releases too, so your exposure is prolonged

Who gets the release?

The recipients are staff journalists, freelancers and newsdesks across the media:

• Regional & national newspapers
• Online news & key blogs
• TV and radio
• Trade journals
• Consumer magazines

Many journalists opt to receive releases directly by email. View this graph to see recipient counts. If you'd like to see a list (by subject category) of journalists receiving releases, please contact us: admin@dwpub.com

Many journalists also receive releases by RSS (really simple syndication). Our RSS feeds supply journalists with releases classified by subject, submitter or keyword. Releases are generally also included in the Google News.

How to write a press release

Distributing a release does not, of course, automatically result in coverage, but you will maximise the chances of interest from journalists with:

• A good story
  Think about the impression your release will make on your target audience of journalists. Something might interest you or your client, but that does not necessarily make it a story. For example, companies launch products all the time, but if there is something unique or unusual about the product, then it could be news.
• A strong headline that's both intriguing and informative. (Don't write the entire headline in capital letters - it can be difficult to read)
• An informative first paragraph carrying the crux of the story
• Quotes that add colour and information
• All the important facts - what, where, when
• Full contact details at the bottom of the release

You should also send releases direct to key target media on your own media lists and contact specific journalists by phone.

Sometimes it can take weeks or even months for coverage to appear - material from press releases can end up in longer features articles that are planned far ahead. It's also a good idea to keep the story alive with subsequent releases emphasising a different angle.

Remember, too, that the SourceWire press release wire can raise your profile significantly on the internet - on search engines and on influential communities, networks and blogs. That in itself is of vital importance.

How you pay

When you confirm submission of your release, the confirmation page indicates the total cost of distributing that release.

• If you do not have an account, you pay online for press release distribution by credit card at the time of submission.
• If you have an account with Daryl Willcox Publishing, you will be invoiced monthly in arrears, with invoices arriving at the beginning of the month. All releases submitted in the past calendar month will be conveniently and clearly itemised on a single invoice.

Prices

Up to three distribution categories	£50
Four to Ten distribution categories	£75
More than Ten distribution categories	£100
Images or other attachments	£20 per image or attachment
Video file	£40 one video max. per release.
Priority distribution	£15 supplement per release
Online Release Stats Report (pre-ordered at point of submission)	£20 per release
Archive Release Stats Report	£25 per press release
Press Association distribution	£70
Press Association Image distribution	£70 per image
Subscription Bundles available	call 0845 370 7777
prices are exclusive of VAT at 20%.

Search engine optimisation and embedded links

Web links within press releases can boost the destination site's visibility to search engines. Including web links on a press release hosted on www.sourcewire.com and www.responsesource.com can therefore drive traffic to your target website and/or your client's website.

Embedded links

The most effective link for search engine optimisation (SEO) is an embedded link. This will attract visitors to the version of your release that appears on our website. The words themselves form the live link on the web page and the inserted web address is not visible to the user.

To create embedded links in the body of the release, please follow these instructions: The syntax for the embedded link is: [keyword or keywords|http://www.website.com]

1. There must be NO space at the beginning of the web address.
2. The web address MUST include http://
3. You must NOT leave a space between the keyword and the vertical line (|)
4. You must NOT leave a space between the vertical line (|)and the linking address.
5. There must be NO space at the end of the web address.
6. For genuinely effective search engine optimisation, the link should point to a page where there is relevant information.

Here is an example of the HTML coding for a sentence to create an embedded link:
Daryl Willcox Publishing provides innovative services for [PR professionals|http://www.dwpub.com/products] which produce real results.
This will appear on the web page as:
Daryl Willcox Publishing provides innovative services for PR professionals which produce real results.

Standard web links

We recommend including at least one standard form web link in each press release. This is because press releases are emailed to recipients in plain text. To include a standard web link, url or an email address in your press release simply type it as normal eg. www.dwpub.com or admin@dwpub.com . This will automatically link so there is no need to include any html tags. Please note you cannot include web links or embedded links in the headline of your release.

Summary

Press releases are emailed to recipients in plain text emails. All emails contain references to the full (rich text) version of the press release appears on our websites. To increase the search engine effectiveness of your press release we recommend including some embedded links and at least one standard link in your press release

There is no extra charge for including embedded links in your press release.

Optimising your headline

Search engines use robots to find websites; they read the <title> tag on each page and this is what appears in search engine results. This makes these tags of key importance to search engine optimisation. This also means that the right choice of keywords in your release and your headline is very important in ensuring relevant appearances in search engine results.

Press releases submitted through our press release wire are distributed through a number of channels to reach your desired target audience. Our own websites SourceWire and ResponseSource constitute two of these channels. We permanently archive every single press release in prominent sections of these much-visited websites, and your release headline will appear in the <title> tags of the HTML for that page.

Adding images, attachments and video

A news release with a picture or video is likely to attract more interest than text only content. Images and videos are also indexed separately by search engines providing additional visibility.

Images and Attachments

You can attach files such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets or PDFs. The recommended minimum dimensions of a source image are 300 pixels x 300 pixels. There is a £20 charge for each image or file attachment you add to your press release.

Videos

A video file can be uploaded and will appear on your press release page in an unbranded embedded player. There is a £40 charge for adding a video to a press release.

Copyright

All images, attachments and video content is displayed with your press release on the SourceWire and ResponseSource websites. Please ensure you own the copyright for any images or files, or that you have permission from the copyright holders to use it.

Your own press release page and RSS feed

By regularly submitting releases you will build up your own press release page on SourceWire and ResponseSource. This page will be accessible from a dedicated link added to each of your releases: 'View all releases submitted by...'. The page also includes a ready-made RSS feed link to maximise your presence on news sites.

For example, see the archive and RSS feed for DWPub's press releases.

Soundbites

A soundbite is a juicy snippet, a relevant quote, or a key message taken from the body of your press release. This is displayed in a highlighted box-out section on the online version of your press release. View an example press release with a soundbite.

Adding a soundbite

You can add a soundbite to your press release by surrounding the snippet of body text that you want to pick out with two curly brackets. Like this: .....the famous phrase in Franklin D. Roosevelt's first Inaugural in 1933 was " {{ The only thing we have to fear is - fear itself. }} "

About soundbites

In the online version of the press release on www.sourcewire.com and www.responsesource.com, the soundbite text will appear in quotation marks in a highlighted box-out section. In the email distribution, the curly brackets are automatically removed. We distribute press releases in plain text.

You may select one Soundbite per release with a maximum 150 characters in length. There is no extra charge for including a soundbite in your press release.

SourceWire News Distribution Channels

When you use SourceWire News Distribution, you may get more than than you think.

All press releases will appear on:

• 
• RSS feeds

Optionally, press releases appear on the Press Association:

• 

Most of the releases submitted through our service are added to:

• 
• 
• 

• 
• 

Our websites are also indexed by major search engines, including:

• 
• 
• 

All this and more.... all of the press releases through us are emailed to thousands of subscribed journalists.

Release Stats

With our release stats you can monitor and analyse your press release's online impact. Release stats pages include useful data and statistics on each press release and can help in planning future online campaigns.

What’s included?

• Online hits graph
• Count of email recipients that you release was sent to.
• Search Engine Referral Terms
• Analysis of traffic sources
• Easy to export pdf report

Download example Release Stats report

Viewing Release Stats

Your press release confirmation email will include a link to your release stats report. Release stats reports can also be accessed through www.dwpub.com/myaccount/

Cost

£20 for each release stats report. We will host your release stats reports, and continue to gather data on your press release indefinitely.

Archive reports for historic releases are available at a cost of £25 (+vat) per report.

Tips for creating effective Video News Releases

• A video release is not a substitute for a written release. A punchy 300-word message works better than a ten minute mini-movie. Don’t try to cram in too much.
• Long is wrong Three minutes is plenty for a video news release. Avoid lots of detail – your objective is to get the viewer wanting to know more.
• Captions and messages are useful reinforcement. But, over-use will simply distract the viewer and muddle your message.
• Writing an autocue script is a skill. Learn how to write script, or budget for professional scriptwriting.
• Video News should look like independent editorial. Avoid the temptation to write an ‘in-house promo’ film.
• Expensive location shoots are unnecessary. Quick, simple and free images can work just as well. But if your client wants to be interviewed use a professional production team.
• Think what you want your video to achieve. If possible script it for a longer ‘shelf life’ than a written release.
• Look at the back screen. Think about using the back screen for images that illustrate your script.
• Leave ‘em wanting more. Build a sequence of movie releases. Maintain consistency with your messages.
• Exploit all channels. From email to social media; from exhibition stands and receptions, smart-phones and laptops and iPads.
• Consider using Video News as a long term, strategic brand builder. Video can be much more than a tactical project tool.

These tips provided by Fridays Video News. For more information on video news production services contact Tony Lockwood on 01234 721236 or TonyL@fridays-group.co.uk