Why Your Press Release Sucks

Very few people read press releases from small companies; by "small", we typically mean "companies for whom press releases won't affect stock prices".

You probably misunderstood the point of a release. That's OK: most marketing professionals don't get it either. The point of a press release is to have your story mentioned in the mainstream media. But for the most part, the trade journalists in your field don't spend their days glued to BusinessWire. To the extent they do, it's to see if Google is doing something interesting.

If you want to get written up in the mainstream press, make a list of journalists who write stories about technology like yours. You should have at least 4-5 of them. Now, pitch them a story in a (very) brief direct email message.

Conclude that email with, "Thank you for your time. ps: I do a lot of work in this technology space, and have a very broad network. Please let me know if I can help you get in touch with anyone in my field for any of your future stories, or answer any questions."

#8 Your press release contained no customer quotes

To the extent that a small company press release is going to be picked up in the mainstream press, it's going to be on the strength of the customer statements in the release. Not what they say, so much as who they are. Although you're unlikely to get picked up regardless, you are far more likely to get picked up if your press release asserts a business relationship with Google or Bank of America.