Writing the release is half the job. This is the other half, the mechanics of actually getting it distributed: picking a service, formatting it so it survives submission, timing it, and reading the report that comes back. No theory, just the steps.
Step 1: Decide what "sent" means for this release
Before you touch a distribution form, know which of these you're doing, because they're different processes:
- Wire distribution: paying a service to syndicate your release across a network of news sites. Guaranteed placements, no guaranteed stories.
- Direct pitching: emailing specific journalists, usually before the wire goes out. No guarantees at all, but it's the only path to an actual written story.
- Both, sequenced: pitch first (often under embargo), wire second. This is the standard play for funding rounds and launches, because the wire creates the public record after the exclusive lands.
Most businesses should do both for big news and wire-only for routine announcements. If you're not sure which problem you're solving, read distribution vs. pitching first. It'll save you money.
Step 2: Choose the service
Short version: budget wires (about $99) get you on the record, modern services ($150–$400) get you recognizable outlet names and better reports, legacy wires ($800+) get you newsroom terminals and compliance-grade distribution. The full comparison is in our services breakdown, and the full price map is in the cost guide.
One rule regardless of tier: pick the service before finalizing the release. Word counts, multimedia specs, and formatting rules vary, and it's cheaper to write to the spec than to trim 200 words at the submission screen.
Step 3: Format for submission
Wire submission forms are pickier than they look. What gets releases bounced back or mangled:
- Headline length. Keep it under about 100 characters. Longer headlines get truncated on syndication partners, usually mid-thought.
- A real dateline. City, state, date. Services add their own if you skip it, and it's often wrong.
- Plain text discipline. Paste from a plain-text editor, not Word. Smart quotes, em dashes, and invisible characters routinely break wire renderers, and your release will publish with question marks where punctuation should be.
- Links: 2–3 maximum, full URLs. Most wires cap the number of links and some strip anchor text. Put the most important one (your announcement page) in the first half.
- Boilerplate and contact block. A 2–3 sentence "About" paragraph and a named human with a real email. Releases with no press contact look like ads, because they usually are.
- Multimedia. Upload the image to the service rather than hotlinking. Check the size specs, because a rejected image can hold the whole release in review.
If you built the release with a structured template, most of this is already handled. The format exists precisely because wires and newsrooms expect it.
Step 4: Pick the time
The condensed rules (the full timing guide has the evidence):
- Tuesday through Thursday, early morning Eastern. Most services see the best pickup in the 6–9 a.m. ET window.
- Avoid Mondays (inbox backlog), Friday afternoons (news graveyard), and the dead weeks around major holidays.
- Schedule, don't send live. Every serious service lets you submit a day or more ahead with a set release time. Use it, since it also gives editorial review time to flag problems before your target moment, not during it.
Step 5: Handle the embargo, if there is one
An embargo means you've shared the news with journalists ahead of time on the agreement they won't publish before a set moment. Mechanics that matter:
- Write "EMBARGOED UNTIL [date, time, time zone]" at the top of anything you share early. Time zone included, because this is the most common embargo screwup.
- Only embargo with journalists who've agreed to it, ideally in writing. An unsolicited email marked "embargoed" binds nobody.
- Set the wire release time to the embargo lift, not before. A wire posting early blows every agreement you made.
- Know the difference from an exclusive: an embargo lets several outlets publish simultaneously, while an exclusive gives one outlet a head start. Don't promise both to different people, because journalists compare notes.
Step 6: Submit and clear editorial review
After you hit submit, a human or automated editorial pass checks the release, typically minutes to a full business day depending on tier. They're screening for advertising disguised as news, unsupported claims ("the leading," "the best" with no source), legal red flags, and formatting breaks. Two practical notes:
- Superlatives and hype don't just read badly. They generate review flags and delays, which is another reason to write it straight.
- Once distribution starts, there is no recall. Syndication partners republish within minutes and corrections mean distributing a second release. Proofread names, numbers, and links like the release is permanent, because it is. (More on the whole pipeline in what happens after you submit.)
Step 7: Read the report for what it is
Within 24–72 hours you'll get a placement or distribution report. What the numbers mean:
- Placements / pickups: sites that republished the release. Real, verifiable, and the core of what you paid for. Spot-check the links.
- Potential audience / impressions: the sum of the total monthly readership of every site that carried it. Not people who saw your release. Ignore this number, because every service inflates it the same way.
- Actual signal: referral traffic in your analytics, the release ranking for your company name, inbound emails, and whether the links resolve. Those are the outcomes worth recording.
The checklist
- Decide: wire, pitch, or both sequenced.
- Pick the service and write to its spec.
- Format clean: headline under 100 characters, dateline, plain text, 2–3 links, contact block.
- Schedule for Tuesday–Thursday morning ET, avoiding holidays.
- Paper the embargo properly if there is one.
- Submit early enough to clear editorial review before your moment.
- Judge the report by placements and referrals, not "potential audience."
Ready to send one properly? [See how RepuPR handles the whole flow](/how-it-works), from planning to placement report, with public pricing.