So, you’re totally taking your film PR by the horns and you’ve managed to write the big bad Press Release (or you’ve hired someone to do it for you, either way, I’m giving you some major thumbs up). You’ve gone through a few re-drafts and now you have a solid, iron proof document ready for writers, bloggers and journalists to digest. Now what? Well, you’ve got to get it out there! And there are so many ways you can do this.
Your Production Website
First off, pop your press release up on your production website. Like now! Link it to your press page, information page. about us page, whichever one you think works best. Make sure it’s easy for people to find and super easy for anyone to download. Also, make sure it’s not a PDF file. You want bloggers and news outlets to be able to copy and paste it easily. A simple word doc tends to be universally appreciated.
PR Distribution Platforms
There are so many distribution platforms online that specialize in publishing your press release; making it quick and easy to find for journalists. There are two kinds; the ones that are free, and the ones that aren’t.
Now I’m all for slicing costs and saving a pretty penny, but in my opinion, your press release is one place where you’re not going to want to cut corners. Don’t get me wrong, by all means publish your press release on the free sites – I totally encourage this! But you’re not going to want to rely on these platforms alone.
You’re going to want to publish a few press releases (because we hope you’re going to be writing a few throughout your production’s lifespan) on the paid platforms. Why? Because they offer better services and you’re likely to find more “specialized” journalists interested in what you have to say. Remember, the cost of these can add up fast, with prices typically starting around $99 per press release. So budget this in from the beginning of production! Or if it’s too late for that, do your best to save up now. It might not seem like it, but this is vital to your production success.
Reaching Out
Oh yeah, you read that right. You’re going to have to get a little proactive and hit up news outlets directly. Now, be smart about this and spend some quality time researching exactly which publications/bloggers/sites (you name it) might be interested in your production. However, don’t just stick to film and TV platforms. Noooo. Find platforms that talk about the topics that are key to your production. Are you promoting #WomenInFilm ? Then find magazines and bloggers who talk about this and topic around it – we’re talking feminist blogs, gender equality platforms etc. You get the idea.
Find out whom to contact, send them a short and sweet email explaining who you are and why you’re contacting them (don’t be afraid to state what you would like from them), attach your press release, a good quality image and hit send! At the very worst, you just won’t hear back from them. And at the best – you’ve got a whole new wad of eyeballs on your stuff!
Article written by Alexa Berry for The Monthly Film Festival
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