How to Send A Press Release in Media Relations

Create and send email press releases via Outreach.

Whitney W. avatar
Written by Whitney W.
Updated over a week ago

Welcome to your go-to guide on sending Press Releases within Media Relations. This article will walk you through the following:

To learn more about all the features within Media Relations, check out our article How to do Media Research in Meltwater.


Sending a Press Release

Before sending a release, make sure you have saved the journalists you'd like to reach out to within a media list. View How to Create and Organize Media Lists to learn more.

Follow the steps outlined below on how to send a press release:

  1. Navigate to Media Relations from the left-hand side navigation bar

  2. Select Outreach

  3. Click the purple Actions button

    NOTE: If you do not see this, check your user settings to make sure you're set up as with an administrator role.

  4. Select Create outreach to start a new release.

NOTE: If you are presented with a pop-up to 'Set Up Email', you will first need to add your email address as an approved sender before composing your release. Check out How to Add an Approved Sender.

Now you can create a new release under Compose Email:

  1. Select your Template. The dropdown list will include templates your team has previously saved. Learn more about How to Create and Use Outreach Templates.

  2. Select your email sender. If your desired sending address isn't on the list, please refer to the How to Add an Approved Sender.

  3. Add your media lists. This can be done via the dropdown list on the side or by typing in the name. You can also add email addresses directly.

  4. Add a subject. Type in the subject of the press release.

  5. Format your release. We recommend writing your release in a Word document first and then copy/paste into this window. You can also copy/paste in a Press Release crafted through PR Assistant. Learn more about formatting options below.

  6. Add attachments. Attach files saved on your device, check out What is the attachment size limit.

  7. Send preview. Send yourself a preview to ensure the release is formatted as expected. The preview will be sent to the ‘From’ sender email.

  8. Send later. You will have the option to ‘Save as Draft’, allowing you to come back in and make any changes to the release or ‘Schedule delivery’ by selecting the send day and time of your release.

  9. Send now. The press release will be sent out immediately.

Check out this short video on how to use Media Relations Outreach.


Sending a Press Release to One Journalist

When reviewing a journalist's profile preview or profile, you can send out a press release directly to the individual.

Option 1: Via Profile Preview

  1. Click on a journalist to open their profile preview

  2. Select Email

  3. This opens a New message window where you can compose your email

  4. Select Send.

Option 2: Via Profile

  1. Open a journalist’s full profile

  2. Click the purple Actions button

  3. Select Send Email

  4. The opens a New message window where you can compose your email

  5. Select Send.

NOTE: If you have email integration set up through Shared Inbox, the integrated email composer will open in lieu of the Outreach tool.


Formatting Tools

When sending a press release via outreach we offer a rich text editor allowing you to format your text properly to better get the message to your contacts.

Format options include:

  1. System Font - choose from 11 font options.

  2. Font Size - choose from 7 font size options.

  3. Font Format - choose to bold, italicize, or underline your text.

  4. Font Color - choose a preselected color from the color picker.

  5. Font Alignment - choose to align your font right, left, center, or justify.

  6. Additional Options - bullet, number, decrease indent, or increase indent of your text.

  7. Mail Merge - address the journalist by first and/or last name. Note that the first name does not appear in the preview of outreach emails. The recipient portion of the preview will show [FIRST NAME APPEARS HERE], and once you send the final version to the journalist or media list, it will appear with their name.

  8. Add Attachment - select from a file saved on your computer.

  9. Add hyperlink - add a hyperlink to any wording within your release. You will be prompted to add the URL, text to display, title, and how you would like the link to open.

  10. HTML - take customization to the next level by entering your own HTML source code.


Drafting, Scheduling and Deleting Releases

Once you've started formatting your release, if you're not ready to send immediately via 'Send now' you can select 'Send later' to open additional options:

Save as Draft

Draft distributions can be opened by any of your colleagues who are also Meltwater users and used as a template design to be duplicated in the future. To access your drafts:

  1. Navigate to Media Relations

  2. Select Outreach

  3. You can view all releases, Drafts are identified via the Status column.

Schedule delivery

Within Send Later, Schedule your release based on your timezone. To schedule within ‘Send Later’:

  1. Select Schedule delivery

  2. Select the day and time

  3. Click save.

Deleting releases

Drafts and sent releases can be deleted from the list of all releases. To delete within Outreach:

  1. Hover over the distribution

  2. Select the Kebab menu

  3. Select Delete. This action will remove the record of the release from your view, please note that there isn't an option to revoke sent distributions from journalist's email inbox.


Email Limits

To prevent spam and increase your email open rate, we've set up some outbound requirements that will increase your overall outreach effectiveness.

  • A company cannot send to more than 1,000 recipients in a single distribution.

  • A company cannot send to more than 1,000 recipients within a 24-hour period.

    • This limit can be lifted with a relevant email upgrade. Reach out to your account team for more information about outreach email upgrades.


💡 Tip

Need more help? Feel free to reach out to us via Live Chat or check out our Customer Community.

Find answers and get help from Meltwater Support and Community Experts.


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