estranged press releases?

This post is about my experience with how to improve your chances for the publication of press releases when you're sending them to foreign publications.

Say your company Headquarters is located in some country in CEE.

Say your company has commercial interests in other European countries, without having established a direct presence. So you have no local staff.

Say your marketing actions are handled centrally from your company's headquarters.

Say you've done your homework and built a list of relevant publications from the targeted countries.

How do you get these media channels to support you and publish your releases?

Let's assume that your release is well written and that it's worth reading for your audience: 

• it's relevant for the targeted country,
• it is about facts,
• it has market figures,
• it has a catchy intro, 
• it offers all the information needed by the journalist,
• it doesn't speak mainly about your company,
• it doesn't advertise your service in a text stuffed with superlatives,
• it's not sloppy-written,
• it has the right language.

Let's also say that the localization was done with natives, so they're impeccably translated.

However, your press releases doesn't make it into the pages of the publications you've contacted.

So it's not the content, nor the relevance of the channel. What is it, then?

If it's not the content, nor the channel, it's you

It must be you. Namely, it's the personal relationship and the direct contact you have with the journalists. 

I was sending with a monthly frequences my industry-related materials to industry-relevant titles, with not very predictable outcome, until I got better at it. I even started receiving invitations to contribute articles to special features in my target-publications.

• Send the release in a directly-addressed email. You have to do better than sending it to press@, contact@, news@;
• Each time your materials is published, promptly write a thank-you note to the editor of the publication to let him know that you appreciate his support;
• Add the journalists to your professional network of contacts on LinkedIn. Once I established this connection, my pick-up rate has significantly improved.