“Put it on the wire” … but what does that mean?

We’ve all heard “let’s put this on the wire!” It sounds super glamorous, right?

 

Well, here’s the scoop: wire can be helpful in promoting a message, but it’s not always the solution. In this post, I’ll explain what a wire release is, who should use it and when.

First, what IS a wire release? It’s a method of distributing information through a press release we’ve written for our client through a wire. In the early days of journalism, all kinds of stories went out on “the wire” to be published in newspapers across the country. Eventually, marketing firms could distribute similar stories on a business “wire.” That has evolved into the digital era with a similar distribution strategy but using digital tools.

Second, WHY would you use a wire release? Some common reasons for putting a release on the wire include product launches and big investment announcements when the client wants as many headlines and page views as possible.

Third, HOW does all this work? We typically partner with a wire vendor like PR Newswire or Businesswire to push out the release. There are other players in the game, but generally speaking, we can get more reputable placements from a PR Newswire versus a smaller competitor. We’re always looking for value for our clients from these wire buys.

Generally speaking, we’ll pursue the nationwide release, which will be published in print and online nationally across the United States. At a minimum, we’re looking at a cost of about $1,000 for that wire release, but the price goes up based on word count, images, and more.

Fun fact: We can also select an option for a few hundred dollars to get the press release headline on a board in Times Square.

A cheaper option for PR Newswire is something called Webmax. It’s a digital-only distribution for half the cost and about half the placements.

When we’re logging placements, we usually include just one line for the PR Newswire release, even though that release might technically appear in hundreds of places. We report on the number of placements secured and the raw audience numbers. Still, we know that wire placements don’t hold the same cache as manually placed pieces, meaning where our team pitches a reporter, works with the reporter on the story and produces a unique piece. On the other hand, they boost search results in ways that earned editorial cannot through sheer volume.

We lean on wire releases at certain times, especially when building a client’s brand reputation or SEO portfolio, but we do that while simultaneously pitching the good old-fashioned way.