For us to be able to take on the distribution of your press release, your release must meet the criteria below.
Content requirements
News value: the release must have news value for the press. This can be the launch of a new product or service, an organisational change, winning an award, an expert opinion on a current topic, the publication of survey results, etc. The headline must clearly refer to the content of the news.
News source: the title or text of the press release must make the source of the news clear, which is the company, institution, organisation, etc. issuing the release. If an agency submits the release, the news source is the agency's client.
Objective tone: your release must be free of direct address (I, we, you), unless you use it in a quote. Direct address would suggest that the release is advertising rather than news. You should also avoid exaggerated claims and writing in capital letters, as these call the credibility of the news into question.
Prohibited expressions: the release must not be offensive, threatening, aggressive, defamatory, violent, intimidating or otherwise objectionable. It must not attempt to cause panic or fear and must not be intended to cause harm.
Quotes: clearly mark opinions in your release and do not present them as facts. If you quote from an external source, make sure it is a verified source.
Written authorisation: in the case of major corporate announcements, such as mergers or acquisitions, we may ask the company's executive for written permission to approve the distribution of the release.
Legally accurate: for every press release concerning legal or criminal matters, we require a court case number or other appropriate documentation.
Formal requirements
Length of the release: your release must be at least 300 words long. Search engines have a harder time indexing content that is too short.
Grammar and spelling: your release must be free of grammatical and spelling errors. Avoid jargon and make sure its content can be understood by as many people as possible.
Formatting: do not use tables or embedded images in your release. Attach images as separate files when submitting. If your release contains links, make sure the websites behind them actually work. If one or more links in the release lead to an error page, we cannot publish the release.
Maximum number of links: the release may contain at most 1 link per 100 words.
Prohibited content
Our press service does not distribute the following content.
Advertisements: if a press release is primarily aimed at selling a product or service, it is an advertisement, not a press release. A good press release informs the media and the public about a newsworthy topic. If the primary purpose of the document is selling, we cannot distribute it.
Sexual and adult content: the press release must not contain references or links to sexual products or content, illegal products or obscene expressions.
Copying: news, opinion pieces and editorial articles taken from other websites or publications – especially if they are protected by copyright – do not qualify as press releases.
Duplicate content: a press release can be distributed through our press service only once. In addition, a significant part of every press release must be original content. Boilerplate content is not allowed.
Third-party legal announcements: our press service only accepts press releases from law firms that represent one of the parties in the case. It does not accept press releases on legal matters from companies that are third parties.
Furthermore, we do not distribute press releases on the following topics:
- online gambling,
- drugs and other illegal substances,
- firearms,
- get-rich-quick offers,
- specific investment advice,
- promotion of smoking.