I want to issue a press release, but I don’t know what to write. I think there are many individuals and small-scale game developers who don’t know where to send it, how much it will cost, and whether it will be effective.
When thinking about capturing the Japanese game market, press releases are an essential marketing method, but it is also true that they are difficult for small businesses to access.
In this article, from the standpoint of a game media editor who receives press releases, I will explain the basics of (Japanese) press releases, mainly for small-scale game developers and overseas publishers who release games in Japan. I will explain.
What exactly is a press release?
What exactly is a press release?
A press release is an announcement that a business provides information about their activities to the media (= news organization). Also called news release.
▲Press releases are press releases! However, you don’t have to be so prepared.
From among the press releases they receive, the media picks up those that are newsworthy and likely to be of interest to readers or viewers, and publishes them as news articles in the case of web media. An important publication destination for game-related news in Japan is game-related web media, so make sure to focus on being published here.
Press releases not only result in news articles, but can also lead to media coverage.
For example, you may occasionally see a TV program that covers a company’s unusual welfare system. Press releases are often the starting point for such interviews. Applying for an interview as an advertisement requires a large budget, but it is usually free if the media contacts you and requests an interview. It’s delicious, isn’t it?
In addition to announcing new game releases, version updates, and event exhibitions, you can also use press releases to send out information such as new employee welcome events and executive personnel information. Even small and medium-sized game developers are subject to press releases when they become a corporation or relocate their development base.
A press release once issued by SQOOL states that the director has moved.
This press release was very well received and we received many inquiries.
In this way, facts regarding a business’s activities can be disseminated to a considerable extent in the form of press releases. If you are a game-related business operator, there are probably many fun activities to do.
Press releases are a relatively cost-effective marketing method. We encourage individuals and small and medium-sized indie game developers to actively use it.
For games, the best chance to issue a press release is at the time of release.
When should you send out a press release? That’s when an episode occurs that makes the news.
The biggest chance to promote your game is when it’s newly released. A new game release is the first and biggest news for that game. You should take full advantage of it
One of the reasons the media publishes articles is because they are newsworthy. Users want to know information that is newsworthy, and there are many ways to publish it in the media, making it a delicious topic that is easy to publish. Game developers should absolutely carry out PR activities when releasing a new game. The best time to issue a press release is when a new product is released.
If it’s not at the time of release, press releases will include things like “version up,” “in-game event,” “discount campaign,” “featured in the store!” “exhibiting at an event,” and “winning some kind of award.” It’s a chance.
How to issue a press release
So how do you actually issue a press release?
There are two main methods.
One is to send a press release directly to the news organization via email, and the other is to use a press release distribution service. We will provide an overview of each.
How to send a press release directly to the media
This method involves preparing a press release manuscript yourself and sending it to the media via email, etc. along with photos and other materials.
If it is a web game media, there are some places that accept contact by e-mail, so you will need to send an e-mail to them.
Media list accepting applications for game press releases
Some places accept mail or fax for magazines, radio, and TV-related items, but I think this has decreased recently. It’s okay if you send it by email.
It doesn’t cost anything, so it’s recommended for those who want to try it out or don’t want to spend any money. If you’re an indie, it might be a good idea to start from here.
How to use a press release distribution service
This is generally recommended. Although it costs a little money, there is a way to use a press release distribution service. I think this method is especially good for overseas businesses, as they often do not have direct contact with the Japanese media.
The biggest advantage of using a press release distribution service is that press release information is automatically distributed to the various media that the service collaborates with. Compared to the above-mentioned method of sending press releases to the media yourself, the workload is reduced because you don’t have to send each email one by one. Moreover, a certain amount of publication is promised.
There are several press release distribution services out there, but here are two we recommend.
■PRTIMES
https://prtimes.jp/
It is an extremely excellent press release distribution platform that is also used by major companies. As a general rule, it is only for corporations.
30,000 yen per delivery. Monthly plans are also available.
If you are a incorporated company, you can use this service for free once a month if you meet certain conditions within 24 months of establishment.
https://prtimes.jp/startup_free/
Target users should definitely use it.
■Dream News
https://www.dreamnews.jp/
This is the press release distribution service mainly used by SQOOL. (Yes, even the media uses it)
The low price of unlimited press releases for 10,000 yen for 30 days is attractive. The spreading power is also good and the support is solid.
You can send out as many press releases as you like within 30 days without any additional charges, so this is very useful if you are planning to release multiple titles or if you are planning to hold an event immediately after release. The cost performance will be better.
In principle, this service is for corporations, but individuals and voluntary organizations can also issue press releases by having a corporation act as an agent.
Is your press release not published in the media? Basic knowledge to be published
Some people who have actually written a press release may say that the media did not cover it at all.
A large number of press releases are sent out every day. Even a medium-sized media like SQOOL receives over 100 press releases a day on weekdays. (Note: We are currently not accepting press releases)
▲A lot of press releases come in every day…!
In order to be selected by the media from a large number of press releases, you need to know some basics.
From here, we will explain the basic knowledge for getting press releases covered by the media.
Is it in the news?
Most press releases are published in the media as news. Therefore, whether or not it’s in the news is very important.
Oh, it’s obvious, right? Some people may think so, but many of the press releases I see every day are not newsworthy.
for example,
“We are releasing an app game called 〜〜.”
There may be a press release that says, but when you look into it, you may find that it is not a new release. However, “this kind of game exists” is not news.
News requires the basic elements of “when,” “who,” and “what.” In particular, “when” tends to be left out. There’s no such thing as news without a date, right?
“Co., Ltd. released an app game ~~~ on X/X.”
“Today, X, X, Co., Ltd. announced that it will release the app game ~~ this summer.”
It should be something like this.
Correct information in correct Japanese
It is absolutely necessary for a press release that the information is correct. Carefully check that there are no errors in the date, company name, business name, and other details. On rare occasions, we may receive a press release with obvious errors or contradictory statements, but of course we will not publish it.
It is also important that your Japanese is correct. Be sure to check carefully for spelling and grammar mistakes. I often see press releases that don’t do this at all. There are some things I read that I don’t quite understand what is written.
There are probably a minority of media outlets that modify and modify press releases like this.
Episodes that are as fresh as possible
Freshness is the key to press releases. If it’s a game release, it’s best to issue a press release on the day of release.
On rare occasions, we receive press releases about game releases that are more than a month old, but at least it’s difficult to publish them as news.
“A game called ~~ was released last month.”
That news doesn’t interest you much, does it?
Freshness of episodes is important. Consider that the probability of media coverage decreases as days pass after an episode occurs.
Devise a title
The title is very important.
The media receives a large number of press releases every day. It is not possible to check everything inside. Getting media representatives to open press release emails is actually quite difficult.
When receiving a press release via email, media personnel quickly scan the title of the email on a list screen. From there, I open the ones that look good, take a look at them, select the ones I think I can publish, and then finally prepare to publish them.
Therefore, the title of the press release email sent to the media is very important. It’s super important.Title is super important。
If you send an email directly, be creative with your email title. When using a distribution service, the title of the press release is often used as the title of the email, so you need an attractive press release title.
hink carefully about whether you would want to open a press release email with this title if you received it.
The reality is that even if the content is perfect, if the title is not appealing, people won’t even open it. This is a place where you can take your time.
As a side note, an attractive press release title not only increases the probability that your email will be opened, but also increases the probability that it will be published, and even more likely that it will be viewed by users once published. It will also be easier to share on SNS. The title is important.
Avoid PDFs
When sending press releases directly to the media by email without using a distribution service, some companies send press releases in PDF format, but this is a bad idea.
In my case, I almost always stop posting once it’s in PDF format.
The reason is that it takes time to write articles.
If the press release information is only available in PDF, before you start writing the news article,
- Convert PDF to Word etc. (because it is difficult to copy and paste in PDF)
- Extract image data from Word
- Extract text data from Word
This step is required.
If there are multiple images or the text is divided into small text boxes, the effort becomes even more difficult.
Unless it’s a really big news story, the media doesn’t have to go through the trouble of choosing one from among the many press releases that come in.
Instead of sending information only in PDF, you can increase your publication rate by adding Word as well, attaching images separately, etc.
Actually, I don’t really like Word either. This is because formatting data is added to the text part and copying and pasting does not work well, or the size of the photo is small and it does not look good when posted in an article.
For me, it is most helpful to type text in an email, attach images as attachments, and link videos as YouTube links.
At the very least, avoid sending information only in PDF format.
Be thorough and concise
If the information contained in a press release is too vague, it will not qualify as a news article. If the game is released,
“We released ~~~~ on X/X date.”
In addition to the above, include information such as what kind of game it is, what its features are, and how you would like the game to be played. I think it’s a good idea to add information with the perspective that game fans would be happy to see this kind of information when they read it as news.
On the other hand, it is not good to have too much irrelevant information.
Even though it’s game release news,
We’re doing a Twitter campaign! There is a login bonus! There will also be an event! These are the events that will take place! Oh, and other titles will be coming out soon!
I often see press releases like this.
I understand the desire to promote various things, but in the end, it becomes difficult to understand what the press release is about, and it takes time for the media to understand the content and cut out unnecessary parts, so I think I will postpone publishing it… , it may become.
Ideally, each press release should have one theme. If there are various news happening at the same time and you want to send them all at the same time, it would be a good idea to issue multiple press releases for each theme. In this case, if you are using a distribution service, an unlimited plan for a limited time is a good deal.
We recommend that you start by focusing on a specific topic, concisely, and clearly conveying the necessary information.
My personal opinion is that if there is too little information, there is nothing the media can do about it, but if there is a little too much information, it can be edited out, so it is better to include a reasonably rich amount of information that is consistent with the theme. I think it is.
Aiming for popularity is advanced technique.It is recommended to avoid it at first.
An interesting press release is very attractive. It’s rare to see a press release that’s so well written that you can’t help but laugh when you read it.
However, it is best to avoid this technique at first. Creating an interesting press release requires advanced technique or strong talent.
I often see press releases that are so focused on getting popular that I don’t really understand what they’re saying.
It’s also not a good idea to use too many formal expressions such as “Wow”, “LOL”, and “Daze!”.
Be careful not to send too much information
It is also not good to send out too many press releases.
For example, if your game is a game that has some kind of event almost every day, there are rare cases where a business will send you a press release about it every day, but be careful not to get too detailed or it will end up in your spam box.
It is a bad idea to frequently send press releases that are too detailed and not newsworthy to the media.
When sending a press release, be sure to have a somewhat newsy theme and send it out at the right time.
Avoid becoming just an advertisement
Press releases are not advertisements. The purpose is to convey the facts of business activities to the media. Therefore, it is no good to create an advertising article with phrases such as “Please buy it!” or “Please join us!” and use it as a press release.
“Please take advantage of this opportunity to purchase as it is on sale for half price! ”
The expression is
“We will be holding a half-sale for a limited time from X/X to X/X”
It is better to do so.
A press release full of blurbs will have a negative impact on your publication rate, as those blurbs will need to be edited out before publication.
Depending on the distribution service, the application may be rejected during screening.
The true intention of the media is to publish good news without much effort.
To put it bluntly, this is what it means.
Game media receives many requests for publication. In addition to news, we also receive requests for reviews and interviews. If you want to publish as much good information as possible from among them, you will prioritize selecting interesting press releases that require less effort to publish.
Assuming that you will receive this press release and introduce it on your blog or Facebook, consider whether the people who see it will be happy with it, and whether it will be easy to insert text and images into the press release. I think there probably won’t be any major deviations if you create .
I’m sure there are some people who think it’s difficult because there are so many different factors involved, and that it’s impossible to do this on your own. For such people, we recommend that you ask a professional writer for help or request the creation of a press release from a distribution platform. It costs about 10,000 to 50,000 yen each time, but I think you will gain know-how as you send out press releases several times. After that, you can create your own manuscript, or you can continue with the request.
For small and medium-sized businesses, we do not recommend issuing press releases that require too much effort or budget. However, when a business conducts an activity, at least in Japan, it is currently meaningful to issue a press release.
Please refer to the above and try sending out a press release as efficiently and inexpensively as possible.
How to reach influencers
Now, finally, let’s reconsider the purpose of issuing a press release.
I think it’s about raising the profile of the game and getting people to buy or download it.
It’s not enough just for the news to appear in the media; we need to think beyond that.
Gaming news media used to have great power, but now that position is shifting to influencers on TikTok and Instagram.
News media still have value in terms of professional commentary and reliability of information, but influencers already have an edge in terms of reaching a wide audience.
A major purpose of press releases has also become to get noticed by influencers after being published in the media.
The process is to have influencers think, “This game looks interesting,” and use it as material for videos and SNS posts, thereby making the game known to the general public.
In other words, press releases need to be sent with an eye to the influencer’s perspective.
In this way, the format of press releases is not constant, but changes gradually.
Information regarding press releases will be updated and added regularly. If you have any information or questions, please contact us.Comment sectionor,Contact pagePlease let us know.
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