How to Submit a Press Release for Yahoo! News

By Intelligent Relations Team

September 27, 2022

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Owned by Verizon, Yahoo! News is best known as a news aggregator, meaning the platform mainly collects news from other places on the Internet to publish on its site. But it’s also become a major source of news with readers worldwide, providing coverage on a variety of sectors.

From a business perspective, press release coverage in an outlet like Yahoo! News would be hugely beneficial to overall media strategy. Not only would it boost brand awareness, but a feature on Yahoo! could also improve backlinks and promote SEO. 

Yahoo! has syndication agreements with many leading press release distribution services, so there’s a great chance of getting your news featured on the platform. In this guide, we’ll show you how to increase those chances by exploring a few important issues: 

• What Yahoo! News considers a “newsworthy” press release 
• How a press release should be formatted when submitted to Yahoo! News
• Press release submission options at Yahoo! News 
• How to find out if a press release has been published by Yahoo! News
• Alternative methods for generating media coverage

What Yahoo! News Considers “Newsworthy”

Since Yahoo! News covers such a broad range of topics and works with several press release distribution services, there are many ways to get industry-specific news featured.

Having said that, it’s essential to still make sure a press release announcement is legitimately newsworthy. It’s the only way to guarantee gaining the media exposure you deserve. 

When we say “newsworthy” in regards to press releases, we mean an announcement that is timely and relevant, both to a publication, its readership, and its intended audience. 

It’s also vital to research the publications you’re trying to connect to provide you with a better idea of the news stories they tend to cover so you can assure your press release is a fit.

Press release announcements that might be considered newsworthy by Yahoo! News include: 

• New product launches. This includes information about why the product is relevant to the industry, why it’s launching now, and what impact it will have. 
• Major new partnerships. Particularly prominent brand partnerships or partnerships with celebrities or sports personalities that will represent your brand. 
• Mergers or acquisitions. This includes details or quotes from decision-makers involved in the deal and its overall goal. 

A press release’s newsworthiness is the highest priority. Unfortunately, many companies make the mistake of issuing press releases for the sake of it. This can damage brand reputations and relationships with publications, putting any future press releases in jeopardy.

If you find yourself asking if a press release is newsworthy, it might be safe to assume it’s not. Luckily, there are other methods you can use to boost media coverage if you don’t have the right angle for a press release—but we’ll discuss that more in a minute.

To be clear, press releases for the following announcements will likely be ignored by outlets: 

• Sales promotions
• Insignificant product updates
• Event attendance
• Hires at non-executive levels

How to Format a Press Release for Yahoo! News

First of all, when writing a press release, remember that you want to keep it short, keep it objective, and always keep it in the third-person POV. 

More importantly, there is a standard press release format that media outlets will expect when reviewing your submitted content. This includes a common layout and the “inverted pyramid” structure, which leads with important information and follows with supplemental details. 

A press release should be no longer than a page and should get to the point immediately. The aim is to hook the reader by the time they’ve finished the first paragraph. Your press release will prove you know your stuff if you stick to the simple outline below. 

• Title: This explains the specifics of your announcement in as few words as possible.
• First paragraph: This answers the 5 Ws: who, what, when, where, and why.
• Second and third paragraphs: Build on an angle here by providing more details about the announcement and placing it into a broader context. 
• Fourth paragraph: Add a quote from a member of the leadership team associated with the announcement—it should be impactful and direct.
• Fifth paragraph: Rounding off the press release, you can put in any additional details that might be useful to a journalist or editor here.
• Boilerplate: This is a short overview of the organization issuing the press release (a tip here is to copy-paste this from an “About” section on the website).
• Contact info: Provide the name and email of the individual handling press queries. You can also provide a phone number, but it’s not required.

Press Release Submission Options at Yahoo! News

When it comes to submitting a press release to any publication, you’ve generally got a few options. Many businesses will consider using a press release distribution service or reaching out directly to reporters (or having a PR agency do the hard work for you). 

Yahoo! is a little different because it operates as a news aggregator rather than a publication. Despite the fact that Yahoo! News has tried to branch out and produce its own original content, the best way to gain access to their platform is still by using a newswire. 

Due to the many syndication agreements, it has with leading newswires, submitting and having a press release placed on Yahoo! News is actually quite easy. Keep in mind, however, you will have to sign up with a newswire platform and pay for the service. 

Prices for newswire services vary, but at the very least you can expect to pay a few hundred dollars. Further costs depend on which distribution service you choose, how many press releases you intend to share, and the scope of your campaign. 

Submitting press releases via a distribution service

As mentioned above, a press release distribution service is the recommended route when trying to get your press release news published on Yahoo! 

For their listed fees, press release distribution services share your press release with syndicated partners. The benefit of newswire distribution is that they typically have syndication with multiple publications, so you can potentially land your news on several platforms quite easily. 

The following press release wire services distribute specifically to Yahoo! News:

• PR Newswire
• Business Wire
• ACCESSWIRE
• GlobeNewswire
• News Direct 
• Newsfile 

Below, you’ll find an example of a press release syndicated on Yahoo! News. Intelligent Relations employed press release distribution service ACCESSWIRE to aid in sharing news about a recent acquisition.

As you can see, ACCESSWIRE branding is placed at the top of the Yahoo! page, as well as in the opening details of the press release copy. 

Often, press releases shared on Yahoo! are picked up by smaller publications, so there’s always a chance to gain more media coverage than you initially planned, but not a guarantee.

Submitting press releases via email

Contrary to some news outlets, Yahoo! has few in-house writers or editors. That’s because most content you see on the site is syndicated from other platforms and affiliated news sites. 

This is not to suggest that being published on Yahoo! is any less impactful than other top-tier publications. The Yahoo! aggregator technology actually means the platform has an ongoing supply of content pouring in from around the globe. 

Furthermore, the site’s massive international reach will often rank its articles or news pieces at the top of Google searches, and many mid-tier publications look to Yahoo! for potential leads. 

However, this syndication strategy also means there’s no clear way to connect with editorial personnel, which means sending a press release to Yahoo! manually isn’t a great option. 

How to Know If Yahoo! Published Your Press Release

If you used a wire service to get your press release featured on Yahoo!, the platform will usually provide a detailed report of the outlets where the press release was syndicated. What’s more, leading distribution services offer analytics that breaks down where a press release did best.  

As we’ve already said, it’s basically impossible to pitch to Yahoo! directly, so this also means you shouldn’t count on Yahoo! reporters responding to you about press release coverage. 

Alternative Methods for Generating Media Coverage

While a press release distribution service can guarantee you’re featured on sites like Yahoo!, such services do come with their share of setbacks. 

First of all, the best press release distribution services aren’t exactly cheap, which is not ideal if you’re a small business. On top of that, using a press release distribution service largely takes away your ability to control where your news is shared. 

Luckily, other solutions can help you gain media coverage as part of a wider PR strategy: 

• Industry-specific outlets. Of course, everyone wants to be featured in Forbes or Bloomberg, but top-tier publications aren’t the only answer. In fact, low and mid-tier publications have loyal readerships that are more industry-focused. Sending press releases to smaller publications provides a better chance of receiving responses and getting featured, both of which boost brand awareness among your target audience.

• Writing guest articles. Many news sites are open to non-promotional submissions from industry leaders. Show off your expertise and gain media coverage by producing a guest article about trending talking points within your industry. A guest article needs to be well-researched, well-written, and provide an innovative take on something you know about, but publications often provide a link to your company in the published piece. 

• Provide commentary. Offering comments or quotes to help reporters add color to relevant articles is also an effective method. If you provide useful expertise, writers may quote you or provide a link to your profile or website. The aim here is to become known as an industry expert, eventually approached by journalists unprompted. 

Looking for more coverage options, check out our other press release submission guides:

New York Times press release coverage

Google News press release coverage

Reuters press release coverage

Associated Press press release coverage

Key Takeaways

At the end of the day, PR doesn’t have to be complicated, but there are plenty of key steps to bear in mind as you assemble your long-term media strategy. The most important thing is to make sure your press release is newsworthy and that you follow all Yahoo! News press release submission guidelines.

Still not sure how to submit your press release to Yahoo! News?  Let us help! Simply book a free consultation with us to get expert insight into how to submit your press release.