These days few journalists rely on newswires to source their stories so you might also forgo sending a formal press release over the wire altogether.  Releasing your news through your own channels, pitching reporters directly, and delivering the news to your network (via your website, social channels and direct emails) will do the trick.

Of course, in a world where startups come and go, a release over the wire can offer some legitimacy, as well as a historical record.  Newswires typically have relationships with multiple outlets that will automatically post and archive their content. And, releases detailing financial transactions, including funding announcements tend to perform better than more general announcements on the newswire.

Pro-Tip:  Lead Time

Regardless of which strategy you choose, the most successful funding PR efforts have one thing in common:   They give reporters ample time to write the story. This can be easily achieved by sharing news in advance under “embargo.” To do this: reach out to reporters early with minimal information and an offer to share details and access to spokespeople once they’ve agreed to a specific embargo date and time (often synched to the timing of the newswire release). Not all reporters will agree to an embargo—some outlets have firm policies against agreeing to embargos—so you should work with them to understand how to work around these rules, or decide to share the information when it goes public, knowing that they will be less likely to devote much attention to the story after the news has gone out broadly.

Amplifying the news:

You can also amplify your news through social media and other “owned” channels. Sharing links via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn drive awareness of the news. It’s also smart to provide the information directly to internal employees, partners, and customers in a way that underscores key messages and arms them to share the story.  Finally, writing your own blog post to be posted on your company site, LinkedIn, and Medium, allows you more opportunity to frame the news. In addition to providing more content to link to and share, media will sometimes mine blog posts for additional background, context or quotes.