Should I Write My Own Press Release or Hire Someone?

Let's get the honest answer out of the way: yes, you can write your own press release. There's no licence required, no secret club. Whether you should depends on three things — your news, your time, and what you need the release to do.

Here's how to decide without overthinking it.

When DIY makes total sense

Write it yourself if:

• The news is simple. A new location in Marda Loop, a new hire, extended holiday hours. Clear facts, clear story.
• The goal is mostly SEO or a record on your website. You want something indexed and linkable, not a front-page feature.
• You're a confident writer who can switch off "sales mode" and write like a reporter.
• Budget is genuinely tight and every dollar needs to go to inventory or payroll.

If that's you, start with the fundamentals in What Are the 5 W's and H in a Press Release? and you'll be ahead of most first-timers. And no, you don't need permission or credentials — we cover that in Can Anyone Write and Send Out a Press Release?

When hiring someone pays for itself

Bring in a pro if:

• The stakes are high. Funding rounds, acquisitions, a rebrand, a crisis. One wrong sentence can follow you for years.
• You want real media coverage, not just publication. That means pitching journalists, which is a skill and a contact list you may not have.
• You're too close to it. Founders often can't see what's newsworthy about their own business. An outsider spots the angle in minutes.
• Your time is worth more elsewhere. If writing a release takes you a full day, what did that day cost you in sales?

The hidden cost of DIY

DIY isn't free. It costs time, and it can cost credibility. The most common problems we see in self-written releases:

• Headlines that announce nothing ("Company X Is Excited to Share…")
• Paragraphs of adjectives and zero facts
• The actual news buried in paragraph four
• No quote, or a quote that sounds like a robot wrote it

Which brings us to the robot question. AI tools can speed up a first draft, but they have real blind spots. We cover exactly where they help and where they hurt in Can I Use ChatGPT to Write My Press Release?

The middle path most people miss

It isn't all-or-nothing. Plenty of Calgary owners do this:

1. Write the first draft yourself. You know the facts better than anyone.
2. Pay a pro to edit and sharpen it. Usually cheaper than full writing.
3. Decide on distribution and pitching separately. These are different services with different price tags.

This hybrid approach keeps costs down and still gets you a release that reads like news. For a breakdown of what each piece costs, see How Much Does a Press Release Cost?

If you hire, hire the right kind of help

"Someone" can mean a freelancer, a full PR agency, or a hybrid shop. They're not interchangeable. A freelancer might write beautifully but have no media relationships. An agency might have the relationships but charge for more than you need. We compare both honestly in Freelancer or PR Agency for Press Releases?

A quick self-test

Answer yes or no:

1. Can I explain my news in one sentence without using the word "excited"?
2. Would a stranger care about this news?
3. Do I know which reporters cover my industry in Calgary?
4. Do I have four uninterrupted hours this week?

Three or four yeses? Go DIY. One or two? Get help, at least with the edit and the pitch.

The bottom line

DIY is great for simple news and SEO. Hiring is smart when the stakes, the audience or the competition are high. Either way, the goal is the same: a release that reads like news, not an ad.

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Wrote a draft and not sure it's ready? Blastily can sharpen it, place it and get it in front of the right people. See how we Blast at blastily.com.