Ask HN: Where should I submit a press release?

I wrote a press release for my startup. What do I do with it?

Thanks for the link!

It lists both free and paid submission services. Are paid services worth it?

I don't think either will be a catalyst for anything significant - there's just craploads released every day and it's unlikely anyone will notice yours unless you, your startup, or your investors are notable enough that journalists are specifically watching for them. It definitely won't be worth paying for.

Sadly the only thing submitting a press releases did for me is to ensure that I get weekly spam from press release companies, and individuals willing to fix my SEO and boost my sales.

Ex-journalist here...

The question you want to be asking is "Who should I submit this to?", not 'Where?'. Which writers, bloggers, journalists etc have shown relevant interest to your startup's sector or pain point in the past? Write to these people individually, thanking them for having shown such an interest (link to a great article they've written, especially if you read and enjoyed it at the time) and introducing yourself, your startup, and the newsworthy angle you have decided for in your release.

Keep the email punchy. And if you do get any kind of response, even if it's to decline to write you up, be ever so grateful and make it clear that you would be happy to provide expert opinion on this topic if they ever sought it in the future.