9 Tips To Write The Best Press Release

A press release is a written document informing the media about a specific news item. They are usually written by PR and communications professionals whose job it is to inform the target audience about their clients. There are various reasons for using press releases, such as raising awareness, protecting brand reputation, and positioning clients in a particular industry.

Press release

Strong headline

If your headline is bland or lackluster, journalists simply won’t read on. Your headline should be

  • Very specific.
  • Bare and easy to understand.
  • Optimized for search engines and social media.
  • Written in active voice.

Go straight to the details

After your degree, you should start working straight away. Tell people immediately what’s going on and why they should care. Reporters don’t have time to sort through paragraphs of fluff to get to the meat.

  • Who is involved.
  • When it happens.
  • where does it happen.
  • Why it matters.

Create a quote

After providing critical details, give reporters at least one strong offer they can take. This quote should add context to your press release and help shape the story. It should also help journalists understand why this is so important to your business or industry from a more personal perspective.

Provide relevant background information

As you get further along in your press release, you can start adding information that is important but not critical. This background information should always be directly related to the subject at hand and should reinforce what you are already saying. If you send a press release riddled with grammatical errors, buried in a convoluted e-mail or completely irrelevant to the news area, you can throw your press release into the channel.

Keep it clear and relevant

Journalists constantly complain that they receive press releases that are unclear, do not make sense, or are simply irrelevant. Don’t make this mistake.

Include mixed media

PR Newswire found that press releases with different media types get far more impressions than standard text releases. Where possible, supplement the text with a range of other media types such as

  • Photos.
  • Infographics.
  • Videos.
  • Charts.

This variety can be much more engaging than just large blocks of text and can lead to more social sharing.

Reach out to specific people

Once you’ve created your press release, it’s time to start distributing it. It’s important to be very careful here if you simply email every reporter at every publication, you’re going to piss off many of them and jeopardize your chances of future coverage.

Give reporters adequate lead time

This should give journalists enough time to read and write the report. If you’re worried that something will leak too soon, you can put a short embargo on the press release with the release date.

Share your own print

Once you start printing, you can share it on all your regular channels. Tweet stories written by major publications. Place the logos of these publications on your website.

Conclusion

Your press release doesn’t have to be complicated, but it has to be right. If it’s boring, irrelevant, unclear, or sent to the wrong people, it will quickly be tossed aside. Press releases are just one aspect of a solid marketing strategy.