An Effective Press Release Gets Better Results Than Advertising
When you see an ad in a magazine or a newspaper, you know the company has paid for that space. You accept that they will be positioning their products and services in the best possible light.
But when you see an article in a magazine or a newspaper - or on a News site like Yahoo News or Google News - we believe that the reporters and editors have checked the company out and found them to be worthy of a news story. It's an unbiased third party endorsement.
How To Make Your Press Release Newsworthy
To get the attention of reporters or editors you have to send them a press release that reads like a news story. If you write a thinly disguised product announcement or worse, an advertisement, your press release will end up in the trash basket faster than you can say 'press release'.
No one wants to read that ABC Inc. proudly announces that today they have released version 5.0 of their product line. That's not a news item unless you're Microsoft. And even then you could word it in a more newsworthy and interesting way.
The Successful Press Release Format
- THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS/FACTS
Who, What, When, Where
Use the type of material usually found in the lead of a news story
Statement of a problem
Statistics, Loss, Damage, Cost, Number of people affected
Attribute the data to a credible source - INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT DATA NEXT
How, Why
The next most interesting fact
Supporting data to the lead - BACKGROUND FOR THE FACTS
Give them back up data, more facts
Use a quote that supports your facts
State why your company or product is the solution to the problem - BENEFITS AND SELLING POINTS
Introduce the benefits for the reader
Tell them why this is of interest to them personally - SUPPORTING DATA FOR THE STORY
Additional information
Interesting items - CONTACT DETAILS
Name, Phone Numbers, Email, Fax
Press Release Writing Style
Forget everything you learned about good writing at school. A press release is written in short sentences with almost no descriptive words at all. It is not an essay or a story. It is a news article.
It starts with an attention-grabbing headline and leads in with the most important and newsworthy information.
Read your local newspaper and see how a news article is written. It is short and to the point Use simple words. Keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Start with some facts that get their attention and make them want to read on.
Back it up with research or statistics from a credible source.
Putting out press releases filled with keywords will increase the content on your website and boost your search engine visibility.
If your company has something to communicate, then set up your PRESSfeed account now > >