A press release is a crucial part of any sound public relations strategy. These pieces of writing contain short but essential details of any product releases, event announcements, company news releases and anything that is newsworthy. The truth is, if you’re looking to gain media coverage for your business, you need to write an effective press release. However, today’s competitive market makes it harder for anyone to reach their target media. In this guide, we’ve listed the best press release writing tips you can do to make your PR campaign even more successful.
What Makes An Effective Press Release?
What are the factors that make a press release effective? Your press release will only be one of the hundreds, if not thousands to be indexed on the newswire. Your press release needs to be good enough to get picked out. An effective press release answers a “yes” to all these questions:
- Is it shareable?
- Will it grab attention?
- Does it contain interesting data or quotes?
If a press release ticks all these boxes, it’s more likely to get picked up by journalists and gain some visibility.
Press Release Writing Tips
- Make an Attention-Grabbing Headline
Every content starts with a headline or a title page. It’s only natural to put a lot of effort into making an attention-grabbing headline. Afterall, this will be the first thing journalists see. However, these journalists receive hundreds of emails per day, which makes killer headlines even more crucial. The key is to go straight to the point. If your press release is newsworthy, then you’d have no trouble coming up with a great headline. Remember not to be overly-clever though. A journalist will only spend a few seconds glancing through your headline, so make sure your headline is easily understandable.
- Be Clear and Concise
Remember, you’re not writing a novel. Press releases are short, straight to the point, and concise. The ideal length of a press release is about 300 to 400 words. That could include about three to four short paragraphs. Go straight to the point with the most important information first and supporting information subsequently. If you’re tempted to put information about your company, you can put it at the end of the release because this just puts journalists off. To make facts and information easy to digest, we suggest you make use of subheadings and bullet points.
- Use Quotes
If you know anything about journalism, then you know the value of a good quote for information or insight. Adding a good quote from a person relevant in your field can add more character to your press release. However, don’t make the mistake of using quotes as s source of information. Instead, use a quote to provide some valuable insight into your news. If you can, ask an expert in your industry to give an insight into the story you want to deliver.
- Include Numbers
Aside from using quotes, incorporating hard numbers and statistics can also give a press release more character and authority. Pack your release with hard numbers in support of your data. Use various statistical studies in your niche that backs up your new product or service. For example, if you’re claiming a trend, it’s better to back it up with some proof. And what better evidence than numbers resulting from legitimate research? Compel journalists by packing in some hard-truth numbers.
- Use Perfect Grammar
Press releases are sent to be read by real, professional journalists. And let’s face it, they’re grammar nazis. Journalists will be put off if they find grammatical errors on your press release. So try to make it as grammatically flawless as possible. You don’t need to use fancy words, but you do need to spell words correctly and apply the right punctuation. After writing your news story, have someone proofread it to assure you didn’t make any grammatical mistakes.
- Business Contact Information
No matter what you do, don’t ever forget including your business contact information in your release. You will want journalists and influencers to have the chance to follow up on your press release, especially if they are interested to know more about your news. Whether the point of contact is you or another person in your business, don’t forget to include contact details such as a phone number or email address. Put this at the top of the page.
Conclusion
A press release, if done right, can have a significant effect on your business. The bottom line is – for a successful press release campaign, you need to have something newsworthy or a compelling story that can be valuable to your target audience. A great press release should have the same elements: a good story, hard details, and it should be well-written. More likely than not, you won’t get the viral results you dream of, but a press release can still give your business some much-needed promotion?
