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How to write a captivating press release

Written by: Louise Pope

Article Overview: Does the thought of writing a press release make you cringe? Every small business owner will be required to write a press release at some point. Self-promotion plays a big part in the success of any business

How to write a captivating press release

Does the thought of writing a press release make you cringe? Every small business owner will be required to write a press release at some point. Self-promotion plays a big part in the success of any business. Publicity generated by press releases is free, and often the coverage is far more extensive than anything you could have hoped to say in an ad. There’s no denying the power of the media and the power of free media is better still.

So how do you write a press release which will catch the eye of a busy editor or journalist? The key to writing a good press release is to keep it short, to the point well structured and relevant.

Most editors would much rather get a press release and a follow up phone call than have to go to some fancy event, cooked up by a PR company at considerable expense to their client. While press events I am sure would be fun and cant hurt when there’s plenty of money to throw around, they are by no means essential to getting through to media. What is essential is a winning press release, and that doesn’t have to be difficult, nor cost much more than a little time and imagination.

Keep in mind that your goal is to attract favorable media attention while following these steps:

• Lead with a headline - Believe me, unless your press release has an eye catching subject line, it is likely to end up in deleted items. You have approximately 2 seconds to hold their attention. The headline is the most important factor it is your hook. The more the media can see a headline that could accompany your story the more interest they will take. So before you do anything make sure there is a clear hook somewhere in your content.
• Make your press release newsworthy - There is an alarming statistic that tells you the average amount of text people read after reading the headline is very small, maybe two paragraphs max. The headline is the most important factor but not only do you need to have a captivating headline you need news worthy content. Most journalist are interested in writing interesting news and features for their target audience, they are not particularly interested in finding out your company has just promoted the receptionist whilst this may be exciting to you, its not to the rest of the world. Journalists simply want interesting, facts based news. The biggest villain in PR writing is too much fluffy unnecessary stuff and not enough facts. The first thing a reporter learns is: Every story must answer the five questions: Who? What? Where? Why? How? So think like a journalist and make sure your press release delivers the key information.
• Get excited - The secret to being newsworthy is not so much what you have to say but how you say it. Language can make all the difference to success with media communication. Rather than expecting editors or journalist to call your company for a quote, do the leg work for them include several quotes from the relevant people.
• Keep it short and to the point - A press release should be several paragraphs long and certainly no longer than 500 words in total.
• Style & formatting - Make sure you write your release in the third person. Spell check several times and ask colleagues to proof read before pressing the "send" button. Clearly mark the publication as a "Press Release", and write "End of Release" following the content. If you are sending a press release via email (most likely), I'd recommend using plain text and not HTML. The simpler, the better.

Finally

If in doubt hire an expert / outsource - If you want to make sure you hit the nail on the head first time with your press release, why not hire a professional to write one for you. A single page release shouldn't cost more than a few hundred dollars to create. If your "news" is worthy of a press release in the first place, this could be money well spent

Good Luck

Louise

Related Articles
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  Writing An Attention Getting Press Release
  How To Write A News-Worthy Press Release
  Learn How to Write a Press Release Correctly
  The Power and Influence of Press Release Marketing to Promote Your Brand

Article Tags: business publicity, editors, imagination, journalist, letter spacing, little time, nbsp, phone call, plenty of money, pr company, press releases, rsquo, self promotion, small business owner, span style, writing a press release



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Re: Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - [quote="OmnivoreInk":dmj1i0sv]I've started work with a brand new company that is going to do loss mitigation. My boss intends to hire a "big" PR firm - ie one that costs a lot of money - because he wants press releases sent out to the New York Times, the LA Times - all the major papers around the country - and he think they'll be more likely to print them if they come from a "big" firm as opposed to a one-person PR firm. I think it doesn't matter where the press release comes from as long as its well written. What are the opinions here?[/quote:dmj1i0sv] I think the most important factor is whether your press release will reach the most number of your target audience or not. It won't matter if the press release is well written if no one has the opportunity to read it. I also believe that credibility comes with having your press release in an established source like The New York Times, LA Times, etc... For instance, if you enjoyed playing tennis, who would you trust more? The advice from a recreational tennis player who has his own column in [i:dmj1i0sv]Tennis Magazine[/i:dmj1i0sv] [u:dmj1i0sv]or[/u:dmj1i0sv] the recreational tennis player who has his own blog? I don't know about you, but I'd listen to the guy on [i:dmj1i0sv]Tennis Magazine[/i:dmj1i0sv] over the blog owner at least 9 out of 10 times.
Re: Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - I agree with Kevin [quote:3b8fyubd]I think the most important factor is whether your press release will reach the most number of your target audience or not.[/quote:3b8fyubd] You dont a big company that will charge mega bucks as Im sure they will even add a %age to the cost of the press release. Im sure if you approach New York Times, the LA Times with every thing presented professionally I think it will still stand the same chance. I would start advertising online, then locally thats when the NYT can see what there missing out on! And to test the water first!
Re: Request for Feedback on my website for technology Startups - Hello aneshia, Thank you for the feedback. I would be happy to accept articles. I am still working on increasing traffic but the other thing is that I could also write an article or press release for ITATI and submit it to other networks if you are interested. Thank you again and I hope to work with you further. Kalen
Re: The Best Method for Online Marketing - In order to write a press release, you must determine the subject of your story. It can be about an event that affects your industry, or it can be about a change in your company that will affect your customer base. Press releases are in all actuality ‘cookie cutter’. Once you get the hang of writing them, all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Press releases conform to an established format.


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