Are you thinking about sending a news release about your business? While press releases are a significant factor to consider when creating your business’s public relations strategy, not many people know how to use them effectively.
A press release is a form of written communication with the primary objective of reporting specific facts and details about a product launch, an event, or any other happenings in a company. Press releases are used mainly by companies and sent to media outlets through numerous means.
If you don’t know how to issue a press release effectively, our comprehensive guide below covers the dos and don’ts of press releases. You can start with the below tips when writing a press release.
Determine Your Purpose
Take some time to determine what you want to write about.
What is the main reason you are sending out this press release? What will be the primary message of your statement? Do you think your target audience will want to read your release?
When determining the purpose of the press release, it’s essential to consider your target audience. How will the message in your release impact their lives? If you don’t consider your readers, they might not be interested in what you wrote.
It’s essential to keep in mind that your target readers will be both journalists and potential clients. The media will not use your article if it’s not newsworthy. Therefore, it’s essential to consider what you’re writing and the message you are looking to share.
Write an Attention-Grabbing Piece
Before settling for one specific news release, journalists often go through tens of press releases. You need to write an attention-seeking piece to get noticed and stand out. And nothing grabs attention and hooks the reader more than a captivating title.
Most people check out the title of a piece before deciding whether or not to read the rest of the content. If you can’t capture the media’s attention with the headline, you will lose readers. Therefore, it’s advisable to keep your headlines concise, short, and straight to the point.
Ensure that the heading also goes with your piece’s content. You can include adjectives and action words and phrases to capture the reader’s attention and add urgency. Always keep in mind that irrelevant and misleading titles will lead to a loss of reader trust.
Always Introduce Your Article
After coming up with a captivating headline, it’s now time to dazzle the reader with an opening paragraph. The introduction should summarize the whole article, the what, who, why, when, and how of your whole piece.
Always keep the introduction paragraph concise, short, and focused on the main objective. It should give more information about your headline without going into deeper details. The body will include more detail about your press release.
Avoid fluff and unnecessary phrases that don’t add any new or relevant information. The fundamental purpose of a press release is to keep your target audience informed about the happenings of your company.
Use the Right Format
Any good press release needs a format. Correctly formatting your press release will help you get noticed by journalists while attracting your target audience. Below are important factors you should include in your formatting:
- Open your release with words of urgency and write down the dates
- Always include your contact details on the right side of the page
- Capitalize and bold your title
- Italicize and bold any subheadings in your press releases’ body
- Include information about your state, city, and month of the release before the introduction paragraph
- Include your business’ information in the last paragraph of the release
- End your release with a call to action if you want your audience to contact your business for additional information
There are many proven formats for creating captivating and intriguing press announcements, but including the above information in your release will help you get noticed.
Include Images and Photos
According to research, over 50% of people online prefer looking at the videos of certain products and services before making a purchase. Adding relevant images and videos into the press release will help you better pass the massage.
You should also consider including PDFs and infographics.
Use a Solid Call To Action (CTA)
Your call to action will direct your readers on what to do after reading the press release. What action would you like them to take? Would you like them to contact you? Fill up a form or subscribe for newsletters?
Is there an upcoming business event you’d like your potential readers to attend? Your CTA will ensure that the readers know what action you take. Therefore, make it stand out.
Your CTA paragraph or sentence should be a stand-alone at the conclusion of your press release. Remember also to add a hyperlink directing your potential readers to take the advised action. For instance, you can place a link to the online form you’d like them to fill out or your business’s contact information.
Feature a Unique Quote
Consider adding a unique quote or phrase used by a key member of the team. This could be your company’s CEO or project manager. The quote will add more value to the press release, giving your piece a sense of authority.
But make sure the quote you use is relevant to the message included in your announcement. Otherwise, it will just be an irrelevant phrase that may further confuse your reader.
Optimize Your Press Release for SEO
One of the best ways to increase your press announcement’s visibility is through SEO optimization. Using the right SEO marketing strategy for your piece will ensure that it ranks higher on search engine result pages. This makes it easier for your target audience to view the press release.
If your announcement ranks higher on search engines such as Google, it can help you increase brand awareness and boost your business website’s traffic. This also helps you establish your business as an authority in your industry.
The Don’ts of Press Releases
There are numerous recommendations on the proper steps to take when writing a press release. However, most people often don’t know the mistakes to avoid when drafting their press announcements. These mistakes include the following.
An Uninteresting and Irrelevant Title
Bland titles don’t capture the attention of the reader. And an inappropriate and irrelevant title will also be viewed as clickbait. This may result in your target audience losing trust and confidence in your press releases.
Your title should be catchy, informative, exciting, and engaging. It should hook your readers immediately.
Composing an Essay
A news release is not a composition, an essay, or an academic paper to prove a particular theory. It should be precise, straight to the point, and highlight important information about the announcement you want to share.
Try breaking up dense paragraphs into shorter, more legible paragraphs containing four or fewer sentences. The primary purpose of sending press releases is to share specific news about the company. Therefore, it’s advisable to make the piece easy to scan and skim through.
Including Too Many Adverts
The headline, text body, and introducing paragraph of your press release should not have any promotional and marketing content. Always remember that you’re creating a press announcement and not a marketing piece. Therefore, it has to be informative and newsworthy.
Before submitting the press release, go through it several times, and remove anything that might be perceived as too promotional. If you’re unsure about the submission process, check out this site to learn more about the best way to submit your press release.
Being Unclear in Your Message
One of the key factors of creating a great press release is clarity. However, you need to balance between sharing the relevant information about your company and the big announcement while still keeping the reader engaged and the piece concise.
You will always have new readers to your site, who know nothing about your brand. Therefore, ensure that the new reader will understand the main message in your press release and have some background information about your business and what you do. For this reason, the title, introductory sentence, and body of your piece should be interconnected and well-structured for a seamless flow.
Punctuation and Grammatical Mistakes
The fastest way to kill a press release is submitting it with punctuation and grammar mistakes. Many journalists will not consider any release with grammatical errors. This is a tactic used by most of these journalists to filter out the hundreds of press releases that land on their laps.
After writing your piece, ensure you take advantage of the numerous online grammar and spell-checking tools available. These tools take the pressure off, making your work easier.
Now You Know How To Write a Captivating News Release
Are you considering sending out a press release for your company? Most people don’t know how to create an excellent press release piece. With the above news release advice, you can create a captivating piece that will immediately hook your target audience.
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