How to Write a Press Release

It is essential to know how to write a press release so that you can develop effective public relations campaigns. Press releases are great ways to reach a large, new audience at no cost to you. Here are the basic things you need to know.

How to Write a Press Release: 6 Things to Know

 

Choose what is newsworthy.

It is important that you develop your press release off of information that your intended audience would find newsworthy. The relaunch of a product that has been updated countless times, may not necessarily be newsworthy. Moving to a new location — now that is newsworthy.

Write like a reporter.

If you want your press release to be reported verbatim (or as close to that as possible — and you likely do), you are going to want to write your press release the way a reporter would talk. This means that you want to lead with the who, what, where, when, why, how right away in the first paragraph. This grabs people’s attention and gives them all the necessary information for quick perusal.

If your article is written well, reporters are more likely to scoop it up as is and add it into their reports.

Cut the qualifiers.

Reporters, news people and journalists are expected (at least on some level) to be objective. Now, they are not always, but that is the general ethical guideline. You are going to want to write as objectively as possible, while still selling your newsworthy story.

A great way to do this is to cut the flowery adjectives out of your piece. Get rid of your adverbs, too. You don’t want to sound too biased or too excitable. Just present the facts as they are.

Example of what not to do: Company XYZ recently added a fabulous new clothing line to their men’s fashion department. This line is going to help so many tall men feel comfortable and confident in their everyday fashion.

This bad example features subjective qualifiers of “fabulous” and “tall.” It also has unspecific numberings like “so many.” To make this press release stronger, one could add real numbers and statistics, specifics about if the line is created for people who are generally too tall for other brand’s clothes or what “tall” means, what sort of styles of fashion the brand’s niche is, and so on. Details matter in press releases.

Think sales.

Your press release is a great opportunity to showcase the features and benefits of a product or service. Use it. Really sell your product. Plus, because your press release is written like a news piece, it will come across as being pretty credible.

Insert quotes.

Rock solid quotes are absolutely essential in press releases. Every press release you write should have at least one. Always. Quotes add dimension and personality to your writing and also can add to the credibility of your piece as well.

Think SEO.

Another great thing about press releases is that you can share them on a website, whether it is yours or not. With this in mind, be sure that you are including searchable keywords that will raise your SEO and bring you new leads. Include your keywords in your headline and your body.

Related post: 5 Quick Keys to SEO, Beginner’s Guide to SEO

Bonus tips

• One page is the best length for a press release.
• Include city, state, month, day and year.
• End with a compelling final statement or quote.
• Specify “for immediate release” or “hold release until ___________”.
• End with “END” or “#”.

Related post: What is public relations?

Press releases are great ways to get publicity and to make a big impact with your public relations efforts. If you need assistance or have questions, reach out to us here.