Press Release Writing Tips

If your company is taking the time and effort to write an official press release, you’ll absolutely want to make sure that you’re doing it right. Many make the mistake of not considering the “right way”, and many times the release falls on deaf ears or simply isn’t publicized as a result. There are several simple things you’ll want to take into consideration as you are writing a press release, so that it will make the profound impact that you’re hoping it’ll make.

You Must Consider Your Audience

A press release is no more than a written form of advertising, a sales pitch so to speak. You wouldn’t relay a sales pitch without knowing your audience and how you could curtail your pitch, would you? Understand that you must speak directly to the people you want to reach in a way that relates to them, and a way that they understand. What’s your message? Who are you relaying it to? Why should they care? At the end of the day, you need to make people care, so you must know what they care about. Don’t just write an informational press release; craft your statement so that readers will appreciate what you have to say because it affects them.

You Must Target a Specific Vehicle for the Release

Be smart about your vehicle for releasing the information: when you craft the release, have an idea of who you’re sending it to. Small town political news may make headlines with your local news station, but CNBC will likely only pick it up if the local news station does it’s job correctly in broadcasting it. Likewise, if the release is related to a brand new software launch, try submitting it to a heavily followed technology site or blog, rather than plugging it at an irrelevant news site, where it won’t get much attention even if they do publicize it.

You Must Get Spelling and Punctuation Right

Common sense, yes, but make no assumptions regarding these types of formalities: spelling, punctuation, pronunciation matter. If you don’t catch the errors, someone else will. Best case scenario? Someone rejects your release for their publication and pays little attention to your name when it comes up again later. Worst case scenario? The error slips by unnoticed by everyone, except consumers who now have a little less respect for the source (you), for such petty mistakes.

You Must Make it Timely

Timing is everything. You’ll want to launch your press release at a relevant time, but not when it’ll drown in other similar (possibly more interesting) information. It’s a balancing act: you may not want to launch your press release covering the latest and greatest in Samsung phone screen size and battery life around September or October, when the world is abuzz with the newest iPhone launch. Rather, wait for critical reviews of the iPhone to surface in November, and craft your press release in a manner that spins off of negative iPhone review and draws positive attention toward your product.

You Must Catch People’s Attention

Content producers want to make money. They want mouse clicks on their links, viewers tuning in, and sales at news stands. If your release doesn’t get them closer to this type of success, they won’t feature you; if they do, they’ll cut your release as quickly as they promoted it. For this reason, you must have a hook in the title and description of your release. What will get people’s attention? Sometimes it’s as simple as posting the word, “URGENT” in big, bold letters in your title. Sometimes it’s making it appealing and to the point. Whatever you decide, make sure it draws the eye of the reader or viewer you want to attract.

If you craft a press release correctly, you’ll publicize the information you’re trying to relay in a positive manner that is both efficient and effective for your business and consumers.

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