If you have a newsworthy story to convey, a press release is the most effective and viable way to engage journalists and get your content published. To have good press coverage, you ought to master the art of writing a powerful press release. A terrific press release needs the right kind of strategy to draw the attention of journalists and editors to your compelling and meaningful content. It can make or break your image, and we provide you with 8-bang-on tips for writing a press release that drives the best results for your organization!
Let’s start with the beginning: what is a press release?
It is a brief document that conveys your newsworthy content to the press and media outlets. A powerful press release is one that is compelling, purposeful, and professional. It helps establish your brand image, build strong media relations, and garner the right media attention for your organization. A press release is dated and has a shelf life, so the key is to stay relevant at all times. The world of media moves fast, and for your message to be registered, you need to be quick and concise. We make you adept at the skill of writing a powerful press release with our 8-easy tips and tricks!
8-Easy Tips For a Powerful Press Release:
1. First things first: Indicate your document to the journalists.
Indicate your document to the reporters at the very outset to avoid any confusion.
Journalists and reporters do not have time to scroll through all the documents in their emails. Keywords such as FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE or CONTACT written in caps immediately catches their attention. Keep your press release professional by avoiding fancy fonts and writing in bold or italics. Stick to Times Roman, 12-point form. Remember, your document should not look unprofessional or like a scam. It’s also better to embed the text of your release in the email rather than attaching a PDF that will never get opened.
2. Craft a clear, catchy, and concise headline.
Do not be superfluous with your headline. Be clear and concise in explaining through your headline the content of the story. Journalists only have a few seconds to decide whether to write about the story or not. So, if it doesn’t clearly explain what it is about, you lose the chance. Make sure your headline is compelling and irresistible. It’s definitely worth the time and effort! Remember, one thing is to have your email opened, and the other to have your story published. So, pay close attention to how your email will look like when it pops up in your inbox or mobile.
3. Have a strong lead to your release.
Put the most important and most relevant information first. Be upfront in telling the reporters about the details of the release. For example, if you are launching a new product, then the first paragraph of your release should deal with the details of the launch. The opening paragraph should convey the most crucial information to keep the journalists hooked throughout.
4. Insert relevant and tempting quotes to give insights.
Journalists want to know what others have to say. By inserting some quotes, you can give insights into your spokesperson’s opinions and perspectives. Ideally, the quote should be from key stakeholders who influence your organization. By picking up one or two critical quotes, you can draw the attention of the reporters to their unique point of view.
5. Avoid superfluous facts and adjectives.
A press release should be professional, concise, and to the point. Remember that less is always more. Avoid superfluous adverbs and adjectives and incorporate statistics and facts that are relevant and current. Every information or quote should only strengthen your narrative and make it compelling.
6. Write your boilerplate!
The boilerplate is a short paragraph inserted at the end of a press release giving all the information about the organization or company issuing the release. It summarizes the ‘who’ and ‘what’ of an organization. It describes your company’s aim, objectives, products, and services in brief. The language used should be clear, concise, and straightforward and not flowery or superfluous.
7. Add your contact details!
Do not forget to put details of your contact for reporters and journalists to reach out to you. The phone number and the email id should be given at the end to allow the journalists to get in touch with you.
8. Organize your press distribution!
Avoid sending mass emails that would land in the spam folder! It is better to write personalized emails and start working on individualized relationships with journalists and bloggers. We advise you to send your email earlier in the morning (7:30-9 am) on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Lastly, you can use a press distribution service, such as Prowly, or an email pipeline manager like Streaks. Those tools will help you to check the open rate of your emails, manage your conversations, and close your pitches.
Editors: Simran Sodhi (press@agh-pr.com) / Alexandra Gantier-Hochart (alexandra.gantier-hochart@agh-pr.com)
Credits: Unsplash