Writing Perfect Press Releases
How to Grab the Media’s Attention with a Well Put Together Release
Media releases are cost-efficient and can be amazingly effective marketing tools. Find out how to ensure that your key audiences are reading about your business
A cleverly structured media release can really get the word out about a company, significantly increasing familiarity and knowledge of their products and services. However, all too often, business people who have not been taught how to write a successful press release make avoidable mistakes. Unfortunately, these slip-ups can lead to readers overlooking the story, or worse, the media release never making it past the journalist’s desk. If business owners stick to a few simple guidelines they will succeed in getting their company’s story in front of their most important and valuable audiences.
Keep Press Releases Simple
Journalists do not want a five page history of a company falling across their desks, nor do they want something that waffles on emotionally about the merits of the business owner and their corporation. All a journalist wants is a short, concise story which gives them all the information they need to enable them to either re-write the release from a different angle or to publish the release as it is.
It is imperative that the who, what, where, when, why and how of the story is covered in the opening paragraph. If the reader can’t ascertain exactly what the release is about from glancing at this early part of the story, then they do not have a well written and effective release in your hands.
Journalists Hate Jargon
Individuals new to writing media releases should resist the temptation to saturate their release with technical terms, industry slang and complicated wording, especially if they are planning on distributing the release amongst a general audience. The message will not be communicated effectively if the reader cannot understand the terms that are being used.
Journalists will also not appreciate having to consult a dictionary 50 times while they are reading through a release. It is more than likely that if the journalist doesn’t understand the words that are used then the media release will end up in the bin.
Be Objective
Even though the average business owner may believe that their product or service is amazing, they should keep their media releases objective. It is important to stick to the facts and to steer clear of flowery, emotive words such as ‘amazing’ and ‘fantastic’. In addition to this, overblown claims should be avoided unless they can be substantiated. A business owner may be keen to state that they are ‘the country’s most popular provider of chocolate chip cookies’, but unless this can be proved to be true, the business may find itself getting into hot water with other companies in the industry.
See Things from the Journalist’s Point of View
Journalists make their living from providing the public with exciting and interesting news items so businesspeople should try to be understanding if they are not as enthusiastic as they are about the fact that the company is relocating to an office across the street. On the other hand, the chance of the media release being picked up by a publication can be significantly increased if the story is written from a new or unusual angle. For example, if the business is, in fact, moving to an office across the street, the business owner could describe how, as part of the move, they will be introducing a whole host of exciting and innovative ways to reduce the company's impact on the environment. This would make the press release stand out and would distinguish the company from the billions of others sending out stories every day.
Include a Photo
Journalists love to receive photos that they can use in their stories and publications. Professional photographers can be expensive so being given a picture for free is always much appreciated. Some magazines and newspapers will actually be more likely to run a story if it is accompanied by a relevant, high-res photo. However, business owners should ensure that any photo they provide complements the story and is a good quality image rather than a holiday or family snap shot.
Once the typical format and style of the media release has been learned, any business person can use this tool to effectively convey information about their industry, product or service to specific audiences. Many online sites, such as PR Newswire, will distribute your release for a fee although there are also a number of sites that will do this for free, such as PR Log. The following links also provide further information on how to write good media releases and how to use other cost-effective PR techniques.
