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Introduction:
Tip Before you start reading this post, we want to ask you a question: Do you think press releases are important in your marketing strategy?
If your answer is no, this material will self-destruct in five seconds. If the answer is yes, you will still be reading these lines.
Because press releases continue to be a very important part of disseminating relevant information about your company, generating brand recognition, reaching your target audience in a more defined way and generating potential clients.
But, you must know how to write a press release that journalists cannot miss.
Do you want to know how to write a press release? Keep reading, because we will not only tell you how to write a press release, but we will also tell you what to do once you finish writing it, to achieve a correct distribution.
What is a press release?
It is a document with which we present important information or news about our company, business, product, or service to the media. It is sent to journalists for free publication in their newspaper, television, magazine, or radio.
The objective of a press release is to achieve visibility and promote a brand, project, or idea in different dissemination channels. It is a powerful technique to enhance digital marketing and branding strategies.
Characteristics of a press release.
The main characteristics of a press release:
- It is a versatile document that can be distributed in offline media (newspapers, TV, radio) and online media (blogs, digital platforms, and social networks).
- It has a very short useful life since it refers to a current event.
- The information developed should be concise and concrete.
- They are informative in nature. Therefore, commercial language should be avoided.
- It should not be too long, between 1 and 3 pages.
- They must follow a newsworthy event and announce something newsworthy.
What types of press releases are there?
As already mentioned, the main characteristic of a press release is that it is informative. However, there are several types, each adapting to a different need.
- Product press release: this type is ideal when you have a brand and need to publicize a new product.
- Event press release: it is used for presentations, conferences, fairs, celebrations, award ceremonies or any other event as its name indicates.
- Press release of service: if you need to position yourself as a specialist or benchmark in your sector, this release is ideal.
Press release of an organization: it is used to publicize the launch of a project, whether it is business or not.
10 Steps to Proper Press Release
A press release is a 400-600 word piece of news about your business that is shared with the media to generate news coverage.
To write a good press release, you need to include a compelling headline, a powerful lead paragraph, and an informative body. If written well, a press release can greatly increase your brand awareness. When your press release is ready, the next step is to get it in front of the right people at the right time.
1) How important is Determining your press release, topic, and audience?
The subject of your press release should be newsworthy so that journalists feel interested. This can be anything from an announcement of the hiring of a new employee to the organization of an upcoming event. Knowing the specific topic will help you determine the crucial information you need to share and who your audience is. So make sure you offer information clearly and concisely.
These are the most common examples of topics to issue a press release:
- New hire:
Publicizing the hiring of a high-level executive is an effective way to show the public that your business is growing or changing positively.
These press releases should include the new hire’s name, title, a brief bio, and what they will add to your organization.
- New Product or Service–
A press release about a new product or service can create brand buzz and drive sales.
Include the new service or product name, brief details of what it is, the date it will be available, and how to get more information about it.
- Event:
Issuing a press release for an event will not only increase attendance, it will also show the public how your brand is engaging with the community.
Include the name and purpose of the event along with the date, time, and location.
- Industry:
Announcing an award or recognition shows that your brand is trustworthy. Include a description of the prize, the requirements to win, and how this positions you relative to your competitors.
Also, we need to mention is very important to create the right Marketing Strategy
2) What is the right Format for your press release?
Before you start writing, set up your press release document to use standard font and image sizes. Proper formatting makes it easy for journalists to find the important information in your press release quickly and easily. If you can, use a press release template, which you can easily download online. Be sure to add your logo and letterhead to the top of the document and choose the font type, size, and colour. We recommend that you use Times New Roman or Arial font to make it easier to read and make sure the text is black.
Font sizes and styles will differ slightly depending on the part of the press release you’re writing, but you can follow these recommendations as a general guideline:
- Headline: Times New Roman or Arial font, size 14
- Lead: Times New Roman or Arial font in italics, size 13.
- Body: Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12.
3) Add contact information.
Below your logo, include contact information for a person from your company who can answer questions about your press release.
This information should be to the right and placed below your logo. Always include a specific person’s name with their email address and mobile number.
4) Create an impressive title in your press release.
Your press release headline should be between 65 and 80 characters long and placed in the top centre of your document, below their contact information. The headline should be concise and compelling, clearly communicating your main message or story. Also, consider using keywords in your title that rank well on Google. While press releases generally won’t have much value for your SEO, they can show up in Google search results if you include keywords that people frequently use in searches.
To find keywords that might fit your topic, you can use a tool like Ubersuggest, for example.
Look for keywords with a volume of 200 or more that align with your message or news.
5) You can write a subtitle, although it is not mandatory.
Subheadings sit just below the title and should be no more than 20 words. This subheading aims to provide more information about your story while establishing a “hook” that encourages journalists to keep reading.
Write your subtitle to be consistent with the title and offer more information.
6) Create a powerful lead.
This paragraph should be around 50 words or less, and essentially answer five questions: “who, what, where, when and why”. These sentences are crucial, as few people read beyond the lead paragraph of a press release.
The questions your first paragraph should answer are:
Who – Who is involved? What company? What individuals?
What – What happened? What is the history? What’s going on?
Where – Where did it happen or where will it happen?
When – When did it happen? When will it happen?
Why? – Why does the reader care?
The impact of your press release will depend largely on your creativity to write this lead attractively.
Leave the details for later paragraphs and answer each of these questions as concisely as possible. It’s also important to maintain the proper length in this section, as journalists have very little time to review the content of press releases.
7) Develop your story in the body of the press release.
The body of your press release should be three to five paragraphs and develop the idea of the lead. Write these paragraphs as concisely as possible, ideally not to exceed 300 words, and include all the specific details about your story. To add more interest and credibility, close with a clear call to action and incorporate a quote or testimonial to support your story. It includes numbers and statistics to support the importance of launching a new product. Numbers play a key role in presenting a compelling story and making it believable.
The importance of including a call to action.
A call to action, CTA, is a sentence that tells your reader exactly what you would like them to do after reading your press release. Your call to action must be clear, practical and concise, and of course, it must facilitate the reader’s action. For example, if you’re reporting on a new hire, provide a social media account or web page where journalists can get more detailed information.
The importance of adding a quote or testimonial.
A quote or testimonial increases the credibility of the news you are trying to sell to journalists. Add this quote as a separate paragraph within the body, ideally after the second paragraph and not to exceed eighty words.
8) Company information and history.
Here you must make a small biography of your company so that the journalists are informed about your business and what you do. Put all that relevant information in a maximum of 100 words, and place it at the end of your post, below the final paragraph.
Do you have doubts regarding what information may be important for journalists about your business?
Here are some ideas:
- Full name of your company or organisation.
- How many years have you been in business?
- What makes your business unique or different.
- How many offices does your company have?
- Recent awards or achievements.
- A link to your company’s website.
9) Is important to include the contact information?
It’s very important put the information so the journalist can contact you. Repeat the contact information you included at the top of your press name, so journalists can easily contact you if they have questions.
It is advisable to start with “For more information, contact”:
- Name and surname of the person in charge
- Position and work area
- Telephone
- Company Website Company
- social networks
10) Distribute your press release.
Now that you’ve written your press release, you’re ready to get it into the hands of journalists, reporters, and media representatives or contact the news.
You can distribute your press release in three ways: posting on your website, using distribution services, and sharing a link on social media. For best results, you should use all three distribution methods.
Publish on your website
Add your press release to your website in HTML format, usually as a publication and PDF.
Keeping an archive of press releases on your site provides some SEO benefits, as mentioned above while ensuring that anyone in the media has access to past releases.
Be sure to create a separate page for these versions, titled “News”, “Updates”, or “Press”, and add this page to the main menu of your website.
Use a distribution service. Using a distribution
service to publish your press release will ensure that your press release is sent to the correct media outlets and reporters.
Post a link on your social media channels
Post a link to your press release on all of your company’s active social media channels. You can use the direct link from the press release archive on your website or the direct link provided by your distribution service.
Your followers can easily read and share your press release on social media, increasing awareness of your release topic. As we said before, a press release is important to your marketing strategy. It must be attractive, readable and grammatically impeccable.
Go through your press release several times and let your colleagues review it. Take suggestions and apply them to make your press release error-free.
Key Tip for your perfect Press Release.
Tip Don’t review your press release right after you finish writing. Take a break or focus on something else for a few minutes. Treating a press release as an ideal tool for communicating with the media is important. Make it an important part of your public relations strategy and apply it effectively.
Once you publish it, share it with your current and potential customers. Send an email notifying them of your news and distribute it on your social networks. Follow our tips above, and you’ll be well on your way to delivering the best press releases. Have you ever written press releases to disseminate news related to your company among the most relevant journalists for your market niche? What were your results?
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