15 Press Release Tips to Get Noticed
There are many goals for a press release. One of your goals may be to drive traffic to your website or to boost your SEO results. Another goal may be to increase awareness for your business. For many, the primary goal for a press release is to grab the attention of the media. Regardless of your goals, none of this will happen if your release goes unnoticed. The following 15 press release tips will help you grab attention and achieve results.
1. Just the Facts, Nothing but the Facts – Skip the fluff. No one wants to read filler in a press release. Make sure you’re covering the 5W’s: who, what, where, when, and why.
2. Back it Up – You can use quotes and statistics to back up your information and add value and interest.
3. Make it Relevant – Whenever possible, tie your press release into current events or current problems. Make it relevant to where people are right now, and make it timely.
4. Visual Elements – We’ve become a visual society. We share pictures and videos more than any other type of content. Use this trend to capture attention and get your press release noticed. Add pictures, graphics, or even embed a video. Make sure your images are relevant to your content.
5. Headlines Matter – Spend time working on a headline that is both accurate and attention grabbing. It should succinctly summarize the point of your press release.
6. Keep it Short – Keep your press release short and sweet. Ideally, it’ll be one page long. Media professionals are busy and won’t take the time to read pages of content.
7. Is it Worthy? – Is your news worthy of a press release? In order to gain respect and trust with the media, and your prospects, you want to make sure your information is worthy of an announcement.
8. Make it Easy to Find – Make sure the information in your press release is easy to find. Simple formatting can help.
9. Proofread and Edit – Read and re-read your material several times. If you’re not confident in your editing skills, then have someone else read it. Make sure your release is perfect before you publish it.
10. Respect Your Readers – Make sure that you write in a clear and easy to understand manner. Avoid exaggeration, adverbs and adjectives.
11. Get to the Point – Make your first paragraph your most powerful one. Include all the relevant information right up front. This may be the most important press release tip to remember.
12. Write like a Journalist – Make sure your release is written like the news and not sales copy.
13. Keep Your Audience in Mind – Know who you’re writing to, and write to them. A press release should always focus on providing information and value.
14. Call to Action – What do you want people to do after they’ve read your release? Include a call to action that tells them what steps to take.
15. Contact Information – Don’t forget to include your contact information. Readers need to know how to get a hold of you if they have questions.
Practice makes perfect. You’ll become more comfortable with these press release tips when you take time to craft a good release. Writing and distributing quality press releases is an effective way to build your business.
