How Writing A Good Hook Can Help Your Press Release Marketing
More than 300 press releases are published every day at the top distribution services. It can be tough to stand out from the pack. Writing a good hook can grab the attention you need to get you the media coverage you want in order to achieve your marketing goals.
What is a hook?
A hook draws the reader, grabbing their attention enough so that they would want to read more.
Where should I put a hook?
In terms of press releases published through distributions services like Newswire, there are three main places to put your hooks:
1-the headline
2-the sub-head
3-the first paragraph
The headline is the most important part of your press release. If it doesn’t hook people’s attention, the rest of the release will never be read, no matter how brilliant it might be.
The sub-headline serves as both support for the headline, confirming what the story is about, and as a teaser, enticing people to read more.
The first paragraph is essential for drawing the reader further into the story, so they will hopefully read the entire thing.
Your press release should have good hooks in all three places to help you stand out from the crowd. Most marketers have no idea what a good hook is, so you will be head and shoulders above the rest if you focus on improving your skills in writing a good hook.
How to write a good hook
A good hook will:
+Grab attention
+Make people curious
+Create an emotional reaction
While also containing:
+Keywords related to your topic or niche
+Power words
+Action verbs
+Facts
+Numbers, if possible
One of the best ways to learn how to write good hooks is to practice. Write about 25 different headlines for your release and see which grabs you the most.
A second way is to assess your own reading online. What stories excite your interest? Study the headlines to see why they are so effective.
Here is an example:
Lightning storms knock out power to entire Australian state
This is interesting because natural disasters always make the news, and a lightning storm might sound unusual and interesting to readers. Entire is a power word that indicates the scope of the disaster. Australian state makes us curious to find out which one, in this case, South Australia, as we discover if we read the sub-head:
Police direct traffic in the central business district (CBD) of Adelaide after severe storms and thousands of lightning strikes knocked out power to the entire state of South Australia, September 28, 2016.
The benefits of writing good hooks
Journalists and bloggers can develop an enthusiastic following online if they keep presenting their readers with material that hooks them in and gets them excited about what they are reading. Therefore, a good press release with a great hook is worth its weight in gold to a busy journalist desperate for interesting information, and will gain more media pickups, for a great return on investment in relation to your marketing efforts.
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