Why Reporters Aren’t Taking Your Press Release Seriously
One of the most common goals for a press release marketing campaign and strategy is to gain media attention. After all, there’s really not much that’s better for boosting awareness, sales, and credibility than to have your business covered by the media. It can take you from a virtual unknown to a household name.
Press releases are a great way to reach the media for a number of reasons. It’s a unique document that succinctly presents information to the media in a way that they prefer. With press release distribution your release reaches thousands of journalists and media outlets.
That being said, it can be difficult to connect with the media. If you find that your press releases aren’t gaining the traction you’d hoped, it may be because the media isn’t taking your press release seriously. There are a few aspects of your release that can cause this.
#1 No News
Most often, the reason your press release isn’t getting any respect from the media is because it isn’t news. What is “news?” It’s factual information that has an impact on people’s lives. This is where many companies make a mistake with their press release.
For example, ABC Company releases a new product and issues a press release that announces the new product. A new product isn’t news. Yet, how the product solves a problem for the users is news, especially if this is a common problem or one that hasn’t been effectively solved before. Keep in mind that the media has an audience of readers and they have to care about what the journalist has to say.
#2 It’s Too Long
Reporters have fast paced lives, deadlines, and short attention spans. Make sure that your press release doesn’t overwhelm them before they even read the first paragraph. If it’s more than one page and it’s dense with content with little to no white space on the page, then they may not read it. Use formatting like lists and subheadings to make the page easy to read.
#3 You Don’t Get To The Point
With a sales page, a blog post, or even an email message you can afford to tease. You can tell stories and slowly pull a reader into your content. With a press release it is absolutely imperative that you get to the point in the first paragraph. You have to answer the 5W’s, which are; who, what, where, when and why. If you don’t answer those questions for the media right away, they won’t take a second glance at your release.
If you want the media to take your press releases seriously, you have to remember why they read them. They’re looking for story ideas to write about. That means taking time to look at your release from a reporter’s point of view.
