Your business will need good media coverage to grab the attention of your target audience. Whether you have just stepped into the business world or you are about to launch a new product, you may need some publicity, and here comes the press release.
A press statement is released to tell people who, why, what, and where. It aims to create some buzz. Being able to write an effective press statement is a skill. It is not that easy to be picked when there are a lot of other press releases in the queue.
The length and what to be included is what you must know to make it work for you. Most of the time, you try to make it one page or two pages to include all information to give it a shape of a well-structured story. It is a valuable piece of marketing content, so make sure that you write it keeping your customers and shareholders in your mind.
Tips for effectively writing a news release
Here are the tips for effective writing a news release
The story should be newsworthy
Before you draft a press statement, you should ask yourself what you want to read. Of course, you would love to read something new and interesting. This is why you should provide something new to your users. Try to provide them with a solution to a problem. Ask yourself the following questions before you dive into writing a press release:
- Do you have something fresh to present to your audience?
- Would you actually care about it if you were your customer?
- Do you think it will be interesting to anyone outside your business?
A ground rule of thumb says that you should check what kinds of stories are published. You can get an idea from those stories about what you exactly need to get published. If you do not have answers to these questions, you should put it off unless you get an engaging story for your audience.
Write killer headlines to standout
Although you need to write a media release for your target audience, you can reach out to them when you are picked up by the news outlet. Many journalists get thousands of emails every day, and most of them can be press releases from different companies.
In order to grab their attention, you should write in bold “press release” on the subject. However, it is not enough. If they do not find your story newsworthy, they will straightaway rebuff it. Nobody would like to read such a long piece of information when they are running out of time. This is why you should write a killer headline.
This will clearly tell what it is about. Avoid clever style as it will take you nowhere. Whether it is the headline or the story, try to make it unique. You will have to stand out in order to be picked soon. If you do not want them to ignore your email, you should brainstorm catchy headlines.
Research to get an idea of headlines used by others. As a financial consultant, you will likely use the headline “Unsecured debt consolidation challenges”, but it may not be appealing to many journalists.
Must mention the summary
The first line should grab the attention of the journalist. If the first sentence does not seem appealing, they will not bother about reading it ahead, especially when loads of emails have been waiting for their attention.
To give a clear idea about your press release, the first two to three lines should be the summary that talks about why what, who, where, and when. Even the journalist will scan your press release to decide if it is worth publishing, you should remember using action verbs and being specific. Try to keep it short and avoid being repetitive.
You can get your story covered on TV and radio, apart from online platforms. If you have opted for these two platforms, you need to brainstorm how you are going to be narrated or present this story. The story mentioned on the online PR platforms is different from the one released on TV or on a radio programme.
Provide background information
At the bottom of your press release, you should provide all details related to your launch. You need to tell the reason why you have come up with this announcement. Your reader must have understood your purpose of launching it or making this announcement by now.
An excellent way to add value to your media release is to relate it to the current going on scenario. In this way, you can succinctly tell your audience about the project’s development.
Use quotes to give insights
Do not fight shy from using quotes given by people who are a part of your organization but make sure that you use them as insight, not just as plain information. For instance, it does not make sense to include information like “last year, we approved hundreds of applications for bad credit business loans in the UK.” Quotes should be used to give opinions rather than statistical information.
Avoid using technical jargon. It can be easily cracked whether these are real words given by a real person or an attempt to make it sound real.
The bottom line
It is crucial to remember that a press release is instead an idea, so you should look for different publications to pitch to. It is always suggested to express your idea in one paragraph right above your press release. Try to avoid sending an attached file because no journalist is free to open your attached files. Try to get as much attention as possible by directly pasting the media release beneath your idea. You may have to chase them to get it published because most of the time, they are bombarded with them. Try to tweak your idea or story, so you manage to get it published in the end.
