7 Tips For Making Your Press Release Work

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Working in publications for the last few years has taught me some things about press releases, mainly that there are lots of them and most are awful. Any business with an employee who took a journalism class 15 years ago thinks they can whip up a press release, send it out through a free distribution service, and get amazing exposure. Unfortunately, this isn’t how it works, and the art of creating a relevant and engaging press release takes time, effort, and money. Read through the 7 tips to see how to make your press release work:

1. Stop Writing Like a Marketer. I know your first inclination may be to write about how amazing, unbeatable, can’t-miss-it your product is – but don’t. Journalists don’t like it, and their audience doesn’t want to read it. You are releasing news about your company/service/product, not selling it door to door. Avoid buzz words, jargon, and industry terms that people won’t understand like channeled lead generation technosavvy and synergy-enhanced billiard tables.

2. Start Telling a Story. You wouldn’t expect the evening news to show a picture of a product and say, “Yes, this product exists and it sure does work and is pretty cool”. That isn’t a story, and it doesn’t belong in a publication. A press release is news and should be written as such. If you have to ask, “Is this relevant to anyone?” then it probably isn’t.

3. Just Because You’re An Amateur Doesn’t Mean You Need To Show It. Maybe you didn’t get to spend 4 years at a university learning public relations, and you’re actually a part time sales assistance who got tossed the job of writing a press release – that’s okay, no one needs to know that! So don’t write like it. Pick up an AP style book. Ask your Facebook friends to look for grammar errors, do some actual research on how to write a press release. With the wealth of information online, there’s no excuse to send in a sloppy story.

4. Know Your Publication. While your story on break-through technology for vibrators may be very interesting, it’s doubtful that Gardening Weekly cares. Too many companies enlist a generic PR distribution service who sends press releases to everyone, regardless of relevancy. Personalization and targeting will take you a long way in this industry.

5. Understand Your Story Will Be Edited. Edited, rewritten, and changed completely, to be specific. No respectable publication is going to run your release exactly as it was submitted (unless you are very talented – in which case why are you reading this? Go make some moolah!) so don’t be offended when you see it changed on the web.

6. Understand SEO – At Least A Bit. I’m not asking you learn the entire search engine optimization industry in a day, but take time to understand a few basic elements. Chances are your press release will show up in Google search results, so take the time to construct a Google-friendly headline and first paragraph. Don’t overload on keywords, and for goodness sakes, include a link back to your page!

7. Be Available. Finally – and most importantly – be available through phone and email. Even if your writing blows, your distribution service sucks, and you have no clue what you’re doing, if the story is good a publication will contact you. Include as much contact information as possible, and be prepared to answer inquiries. Journalism is time sensitive, and no writer is going to appreciate being told, “I’m not sure, let me ask someone and email you later”. Be available, be prepared, and at least pretend to know what you’re doing.