Editors, writers and producers get lots of press releases. It seems every company, nonprofit and agency has a new product to launch, results from a fascinating study to reveal, a breaking story to announce, an expert’s opinion to share or a unique event to be covered. Although news releases are a major source of information for the media, it has to be done right or your announcement will just be a bother and relegated to junk status. Worse yet, your email address may be blocked or removed.
Here are 8 tips to make sure your release rises to the top and isn’t a victim of the delete key.
Target your distribution lists. Don’t send everything to everyone. Build relationships and know who is interested in what information.
Don’t forget the basics:
- Be sure your release answers the 5 W’s: who, what, where, when and why.
- Add a boilerplate description at the bottom.
- Use your logo.
- Include contact information.
- Insert links for your website and social media channels.
Use standard formatting. Write the release in third person (save the first person references for a quote); give release date information at the top (embargoed until when or for immediate release); follow AP style.
83% of journalists/people in the media say pictures in news releases are very important (63%) or important (18%).
Use a stand-alone quote from an appropriate executive, key representative or person of authority involved with the release information. (This is not the time to quote from the company spokesperson.)
Check, check again and then have someone else check for grammar issues, typos and spelling mistakes. There is no faster way to lose your credibility than with these 3 gaffes. MS Word can catch some of this and there are also apps, programs and blogs to help in this area, such as Grammarly and the Grammar Girl, so there’s really no good excuse.
Spend lots of time crafting a headline and sub headline. A catchy yet relevant headline goes a long way in getting your release opened. A sub headline is a great opportunity to expand on a key issue and tell a story tidbit.
Use keywords in online distributions. Don’t be lazy and skip this step or your information will be buried or non-existent in searches.
Try and be a resource for the media and not an annoyance. New to this? Try Hubspot’s free template to get started.
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