How To Write A Successful News Release

The following tips will help you write a professional, concise and powerful news release.

Proofread: We recommend that you write your press release in a MS Word or other word processing program. Write your press release, print it and proofread. Rewrite and then proofread again. The more time you take to do it right, the better your company’s first impression. There are no second chances!

Start Strong: Your headline, summary and first paragraph should clarify your news. The rest of your news or press release should provide the detail. You only have seconds to grab your readers’ attention.

Identify Yourself: If your news or press release does not identify the source of the information and news within the first few paragraphs, you may lose the promotional value your release can provide. Readers want to know who is talking; letting them know builds the credibility of the release and promotes your name and brand online.

Write Professionally: If your release contains hype, slang, excessive exclamation points or direct address, chances are it will be viewed as an advertisement. There is no better way to destroy credibility than to distribute a release full of hype. Additionally, on occasion, media outlets may pick up your release and run it in their publications with little or no modification. The more professional your release sounds, the greater the chances are that this will happen.

Tough Questions: Not everything is news. Will someone else find your story interesting? Focus on the features of your company’s unique products and/or services. Answer the question, “Why should anyone care?” Make sure your announcement contains news values like timeliness, uniqueness or highlights something truly unusual. Avoid clichés. Focus on the aspects of your announcement that truly set you apart from everyone else.

Your Angle: Make your press release timely. Make sure that your release has a good news hook. Tying your news to current events, recent studies, trends and social issues brings relevance, urgency and importance to your message.

Use Anchor Text: Using anchor text and hyperlinks to point readers back to your site ensures both your website and your important keywords receive simultaneous promotion in your press release.

What’s the Solution: Use real life examples to illustrate how your company or organization solves problems. Identify the problem and why your solution is the right solution. Give examples of how your service or product fulfills needs or satisfies desires. Using real life examples powerfully communicates the benefits of using your product or service.

Toot Your Own Horn: Online press releases are a successful way to create expert status. If your company has reached a milestone, celebrated an anniversary, hired a new president, experienced significant growth or received an award, tell the world what you did right. Or, write a tip sheet that offers readers tips or help in your field of expertise.

Don’t Give Away All the Secrets: Tell readers where they can go to learn more. Provide links in your press release directly to the page on your website where readers can learn the specifics about your news and then act upon it. If you give your readers no reason to click through to your site, they’re not necessarily going to. This kind of “call to action” pulls them away from reading and urges them to respond.

Facts or Fiction: Tell the truth. Avoid fluff, embellishments, hype and exaggerations. If you feel that your press release seems sensational, there’s a good chance your readers will think so too. If your story sounds too good to be true, you are probably hurting your own credibility. Even if it is true, you may want to tone it down a bit.

Use Action Words: Verbs in the active voice bring your press release to life. Use verbs in the past tense like “partnered” instead of “partnership”. Do not be afraid to use strong verbs. For example, “strong negative emotions” can be turned to “enraged”. This helps give life and energy to your release which may set it apart from the rest of the voices out there.

Economize Your Words: Be concise.  News search engines sometimes reject news releases with overly long headlines, excessive lists and high overall word counts. Eliminate unnecessary adjectives, flowery language or redundant expressions such as “added bonus” or “first time ever.”  Make each word count. Less is more!

Limit Jargon: Jargon is language specific to certain professions, industries or groups and is not appropriate for general readership. Using an abundance of technical language and jargon limits your reading audience.