How To Avoid Embarrassing Blunders With Your Own Press Release

1 year ago 410

Introduction

I'm going to be honest: when I started writing press release format, I didn't know what they were. In fact, I thought that they were just another way to get attention for your business or organization and make sure people knew about it no matter how small or large the scope could be. But now that I've been doing this for awhile, I've learned just how important these documents can be in helping reporters do their jobs and keep readers engaged with the latest news from your brand!

That said, there are some mistakes you simply shouldn't make when crafting a PR piece -- especially if you want them to stand out from all the others on their desk or computer screen at work. Here are five things journalists don't like:

Know your goal

It is important to know why you are writing the press release example. You should also be clear about what your goal is and how you can achieve it with this press release.

For example, if your goal is to get new clients, then it makes sense to include information about how much money they will save by using your services in their business. Or if your goal is simply to inform people of what you do and where they can find more information about your company on social media or other websites, then it may not make sense for you to include any calls-to-action at all—but rather just provide an overview of who runs the company (you) and where people can find more details about what services are offered by that particular brand/employer/etcetera...

Identify your audience

The first step to writing a press release template that will get you the attention you want is knowing your target audience. What are they looking for? What do they need and want? How can you help them achieve their goals?

Once you've identified your audience, it's time to think about what the purpose of this particular piece of content is: what do YOU want them to do after reading it? Is it just informing the world about something new or useful that happened recently? Or is there an intent behind sending out this press release (and if so, why)?

Write an eye-catching headline

  • Write a headline that grabs attention.

  • Use numbers or words that are relevant to your story. For example, if you're writing about how many people have been hired at a certain company and the number is bigger than expected, then use "more than 100" in your headline—it's easy for readers to see this immediately and will help them understand why this particular stat is important to share with others. If you want to include more numbers than just those two sentences above, make sure they're relevant too! For instance: "The largest increase since 2009 was in our sales department." That way, it makes sense as well as being memorable (and catchy!).

Come up with a subhead to complement the headline

In order to make your news release example stand out, you need to come up with a subhead that complements the headline. This can be a brief summary of the story or an overview of how you're going to accomplish something new and exciting. The subhead should be written in active voice (I will solve problem X), concise and to the point, and it should fit in with the rest of your press release like a glove.

If possible, try not to stray too far from this template when writing your own headlines. If it sounds good then it's probably grammatically correct!

Include the five Ws

If you're writing a press release, it's important to include the five Ws. These are:

  • Who

  • What

  • When

  • Where

  • Why

Get a quote from an executive (or yourself)

If you are a small business, it may be worth your while to get quotes from your employees. If you are large enough to have an executive in charge of marketing and public relations, then this might be the best option for you. The quote should be short and snappy—don't use any paragraphs!

Add a boilerplate to your press release

A boilerplate is a short introduction to your media release template that you can use as the basis for any future releases. It should be written in plain English, using active verbs and active voice. Here’s an example:

  • “The company will be holding its annual meeting on [date] at [location]. Those interested in attending are encouraged to register online at www.example-company.com/annualmeeting."

That's it! You've now created your own boilerplate!

Add contact information

When your press release is finished and ready to be published, it's time to add contact information. This is important because your readers will want to know how they can get in touch with you.

  • Email address: A good rule of thumb is that if someone wants more information about something, they'll ask for it! That's why any time we write an article or publish a blog post on our site, we include our email address at the bottom of each page so people can reach out if they have questions or comments—and this holds true with media release template too.

  • Phone number: You may think this one doesn't apply here since all communication will happen via email anyway (or maybe even through social media), but still—if someone wants more details about your product/service/etc., chances are high they'll call before sending an email asking questions like "what does X do?"

A press release is no excuse to go overboard with exclamation points or shoddy writing -- those are surefire ways to turn off reporters and readers.

Avoid using exclamation points. Use them sparingly, and only when they're warranted by the content of your media release template. Shouting "Time-honored!" at the top of a sentence will just make you look like someone who can't get out of their own way.

Avoid using hyperbole. It's fine to exult over something (you should be proud!), but don't go overboard with it—the average person might not understand what "exceptionally good" means in this context and may even think it's an outright lie!

Avoid jargon or slang if at all possible; otherwise, stick with standard English (which everyone understands). If there's no other way around it, try rewriting parts of your text so that they're less dense with technical terms--this will help readers understand what the point is without needing any prior knowledge about whatever field you write about!

Conclusion

With these tips and tricks, you’ll be on your way to crafting a stellar sample press release template that will help build your business and secure new clients. Be sure to keep in mind that press releases are one of the most effective ways for companies to get their message out there. As we discussed earlier, they can be used by anyone, no matter their size or industry; all it takes is some research! In this case study we learned how one small business owner successfully increased sales through PR while maintaining an approachable tone with reporters and readers alike.

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