Press releases can be a powerful marketing tool for your brand if you know how to do them right. Read our tips for writing a press release here.
About 80% of consumers research a business online before making a purchase. If consumers don’t know who you are, you’ll never succeed in attracting their business. With press releases as part of your marketing strategy, you can boost your brand and reach more customers.
Press releases are a great way to keep people informed about your business. You can let them know about new products, acquisitions, or updates about your executive team.
Despite how important press releases are as a marketing tool, many companies don’t know how to draft a release.
With these tips for writing a press release, you can boost your brand awareness and reach more customers. Keep reading to discover how to draft a great press release today!
-
Set the Main Message
Many people fail to have a plan when drafting their first press release. You can’t write a message, send it, and hope for the best. Instead, you need to get organized before writing a great press release.
For most marketing strategies, your target audience is your customers. Usually, you write with the end consumer in mind. Writing to your audience helps you grab and keep their attention throughout your marketing.
With a press release, however, your audience includes consumers and journalists. In fact, journalists receive hundreds of press releases every day. They don’t read through every press release that ends up in their inbox.
By using these tips for writing a press release, you can make sure new outlets see your release among the rest!
Otherwise, journalists won’t find your piece as newsworthy. They won’t adapt your press release for their own content.
In order to help your content stand out, it’s important to make sure your press release is concise and gets to the point quickly.
What point are you trying to get across? What’s the purpose of your press release?
There are different types of press releases you can choose from. Are you releasing a new product or hosting an event? Keep that focus in mind as you start drafting your press release.
-
Hook Your Readers
If you want to stand out with your press release, you need to immediately hook your reader. If your headline fails to grab their attention, journalists might toss your release aside.
A strong, concise headline:
- Is short and sweet
- Includes vivid adjectives
- Uses action-oriented verbs
- Communicates urgency and excitement
- Is honest
Make sure your headline gets the main point of your press release across. Why should people keep reading? The urgency will encourage them to read the rest of your release.
To give readers a little more information, add a short subheading beneath the headline.
-
Follow the Outline
Before you start writing your first draft, create an outline for yourself. Use bullet points to determine the talking points you want to cover in your press release. Then, review your list.
Which pieces of information seem irrelevant? What sounds like fluff?
If it doesn’t add essential information to your press release, cross it out.
Once you have an outline you can use, start with your lede paragraph. The lede, or opening paragraph, covers the most important information in your release, including:
- Who
- What
- When
- Where
- How
- Why
Try using the inverted pyramid writing style when drafting your press release. Journalists use the inverted pyramid to focus the most important information at the start of their piece. Once you exceed a page, start cutting paragraphs from the bottom up.
Following your outline will ensure your press release works as part of your brand awareness strategy.
Format Your Piece
When pitching to media outlets, it helps to stick to the correct press release format. The format is designed to help journalists find the information they need quickly.
First, make sure the words “For Immediate Release” appear along with the release date at the top of the page. Make sure your contact information is beside it in the top right-hand corner.
Center your headline and subheading.
Before starting your lede paragraph, include your city, state, and the month in bold. Then, write your content. End with boilerplate information about your business.
You can use a notion like “###” to indicate you’ve reached the end of the press release. If you want people to contact you for more information, add your contact information at the end of the post.
-
Compel Readers
Ending your press release with a strong call-to-action (CTA) can encourage your readers to take action. If you have an upcoming event, maybe you want people to get tickets. For a new product release, maybe you want them to visit your website for pre-release news.
A compelling, action-oriented CTA is an important component of any marketing strategy.
In addition to building brand awareness, your press release can also help you generate leads, conversions, and sales if you ace your CTA.
-
Speak With Authority Figures
Journalists rely on quotes from authority figures to give their pieces credibility. You can add quotes to your press releases from relevant members of your team. For example, you might want to contact a stakeholder if you’re announcing a merger.
If you’re launching a new product, maybe you want to get a quote from the creator or project leader.
Make sure your quotes add more information and value to your press release.
-
Add Multimedia
As you use these tips for writing a press release, remember: a picture is worth a thousand words. Adding imagery to your press release can help you stand out.
Adding videos to landing pages can increase conversion rates by 80%. Meanwhile, 96% of customers use product videos to help them make buying decisions. Adding a video to your press release might help as you’re pitching to media outlets.
Make sure the multimedia connects with the purpose of your release.
-
Distribute Your Release
Once you’ve used these tips for writing a press release and you’ve edited the document, you can start distributing!
Consider working with a professional press release writing company. They’ll write, edit, and distribute your release for you. The best press release writing service can help you maximize your reach and boost brand awareness!
7 Tips for Writing a Press Release: How to Get Your Message Out There
Using these tips for writing a press release, you can get in front of more customers and start boosting brand awareness. As you reach more customers, you can generate more leads and grow your business.
Start pitching to media outlets with these tips today!
Looking for more helpful tips and guides? Explore the Business section of the blog today.
