Yes, good press releases are still worth their weight in gold and are solid components of your PR and Marketing armoury alongside Social Media. Here are some thoughts and tips from our co-Founder and Managing Director, Mandy Brooks, on how to write compelling professional press releases that hit the mark:
Professional press releases need to be concise, interesting, and thought provoking, and for best results, should adhere to certain industry guidelines. A press release is a public announcement that your company wishes to make to the media. By its very nature, it should have real news value and be of interest to people outside your organisation.
1. Make sure the headline is direct and to the point; just give a short description of what's being announced. Read the headline and ask yourself - So What? If you are not convinced then try to word it differently for greater impact.
2. Keep the first paragraph to three or four simple sentences that answer the following questions:
Who? Why? What? When? Where?
Avoid overselling the company up with meaningless phrases. Instead, try to present the whole story in one easily digestible paragraph.
3. The body of the release should exclude all extraneous material. In particular, any phrases that don't mean anything shouldn't be in there. If you're going to describe what a product or a company does, do it without too much marketing speak.
4. Always make sure that the company web site is listed, and that the names, numbers, and email addresses are given for anyone who will be handling enquiries from the press. Name two people, if possible. Add yours/the company's twitter name so press can use that for contact or find out more information - both the website link and the twitter link are also valuable for SEO purposes should it be distributed online, or if the press release is published online.
Give us a shout if you would like any press release training or PR training on a range of subjects - from Social Media to How to speak to the Press. Call us now on 01483 537890 or submit your requests for our PR sheets.
