The Power of Press Releases

Press releases are an often-overlooked way to market your business. A well-written press release can significantly increase your sales, reveal your company to the masses, and greatly enhance the image of your business or products. The press release is essentially a sales instrument, marketing a company’s goods or services, an individual, an occasion or any combination of these.

The purpose of a press release is to give reporters knowledge that is useful, truthful and attention-grabbing. However the reporter picking up the release isn’t interested in assisting you with making money or directing visitors and therefore potential customers, to your website. It is important to always keep this in mind when you set out to write a good press release.

Writing a press release is an art in itself if you are to accomplish both the journalistic requirements but at the same time achieve the real reason you are writing the press release in the first place, and that is to increase sales.

So How Do You Write An Effective Press Release?

Here are five fundamental guidelines to keep in mind:

1. Press releases must conform to an established standard - Reporters get so many press releases a day, they have established excepted standards that you must adhere to merely to have your press release looked at, let alone distributed for publication.

2. Press releases should be printed on company letterhead if being mailed or faxed. Press releases may be sent by e-mail, fax or snail mail.

3. Press releases and news stories are lackluster to reporters without a 'human interest' angle - If you are going to write a press release to sell a product, do not begin with how grand the product is; begin by relaying the obstacle that the product will overcome.

4. A press release is a simulated news account, written in third person that endeavors to make obvious to an editor or reporter the newsworthiness of a specific individual, occasion, service or product.

5. Don’t panic - One of the hardest components of writing a press release is deciding what is too lengthy and what is too brief. Many business owners feel panic-stricken when it comes time to compose a press release. By classification a press release is simply an announcement arranged for circulation to the media so keep this in mind before you garner “writers block” before you even begin.

The essential components of a good press release:

1. Headline or Title - The heading of the press release should grab hold of the reporter’s imagination. The title of the press release should be brief and titillating, expectantly snatching the interest of the reporter and making an impression on them in enough measure to entice them to read on. Ideally it should be under 80 characters.

2. Summary - The summary paragraph is a little longer outline of the news, giving more detail of the news in the headline in one to four sentences. The summary uses sentence case, with standard capitalization and punctuation.

3. The body of the press release - The body of the press release starts with the date and city the press release is derived from. The essence of the press release is very fundamental as suggested in the above guidelines; who, what, where, when and why – with human interest. The first paragraph of the press release should contain in brief detail what the press release is about. Keep sentences and paragraphs short, about three or four lines per paragraph.The content of the press release, beginning with the date and city of origin, should be typed in a clear, basic font (Times New Roman, Arial, etc.)

4. Should it be necessary for your press release to exceed one page, the second page should indicate 'Page Two' in the upper right hand corner.

5. Never embed HTML or other markup languages in your press release. The standard press release is 300 to 800 words and written in a word processing program that checks spelling and grammar before submission. Do not include an e-mail address in the body of the release.

6. The end - The last paragraph of a conventional news release should contain the least newsworthy material, but for an online release, it is usual to reiterate and sum up the key points with a paragraph like this:

For additional information on the news that is the subject of this release (or for a sample, copy or demo), contact Jane Publicist or visit [website address here]. You can also include details on product availability, trademark acknowledgment, etc. here.

7. About XYZ Company:

Include a short corporate background, or "template," about the organization or the individual who is newsworthy before you list the contact person’s name and phone number.

Contact:

Jane Publicist, director of public relations
XYZ Company
555-555-5555
[website address here]

8. Journalistic standards have set basic stricture to identify the end of a press release: ###. Three # symbols, centered directly underneath the last line of the release indicate the end of a press release.

So there you have it; the “everything you always wanted to know about press releases but were afraid to ask.” Press releases are a valuable “tool” in your marketing toolbox and don’t be afraid to use them often.