Writing Effective Press Releases

If you want to boost your business’s visibility and media coverage, you need to know how to write a good press release. An effective press release is a powerful branding tool – it can help you get the word out about your business’s products and services, establish your company’s credibility, generate social media engagement and direct traffic back to your website. However, it’s also different from crafting a blog post or creating website copy. So, I’ve put together a few tips and tactics to get the most out of your press releases. 1. Make Sure Your Story Is Newsworthy Before you get to work on your press release, ask yourself if there’s anything â€Å"new† or unexpected in your story. Is it something that anyone outside your specific niche would even be interested in? If the answer is no, it’s probably best to hold off. 2. Write a Clear, Direct Headline Avoid the temptation to test out some clever wordplay or devise clickbait-y headlines for your press releases. These tactics muddle your message and make it harder for journalists to figure out the real story. Michael Long, the director of writing for Georgetown University’s graduate public relations program, likes to use the following template when he writes press releases for clients: â€Å"Headline: Client Does Something.† This format puts the business’s name at the forefront, where it belongs, and it tells you what the real story is right away. 3. Fit Your Press Release On One Page Your release should fit on a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, but you also don’t need to fill the whole page. Keep your paragraphs short and aim for a total of 300 to 400 words. The point of your release isn’t to reveal every detail of your story but to tempt people to reach out for more information. If the first sentence doesn’t grab a journalist, they’re probably not going to keep reading. That’s why you need to get your most important information into the very beginning of your press release. Ideally, the first line of the release should sound similar to the opening lines of a news story. Try to squeeze in as many of the â€Å"five Ws† as you can–who, what, where, when and why. 5. Brush Up On AP Style When you write a press release, most adhere to Associated Press style guidelines. If you don’t have much experience with this style, it can take some getting used to. For example, AP style uses only one space after punctuation, even though you might be accustomed two spaces after a period or a colon. You also won’t see any serial commas in AP style. Take a bit of time to review the key standards of these guidelines and you’ll find your releases will be much more effective. Spread the Word A press release is a great opportunity to spread the word about your business and its accomplishments. If you can publish one that effectively reaches the right people, you’ll be able to spread your message to an even greater number of people. Click here to download your free press release template.