How to Write a Press Release
Every online business should have a marketing and advertising plan. While paid advertising – especially Internet advertising – can drive highly targeted traffic to your site, many online businesses overlook a key component of any marketing and advertising plan: press releases and press release distribution. A great press release can garner the kind of exposure that money can’t buy; in essence, it’s free advertising. Press release distribution is an extremely cost-effective way to get the word out to thousands, hundreds of thousands, and perhaps millions of potential customers. Many business owners might respond, “But I’ve written press releases and haven’t received a single response.” If that’s the case, the lack of response is most likely either due to either a poorly written press release or poor press release distribution.
Although virtually anyone can string words together, writing a press release that will grab and hold the attention of the media is an art. Many press release services also offer press release writing services; in most cases, it’s worth the money to leave it to the professionals. If you do want to write your own press release, though, here are some tips:
Press releases help to manage your public relations campaigns without investing much into it. If you have news about your product, service or company, then a press release is what you need. A press release is essentially a document that is used to call attention the products and services offered by a company. It is a brilliant tool that you can use to inform people about the business that your company does. Writing a press release that makes your business sell is something that can be mastered by few. Let us have a look at a few tips that can help you achieve this:
To get your press release noticed, you should ensure that the release is noteworthy. It should not sound like it is hyped. Instead, it should supply information that would seem like something that has been written by a reporter.
DON’T TRY AND BE TOO SMART: Writing headlines for the print medium is a real art form. Leave it to the professionals, namely, newspaper sub-editors. Remember that newspaper headlines have to sell papers, your headline has to engage one reader – a cynical journalist or editor with a ‘so what, who cares’ attitude.
Next you’ll want to make sure that your press release body supports your headline. It should work off the headline by providing the who, what, where, why, and when. It should take that headline and go deeper into the topic, providing important news that readers want to know. If your body does not support your headline, you’ll have a problem even getting the press release accepted.
The press release should be formatted in a reader friendly manner. Always remember that you should write short but meaningful sentences. The paragraphs should be short and easy to read and understand.
Adding your contact information and a brief profile of your company is important as well when writing a news-worthy business press release. This is especially important if editors and readers are not familiar with your company. You’ll give them some background information that is useful, and of course you want the contact information included so that people can contact you for more information or even visit your website.
Filed under: Internet Business