How to Write an Effective Press Release

1/25How to Write an Effective Press Release?

How to write useful and effective press

releases? What mistakes to avoid? Do the

traditional forms of contacting the media

still work? What irritates the media the most

in the releases they get?

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What should you do for your communique to hit the mark?

Check out what journalists say!

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#1 Most common mistakes in writing press releases

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Avoid is forgetting to include key details.

Names, dates, anything that answers the who/

what/when/where. You’d be surprised, but those

things can be easy to forget, and journalists or

other influencers don’t want to have to dig to fill

the holes.danielle capriatoPRNewswire

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When I receive a press release from

someone who has no idea what is covered in

the publication I work for, it often ends up in

the trash bin.

Do your homework before you write and

send the press release. In this case, know

something about the target you are pitching,

presumably a publication or a media outlet.

seth arensteinPR News

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Don’t assume everyone will read every word,

stick to the facts, and don’t exaggerate with

false claims. Always credit your source, and

don’t ever trash your competitors.sara ghazaii

PR Council

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I have a feeling that 80% of the PR people

who contact us don’t do any research

beforehand. They don’t read anything by

the given journalist, and what’s still hard

to believe, they often have no clue what

publication they’re calling.marta bellon Business Insider Polska:

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The passive voice is sometimes appropriate,

but I get pretty annoyed when writers use it

unnecessarily. If you want your company to

appear active, write in the active voice!Another mistake can be to use business

jargon. Again, there are times when industry

terms may be appropriate, but it’s easy to

forget that your target audience (journalists

and readers) may not be familiar with the

terms you take for granted.

james kotecki AutomatedInsights

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#2 How to write an effective

press release?

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get these 6 tips

for writing a great press release

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And use wisely this free feedback from media people:

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Write for people, not for search engines

(search engines try to think like people,

so they like natural language too!)

and avoid keyword stuffing.

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Be brief and to the point.

Tell the writer WHY the news in the release is important

to his/her readers and do so as soon as you can.

Don’t make the journalist search through your whole

press release to find the answer to this vital question.

Make things as simple as possible.

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Stick to the core of

“who, what, when, where, and why”

— it seems simple, but you typically have a good 30

seconds to capture your reader’s attention.

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Understand that journalists

have a well developed

BS detector!

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Include the contact info

of the person who can provide

a detailed explanation of the project.

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Use proper visuals.

It often turns out that the pictures sent

are legally unpublishable because they lack

the legal rights to be put out for example in print and

online. That automatically disqualifies the agency.

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#How to contact the media nowadays?

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Way 1:

The basic approach is “information follow up”,

which works if the sender knows to whom and

why they’re sending the release and can justify

it a bit better than “because my client really

wanted to be seen in a prestigious magazine.”

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Way 2:

Reach your contacts directly via email or social

media, or simply go through the PR department.

Very often both ways at once. It’s quicker and

more effective.

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way:

Use journalistic techniques to communicate

directly with your audience.

Don’t write a press release, write a news story.

andy bullauthor of “Brand Journalism” book

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Don’t know how to start?

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“Don’t talk about products and services at all. Instead, tell stories.

Be interesting, create something that’s going to be valuable. My

suggestion is always: don’t start with what your company does, in-

stead start with the problems that your buyers have” advises

David Meerman Scott in our interview. Read it and start jour

journey with brand journalism right now!

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PRO tip:

The press release is important, but as part of an overall launch

strategy. You’ll probably have a lower success rate if you just

push a press release out into the world without doing

additional outreach.

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