It is a well-known fact that Press Release distribution is a potent way to improve your marketing reach. Public Relations (PR) Professionals continue to send PRs to editorial offices daily and in large quantities.
However, many good Press Releases get rejected due to improper formatting, incomplete information and many other factors. Many PR Professionals have not yet come up with a more effective way to talk about their news to a wide audience.
This post will help you understand the goals, structure, rules of writing, and also consider specific examples of professional press release formats. This post covers the following concepts: Before we move to the free Press Release format, it’s important for you to understand the following points –
- What is a Press Release?
- Structure of a Press Release
- Things to avoid while preparing a Press Release
- How to make the Press Release newsworthy so that the journalist reads it and considers it for publication.
- How to broadcast your press release
Sample Press Release
1. What is a Press Release?
With the concept of a Press Release, it is necessary to decide in the beginning only, in order to avoid possible inaccuracies, mistake, and errors. Press Release is an informational message for the press, in which there is news, an official position on some issue, a response to a certain information occasion, the announcement of an event. A professional Press release is focused on primary news, so it must meet clear criteria:
- Novelty: The Press Release should be New, original and fresh to get covered
- Relevance: The News should be appropriate and closely connected
- Informative: The news should contain information that is useful for the publisher
If you want the material to be printed in the target media, it is important that the information reflected in it is primarily interesting, in this case, the chances of success significantly increase.
Do not forget about the golden rule: In one press release, there should be only one news.
Talking about everything will confuse and distract the readers. This can negatively affect the overall impression of your company. Do not neglect and the ability to provide a press release with comments from the head of the company, authoritative in their subject experts.
Well, if the text will be statistics and unique facts. Do not forget about the fact that the text should be thematically and professionally oriented and interesting to the audience of the publication in which it is sent. So, an example of a good press release will be a text with relevant news, filled with informative content and without advertising information.
2. Structure of the Press Release
Asking about how to write a Press Release, you need to first think about its structure. The internal structure of the press release is like a house. And the foundation for it is a brief, clear and simultaneously bright, intriguing title.
Press Release Header –
Do not use a boring or uninformative headline. The title is the main and eye-catching part of your press release, it’s “calling card”; it should be short and interesting. The headline should contain news (information occasion), mention the name of the company (brand name) or the event, which will be discussed in the text and answer the question: what? Remember that the title, this is one of the main components of the text, a bright marker that highlights it among many others, and it depends on it whether you will ever read your news.
Some people come up with a headline before writing the text, others return to this point at the end, there cannot be a universal council in such a question since everyone has a different approach, it’s important to be interested in the reader.
Subheading –
To compete in terms of the importance of a title can only lead; its task is to tell: when and where something will happen or has already happened. The subheading in the press release is the informational basis of the entire text, it is called to immediately draw attention to the main part of the material and complete the idea of the title.
Laconism is the main feature of the subheading. Enough 2-3 suggestions that will give the reader answers to the questions: when, where, how and why. An example of a successful title and a lead in a press release Header Now in India, they pour for free! Sub Heading FlyDrink: For 1,499 INR a month you can get free coffee, wine, cocktails in 200+ restaurants and cafes in India every day. FlyDrink can make your day energetic and joyful.
Body Text –
The body of the press release or its main part should be a logical continuation of the lead and reveal all the details of the information guide. There may already be excerpts from the studies, facts, figures, statistics, arguments, quotations of experts, the head. Pay special attention to the first paragraph, make it as informative as possible, because it’s not a secret that the reader’s attention from the paragraph to the paragraph is dissipated, so do not write off the “entry” from the accounts. Remember, you must tell the story. Of course, this is not an artistic text and demands for brevity (the press release should be no more than 2,000 characters in length) do not have much to do with storytelling, but people are always more willing to share history than dry facts, so it is worth finding a certain balance in this matter and make the news interesting.
Do not write an artistic text. Press release – this is not the thing where you need to practice in your work. A release is a media message. Therefore, no one needs “language bells and whistles” in your text. Do not forget to attach an image with the Press Release. When the press release is ready, let it “lie down” for a while. Then read it aloud, preferably several times, it will help remove unnecessary, correct the text and make it more informative and concise. Don’t forget to mention media contact details like name, an email address and contact number on the release for reporters to follow-up with.
3. Things to avoid while preparing and sending out a press release
- Avoid difficultly readable sentences with participial and participial turns, florid phrases, special vocabulary, abbreviations, other than the well-known ones. Write in clear and living language.
- Avoid value judgments.
- Try not to use words-ligaments, which are perceived as a chancellor: “as a result of”, “in this way,” “subsequently”.
- Check spelling and punctuation.
- Try to fit the press release on one, maximum two pages. In terms of word count, it should be between 500-700 words.
- Make a brief announcement of the press release and put it in the body of the letter, this will increase the chances of being read by a journalist. Being in time trouble, it’s often no time to open a file with a press release, so it’s important to catch the essence instantly, from the body of the letter.
- Formulate the subject of the letter briefly
4. How to make the Press Release news worthy so that the journalist reads it and considers it for publication.
1- A journalist publishes only what he considers interesting for his readers. This is, for example, the results of an original study, tips and unbiased advice, a new product REALLY revolutionary, a major legal news). The journalist or influencer is not there to give you free advertising. If you want to highlight your products, in this case, you have the advertising or the infomercials that are there for that. This principle is the most important: a journalist will NEVER advertise for free unless your product is a true innovation.
2- The journalist will publish unbiased information. Its role is to speak objectively of all companies, not to highlight one company over another. That’s why in a “free” press article, he will interview you and your competitors, and make everyone talk with small quotes. The basis of the work of the journalist is to have a general knowledge on a subject, to learn about the subject with documentary research (internet, knowledge, experts …), to bring more “reality” with interviews of business experts, and if possible have feedback from end customers. This aspect of “documentary research” implies that it is essential to be perceived as a “reference” by a journalist or a blogger. For this you need to have signs of credibility:
- Or appear in the first results of Google on this theme (thanks to a blog, interviews in news sites …).
- Either has published a paper book on a topic, which makes you “automatically” an expert in the field
- To be part of a trade union or professional association
- Either the publication of customer testimonials on a product
- …
Customer testimonials are the ones most liked by journalists because a customer will give a point of view that is closest to reality. If you are able to provide users with your products, you will clearly have an edge over your competitors. Note: journalists make more and more “files”, “special numbers” … on a given theme, and then they contact potential advertisers to offer an exclusive interview, a point of view … in exchange for an advertisement. This exchange of good practices can be interesting if you have a little-known brand and want to gain visibility.
3- The publication time may be very long depending on the media, but you must be hyper-responsive to requests. On the web, deadlines are running: you can be interviewed for an article that will be posted the next day. For TV, it’s often overnight, and you have to be ready in the day.
On the other hand for the paper magazines, the newspapers … it is often necessary to wait 1 month before the publication of a file. Thus, if you have a news (product release, appointment …), take a little beforehand, otherwise, you will be quoted only in the “news”. And if a journalist calls you for an interview, you must be available within 2 to 3 days maximum, no more! Indeed, if you wait too much, then other companies will be passed before you (and therefore you will not have anything interesting to say!), Or the article will be almost finished and you will only have a little quote… Whenever possible, take a quarterly update on your news with your PR or marketing department to make a list of topics that deserve a press release to schedule press releases well in advance. A good rhythm is to make a quarterly press release, varying product news, company news and related news.
5. HOW TO BROADCAST YOUR PRESS RELEASE
Once your press release is written, it must now be disseminated by ensuring that the right recipients are targeted.
Depending on whether it is a press release, an invitation release or a post-event press release, specify when sending the publication date envisaged. If you want a specific support, find out about its periods of closure because the publication times are sometimes very long.
If you want to get your press release distributed to top publications & media Houses, you can avail India PR Distribution’s press release distribution service. It is the only company which reach out directly to the journalists to get your press release covered.
If you do not have a press agency available for contacts, the best way is to set up and maintain a file of journalists in Excel. You can specify the first and last name, the media, the specialty, and also the Twitter account. It should be noted that journalists are now easier to contact by this means than by email.