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7 Tips that will Immediately Improve Your News Releases
Are your press releases getting you the results you want?
If you’re constantly in search of more coverage for your clients, perhaps you should consider working on writing your press releases; they’re vital.
The news release, (or press release, as it is often called) is a tightly-crafted written statement distributed to targeted channels to deliver news information about an organization or event. Usually sent to members of the media, releases get the “press” ball rolling, and lead to follow-up between journalists and PR people that often lead to news stories and interviews.
If your releases are worded well and formatted according to AP style-standards, it is not uncommon for them to be published verbatim by editors of news publications. Most organizations also post their news releases on their company websites, and increasingly, via social media.
As you can see, press releases are an extremely important piece of the PR professional’s tool set. Today, I just wanted to offer a few tips that will enhance your writing for news releases.
Here are 7 tips to improve your news releases:
1) Before you even start writing, ask yourself: “Now why do we care again?” Anyone can write a press release. To write an effective press release, you need to understand basic newsworthiness. If it’s not crystal clear to a journalist why the reader should care after skimming a few lines, you can pretty much say goodbye to your chances of getting a story in the paper. Before pen goes to paper (or fingertips go to keys), give serious consideration to conveying your story’s newsworthiness.
2) Address the 5 Ws in the first sentence. Most people, especially journalists, don’t have the time these days to read novels. You need to explain the “who, what, where, when and why” in the very first paragraph, if you want your press release to be taken seriously. Get right to the point.
3) The “how” can wait until the next paragraph. While it’s important to tell us the five Ws upfront, equally important is holding off on the “how” until slightly later in the release. There is such a thing as information overload. Cramming the “who, what, where, when, why and how” will cause just that. Careful placement of separate thoughts and details will increase readability drastically, and journalists will thank you for making their job (read: sifting through a thousand poorly-worded press releases daily) easier.
4) Thou shalt provide hyperlinks. In this 21st century society, seeing is believing. You can say whatever you want, but on the Internet, oftentimes people won’t believe you unless they can follow a link to verify the information for themselves. Call it skepticism if you want, but it’s true, especially for members of the press. In a job environment where they are constantly bombarded with both news and “news” information, journalists can become jaded quickly, and cynical of all but the most obvious facts. How to avoid this affecting whether your story gets press? Easy: provide your readers with a link to back up your facts, and set your press release apart from the pack (According to experts, only 13% of PR professionals use links in releases).
Hyperlinks can add credibility to your press releases and further optimize SEO rankings. Experts suggest adding one link per 100 words of copy.
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5) Longer does not equal better. If you think that a longer copy increases your chances of getting press coverage, think again. You may think that those four extra paragraphs adds more “meat and potatoes” to your press release, but in actuality it’s just more lines for a tired journalist to skip. In 2010, a ten-paragraph press release is really just a paragraph or two that people will read, and the rest will be either skimmed or skipped, depending on your luck that day. Plainly put: when it comes to press releases, concision is your best friend. Just give us the necessary details.
6) Formatting matters. Just because you’re got all the key info into your press release doesn’t mean it’s necessarily ready to go out yet. Before you send that bad boy out, make sure your release follows standard formatting conventions. If you don’t, journalists are is likely to ignore your precious work. Spacing, margins, and all other formatting conventions do matter, so use them wisely.
7) Read your copy aloud. No really, do it. You might think you’re invincible when it comes to typos, but I promise that one good read-through aloud of your next press release will convince you otherwise. There’s only so much that Microsoft Word will catch. Eventually a “to,” where you actually meant to type “too,” for example, will slip through the cracks. If you want to avoid such a careless mistake, make sure to leave time before your deadline to read through your copy out loud.
So these are my seven tips for improving your press releases in 2011. If you’re able to work some of these tips into your writing, your writing will have a more polished, professional feel, and you’ll have a better chance of getting coverage for your stories.
And now it’s your turn…
What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Share a tip for writing better press releases below.
9 Nuggets of Advice for Aspiring PR Pros
Although I’ve recently graduated from college, I’ve been in the field of public relations for some time now, having gotten valuable experience working with several businesses and non-profit organizations. Over the last several years, I’ve seen quite a bit of both good and bad. I’ve witnessed — and made — mistakes that have taught me valuable lessons for the future, and I’d like share these with anyone considering a career in PR, or as reminders to even the more seasoned industry professionals. I’ll post nine today, and nine next week.
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So here are 9 nuggets of advice for aspiring PR practitioners:
1 ) Know upfront: hand-holding won’t happen. PR is a fast-paced field. Don’t expect that your colleagues will hold your hand or spoon-feed you your work in bite-sized chunks. It’s true, you’re a team, but you still need to keep up with the pack. When you get your first job in public relations, you might not get the chance to only dip your feet in; it’s quite possible that you’ll be thrown in headfirst. Anticipate this and plan from Day 1 to work hard. Be prepared and fully commit yourself.
2 ) Be outgoing. If you’re the slightest bit anti-social, this career path most likely isn’t the right choice for you. You will need to talk to people. Why? Because when it all comes down to it, you are a professional communicator. You’ll need to discuss client expectations and what steps you plan to take to meet them. You’ll need to be able to hold down a basic conversation, listen, ask questions, engage and show a little personality every once in a while.
3 ) Do yourself a favor: learn the utility and format of a press release. Please. Whether you believe it or not, knowing this information will form the backbone of everything you do going forward. Not understanding how to write a press release is like trying advanced algebra without understanding the basic concept of variables. Also, make sure you know how to write a social media press release (I promise you, there’s a difference).
4 ) Deadlines are crucial. While working in PR, you may not have to write a hard news story by a 1am deadline for the local Gazette like a journalist world, however, there will be times that you’re handed a task, with expectations of, “It needs to be done yesterday.” Even if it annoys you, remember: there’s most likely a reason that the deadline is so strict; it must be important. Be excited that you get so much responsibility, take ownership of the task and find a way to get it done with a minimal amount of whining.
Thou shalt meet deadlines. Thou shalt not whine (audibly, at least).
5 ) Plan ahead, and for the worst. Nine out of ten of your clients might be unprepared for a meeting with you, but every single one will want the work done anyway. So make it easy on yourself, and plan ahead where you can.
6 ) Excellent customer service is not just for fast-food restaurant chains; if your clients are consistently dissatisfied with the way you do business, talk to them, etc… Rest assured that you won’t have that PR job long. Go the extra mile, and make sure that every person you work with is taken care of. Even if you can’t make miracles happen, you can try. Most clients will appreciate your efforts. (Some won’t, and that’s okay too. There will be rude clients… you still need to be professional, though.)
7 ) Help others. Take a genuine interest in making sure that those you work with, and work for, have what they need to be successful. Make someone else’s job easier, and they’ll most likely do the same in return for you.
8 ) New media is here to stay, whether you like it or not. You can be tired of new media all you want… When you’re not at work. Utter the words “I’m sick of it” in the office, and you’re as good as out the door. Show me a PR company recruiter who’s not interested in getting their hands on a social media guru, and I’ll show you a recruiter who’s on his or her way out the door him/herself. The Internet and new media are shaping the field of public relations.
9 ) By the same token, know when to put down the new media. I’ve already stressed the importance of knowing how to use social media, but in the same breath, it’s also key to know when to put it down. Facebook and Twitter is not the end-all, be-all of PR; not right now, at least. Remember, social media is a tool, not crutches.
…So there you have it, nine golden nuggets of advice that have helped me to survive in the PR world this long. Hopefully you find them as useful as I have. Make sure to check back next week, when I follow-up and post nine more. Now it’s time to share your thoughts:
Agree? Disagree? What advice would you offer to young and aspiring PR pros? Weigh in and post a comment below.
About Me:
I'm Robert - a Technology Underwriter at The Hartford Insurance Group, one of the nation's top 10 carriers. Having worked in the communications and risk management industries, I've become passionate about the fields of PR, tech and new media. Thanks for visiting my website!
Linkedin.com/in/RobertBurnsII
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