In the modern world, various tools for PR and marketing are becoming more and more popular. One of these tools is a press release. It helps to attract the attention of the media so that the news you need is published on different platforms and shown to the right audience. If you decide to write a press release but don’t know how it should be designed, check out the main rules below.
What is a press release?
A press release is an informational message for the media, which contains news, an official position on an issue, a response to a specific information occasion, or an announcement of some event. It has to meet such criteria as novelty, relevance, and informativity.
If you want the material to be published in the target media, the information must be exciting and structured, in which case the chances of success increase significantly.
What must be included in a press release?
Here are some essential rules you should follow creating a press release. Let’s dive into them.
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Attention-grabbing headline
Don’t use a dull or uninformative headline because it’s the main part of your press release and its calling card. The title should contain an informational occasion, brand name, or event covered in the text. Operate the essential facts without any distractions and exaggerations. Even if you’re unsure about the headline, return to this point when you’re done with the main text.
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A strong first paragraph
Pay special attention to the first paragraph and make it as informative as possible because the reader’s attention is scattered from paragraph to paragraph, so the introduction is essential. Adding more facts, figures, arguments, and quotes from experts will provide basic answers to all the questions.
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Add memorable quotes
A memorable quote or expert opinion is a decoration for your text and a great tool to make the material more vivid. A catchy quote can attract the attention of media staff more than pretentious newsbreaks. Add unique details or an unusual view of events to the speaker’s direct speech so that the quote will sharply strengthen the text.
An important factor is the virality of quotes. It’s not always easy to come up with such a phrase, but if you constantly work in this direction, you can sometimes find unique formulations that will be a great promotion tool.
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Keep it brief and operate facts.
The first and golden rule is that one press release should include one piece of news. Try to fit the text on one maximum of two pages. Do not write a literary text with long sentences, speech inversions, and unknown abbreviations. Brief and precise information about the company is the key to your success.
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Boilerplate
The end of a press release is a perfect place to detail the brand, its core business, and history. The description should demonstrate your company’s main essence and achievements in a couple of sentences.
At the end of the press release, you can also add a link to your website, videos, and contacts of the person responsible for public relations.
How to distribute a press release by email?
Before sending your press release, choose the media and platforms that may be interested in this topic. They should fit your goal and budget. These include news agencies, television, radio stations, and print media.
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Get contacts for outreach.
The main task is to find recipients for sending a press release. You can distribute it manually and through specialized services.
Having prepared a database of media and opinion leaders relevant to your specific work, look for media emails responsible for the topics you need rather than various general contacts. Then just try to send them only the content that meets their professional interests.
To do this, use the services for sending letters such as UniSender, Mailchimp, or GetResponse. They are often free and very convenient. Unique mailing platforms instantly distribute your press release to thousands of media, providing the opportunity to receive statistical reports on each mailing.
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Write a killer pitch.
The mailboxes and messengers of reporters and editors receive a lot of spam every day, so try to stand out from the general flow. Your press release should be sold and pitched.
The pitch letter is a kind of bait, a brief idea of a press release. In other words, this email is your message to the media, in which you must briefly state the essence of the press release and provide a link to its full version, as well as your contact information in case the journalist is interested in your news and wants to clarify the details of the publication.
Your pitch letter should be concise but sufficient to understand who you are and what you’d like to get. In the first paragraph, you can explain why you decided to write to this media. Write a few words about your business and give all the necessary links in the second one. Having done that, you can suggest the formats of cooperation that you see. Offering favorable conditions for publishing your press release would be a good idea.
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Add a professional email signature.
A great way to highlight your pitch is by adding a professional email signature at the bottom of your email.
Email signature generators can help you create customized business cards with an eye-catching logo design and contact details. This way, your content will be more likely to get noticed.
When creating a signature, include your name, job title, brand name, phone number, a link to your website, and other essential information, depending on your business.
Just take a look at these email signature examples. Use the one you like as it is or customize it to your needs and taste.
Conclusion
A press release is a business card of an organization and a reliable source of information for the media. It should look like a third-party testimonial that conveys information to interested parties. This article has covered the main points that will help you write and distribute a great press release. You need to give it both promotional and news value, keeping structure, relevance, and informativity in mind. Distributing it, pay special attention to a killer pitch. Add a professional email signature to your pitch email to make it more human and increase the chances of being noticed.
