Extra, Extra Read All About It....
Extra, Extra Read All About It....
News spreads fast nowadays in the digital world we live in. Before the internet, the press release was used to reach a wider audience through sending them directly to journalist. The journalist would then publish in their newspapers to reach a large audience, but only if they deemed the releases to substantial enough to send out. With social media today, it doesn’t matter if anyone thinks your press release is subpar, it’s going to go out anyway. It has become a way for companies to reach their audience directly without the middle man so it’s important for brands to know how to use them strategically to benefit their marketing tools. There are some key elements to your release that you want to make sure you have as well as sending to the proper places. Aside from this you need to know why you’re creating it. Let’s start with that.
Some reason to write a press release:
1. Launching a new product/service
2. Hosting an event
3. Company mergers & new partnerships
4. Grand openings
5. Rebranding
6. Awards & Promotions
Now that you know why you’re writing the release it’s important to get the information out there in an effective manner. Let’s talk about some of the key elements that should be in the release.
1. Headline: This is your chance to catch the reader’s attention. It needs to be captivating and directly convey the point of the release. Font should also be bold and larger than the body text. Don’t be afraid to use action verbs here.
2. Dateline & Location: This is important to establish relevance
3. Introduction: Here you summarize your entire release into a few sentences. Most people will only read this and skim the rest.
4. Body: This is where you include your 5 W’s. Who, what, where, when and why. These should be conveyed in a clear, concise manner but sprinkled in with a little fun. Use statistics, quotes, charts, and images. Be honest and unbiased. This should be 2-3 paragraphs long.
5. Boilerplate: This is where the company information goes. The brand’s vision, founding info, etc. Describe what your company does clearly for those that may not know. Include CTA’s as well if possible.
6. Sign off: Contact details go here and ### to signify that the release has ended.
Now that we have the reason why your writing your press release and the elements it should contain, it’s time to publish. But first… people, please proofread your releases over and over yourself as well as having other eyes on it as well. They can catch things you may have missed. There’s nothing more embarrassing than sending out a release to the public that has typos and grammatical errors. Ok, so you’ve done that and now you’re ready for distribution.
1. Reach out to top journalist: Pretty straight forward. Reach out to journalists whom you might know or that may be interested in the release.
2. Cold pitch media outlets: Make a list of media outlets that may be interested and send them your release directly. Use a subject line to catch their attention.
3. Use a press release distribution service: Costs vary but can be useful if your company has the dough to throw around.
4. Don’t publish on the hour: Most companies schedule releases to go out on the hour, which means yours can get lost in the mix. Get nuts. Schedule it to go out at 10:06am instead of 11am.
5. Hire a PR pro: There are people that specialize in this area and can be useful for your team. They already have existing relationships with journalists and media outlets that your company can benefit from.
Once you have sent the release out it’s time to generate some buzz. Use content creators, influencers, bloggers, vloggers, etc. to hype up your release and what it’s all about. Schedule an interview. If you did your release right, someone might even contact you first for this. Make sure to share the stories that have been shared about you. No one wants to support and share things for a company that doesn’t reciprocate that. You want your release to be extra, extra so they want to read all about it!
