Every industry needs some kind of promotion to attract the target audience. Promotion is one of the most integral parts of the entertainment industry, especially the film industry. Both small and established movie-makers need to advertise their film to the right audience in order to achieve success. You need to write a killer press release for your movie to create hype among the viewers. But before you decide upon issuing a press release, you should have full knowledge of how to write a movie press release. Here are seven important and easy-to-follow tips on how you can write and issue a successful press release for your film.
1. Create a catchy headline
There are thousands of movies getting released every day. And neither the journalists nor your target audience has time to go through every movie press release they come across. To attract their attention instantly, you must create a killer headline that conveys the true spirit of the whole PR, which is extremely eye-catching at the same time.
- The headline must have compelling and action words.
- You must include keywords in the title to make it optimized for the search engines.
- Use simple and comprehensive language as the press release is directed to everyone.
2. Add important information in the opening paragraph
Press releases are informative in general. But the kinds of information that are included in a film press release are completely different from PRs from other industries. A press release strictly to promote a movie must include the below-mentioned information in the first paragraph:
- The name of the film is the first thing that your audience and the media would like to know. So this must be included in the headline, summary, as well as in the body of the content.
- The next factor that is a must in every movie press release is the name of the distribution company. The reputation of the distribution company affects the success of the overall film.
- The name of the director, main actors, and actresses must be included to achieve higher audience attention from their fan base. This also helps you get noticed by both the media and the audience.
- Mention all the above-mentioned points, the release date, and a brief synopsis of the movie in the first paragraph of the press release. So that the readers get a clear idea about the press release and the film by going through the opening paragraph.
3. Add secondary details
Write background details and the other secondary information in the rest of the body. Make sure the entire content does not exceed five paragraphs.
- The rest of the paragraphs must expand what the first paragraph contains.
- Make a separate paragraph with only the quotes from the director, actors, and critics.
- Add a boilerplate copy about the production company and contact information in the ending paragraph.
4. Research the publishers
Issuing a press release for your film is a delicate matter. You cannot just blindly send your press release to every major media house in hopes of getting vast audience engagement. You need to send the PR to only those news houses that specialize in covering your specific genre. You need to weave your content around their writing style, to surely get featured in those media outlets.
5. Write an eye-catching pitch
After you have decided upon the publishers for your press release, you must craft a smooth pitch that gets them hooked on your story.
- Let the media house or journalist know that you are familiar with their work. This will make them curious about your story.
- Add an attention-grabbing subject in the email, so that it does not get unnoticed.
- Do a follow-up after 3 to four days if you do not receive any further news.
6. Make sure the time is right
The press release of your film needs to be published at least 3 weeks before the actual release of the said movie. While approaching a media house or journalist make sure you send them your press release during the working days when they are active. Do not follow up as soon as you send your pitch and on their day off. All these could make a bad impression on you in the future.
7. Hire professionals
If all these seem too hectic for you, you can appoint PR writers and distributors to publish your story at affordable prices.
