The ongoing debate about the importance and effectiveness of a press release in sending out important news has long been terminated because of the various fruitful results the companies and businesses have incurred. It is now possible to make headlines by releasing effective and well-formulated press releases that reach the audience quite easily. For those who are still skeptical about the effectiveness of this procedure, must know that press releases have proven to offer outstanding brand awareness and also helps in SEO optimization by boosting up the website’s keywords. With various such features in display, a customer feels safe to levy their trust on that company or the product as press releases symbolize a statement of authority and credit.
When it comes to writing content for the press release, it is more of an art that requires following a few guidelines for it to become acceptable. For years, press releases have been known to circulate relevant information that shall be consumable by the customers, and to ensure that your press releases get the attention it deserves, curate it in the below format.
The Pyramid:
Well everyone is well versed with the shape of a pyramid, and the story of a well-written press release is no different. The content should be subjective, irrespective of its type. Whether you intend to announce any major news, any special product, an e-book, or just want to share some review, every press release should follow the pyramid structure where all the new and important information is placed at the top. The other more general information like the company’s background or any other historic facts goes towards the bottom. Applying this rule lets the journalist decide the scale of your content and helps them identify if your press release is worth their time or not.
The Headline Must Be Attractive:
Your headline is the deal-sealer and must be concise and aptly written. Any press release begins with a headline and while journalist browses through waves of emails every day make sure that you captivate their attention with an irresistible headline. To take the right shot, form a headline that is typically five words or less and rich in the appropriate information. Don’t start with placing keywords and be precise in your approach. Write a headline that would match up to the reader’s expectations. The headline gives an overview of the content that helps people get an idea of your product and therefore should not be fed with unnecessary information.
For best results, you can include the press release’s city of origin followed by the date when it is being issued. This way your headline will contain all the required information that would further intrigue the journalist to open your content.
Shape Your Body Correctly:
The body of a press release dictates everything that you wish to announce to your journalists or the audience. A well-articulated body consists of nearly four hundred words but can be extended as and when required. The body discloses all the crucial facts and figures that necessarily includes the Who What, Where, How, and When of the context. A writer in charge of shaping the body of a press release must think from a journalist’s viewpoint and thereby must include the detail that a journalist would want to know.
Quotations are known to play a big role in an announcement. By including a quote you strengthen the impact of your press release as it helps to paint a vivid picture of your news to the customer landscape. Including a quote in your content will help the journalists to better understand the course of your announcement.
Proofread The Format:
One of the most important considerations to take into account while releasing your content is, to ensure that it has no grammatical error and 100% error-free, without any silly spelling mistake. It should be just in-point and relatable. If by any means a journalist finds an error it will not only pull down your impression but also shall impact your search results. Therefore before you send out the final report, make sure that someone knowledgeable and proficient in that department must proofread it accurately. Getting it checked by a person who holds detailed knowledge about the topic will ensure double accuracy.
Include Multimedia:
Now, after how have formulated the whole body as per the prescribed guidelines, you could still highlight the presentation by including a high-quality image or video. No doubt visual elements catch our attention faster and so by adding a high-resolution logo of our company or a picture of the company’s headquarters or maybe a photo of the customer who has used your best-known product shall work as a supplementary. However, make sure that the picture you include must be small and web page friendly. In case of a video, embed it and mention all the quality versions in which it is available and mention the links for the same.
Include a Notes Section:
The bottom of the press release format must include a ‘notes to editors’ section which would give an overview of the company or the product, its history, origin, awards, achievements, growth scale, operational staff count, and all such details very precisely. Along with all such details that might anticipate the reader mentions a contact for a press representative to whom the journalists can connect during queries or before the release. The person whom you appoint to take the call of the journalists must be detailed about the content to avoid any kind of problem. An emergency contact number can also be provided. For global releases, it is recommended to mention the available timing for that person. All such conditions must be checked thoroughly before you finally send out your press release for distribution as it directly relates to the success of your job.
Furthermore, in case you are issuing the press release on behalf of a third party, you must receive written approval from the company’s end acknowledging the same before you send them for distribution.
The last line of the press release reads END which means that the entire release has been seen by the receiver and no further information has been cropped or removed as it gets forwarded between the news desks.
Conclusion:
After you complete your job of creating the content, find a reliable and worthy press release distributor to spread out your content such that your announcement reaches the maximum journalists. These days many such distributors give the option to track and lend you the tracking report as well. This way you can easily track the journalists who have looked at your press release and if necessary you can contact them for any query or even maintain a cordial relation for better coverage in the future. Apart from this the distributing companies also provide detailed analytics on pick-ups so that you find it easier to weigh the success of one press release to another.
