7 Key Press Release Writing Tips

Table of Contents

• 7 Tips for Writing a Good Press Release
• Key Takeaways 
• Conclusion 
• FAQs

As we have all adapted to the shift to the digital world and its conveniences, the demand for good content (including press releases) has been increasing immensely on a daily basis. Most of the population prefers to consume news from online sources, on the go. As everything is readily available at the click of a button—be it local news, celebrity drama, or even online shopping—online news consumption has become the norm of the day.

The importance of good press releases has been rising rapidly. A press release gives companies the liberty to get instant exposure to their products and services, and helps them reach a larger audience. With the press release writing tips discussed in this blog, your company will be able to get its products discovered, have a larger social sharing space, and will be able to drive more traffic to its website. 

7 Tips for Writing a Good Press Release

A press release plays an important role in the dissemination of information about your company. Mentioned below are some invaluable tips on how to write a press release.

1. Keep it brief and to-the-point

Writing a good press release involves conciseness; you must keep it as short as possible. Your press release shouldn’t exceed two pages; and if you can fit it into a single page, nothing like it! Try to keep the information crisp and to-the-point. Journalists and editors usually do not have the time to go through an entire press release. So keeping it concise with simple and well-balanced language will definitely highlight your work. It is important to stick to the key points to keep your readers engaged. In this situation, keep in mind the quote, “Less is more.”

Try to add only relevant information at the start of your press release: talk about your brand, the product/service being launched, and what makes it stand out from the crowd. Highlight important information and points about your products and services. Make sure you don’t add any unnecessary information, or irrelevant facts and figures, to your press release, as that will take up space and will be a waste of money, effort, and resources. 

Source

2. Use powerful headlines

If you’ve ever thought of the question “How to write a press release?”, using catchy headlines is a great place to start. The headlines used in a press release should give the reader a clear picture about what they’re about to read, while piquing their interest in the story. However, don’t try to overdo the headlines by being amusing or too serious; the trick lies in finding the right balance. 

Source

Try to remember the four Us when writing a headline. It should be useful, urgent, unique, and ultra-specific. Your headline should also have an underlying tone of urgency to capture the attention of the reader. Lastly, it should provide useful information about the release to the reader. 

3. Highlight important information

Use the first paragraph of your press release wisely, and highlight key information such as who you are, what the announcement is about, where the event will be held, what you do, and the purpose behind the press release. By stating this information at the very beginning, you will give your readers a clear picture about the press release. They can then decide if they’d like to continue reading further. This is also a good way to immediately grab the attention of your target audience and reach the right sources. 

Similarly, throughout the press release, make sure you highlight all the important and relevant facts and details to keep the readers interested. Highlighting important information will save your audience time to go through the entire release to find out what it’s talking about. This will, in turn, get you quicker and relevant responses 

4. Include relevant and illustrative images

One important tip for writing a good press release would be to use relevant images in your content. Images are a great way of grabbing the attention of your readers. Hence, using pictures that are illustrative as well as speak to the audience about the topic being discussed is essential. Try to use images and videos that summarize your topic and give the reader extra insights into the subtopics that you have discussed in the press release. You can also use these images as a source of extra information that you might not have added in the release. 

For example: while writing a press release for a product or service, the images used can be teasers of what the customer can expect from your product. Use these images to interact with your clients. 

5. Use significant facts and figures

While unique and fascinating writing is a great tip for writing a good press release, it is important to include significant facts and figures in your press release to make it stand out. Accurate facts and figures make your press release more meaningful and help your readers build a sense of trust with you through your writing. Adding strong factual evidence to back your claim about a product or service is extremely important to increase sales, and will convince people to buy your product. 

Including relevant facts and figures also makes your story educational, which will help you establish your brand. It will also give your readers the opportunity to make informed decisions. Try to include important contacts and profiles in your press release. Add this information at the end. This gives journalists and editors a means of contacting you in case of any concerns. 

6. Include quotes and comments

Comments from you, a representative of your business or even your customers can step up your game. Writing a press release is more than just the story you put out there. Adding comments and quotes to your press release will give it a different perspective, and will catch the eye of your readers. Quotes help in making the story more relatable to the reader, and will add value to your content. 

Make sure you use quotes that relate to the narrative and fit well with the theme of your story or the brand you are representing. This adds an emotional aspect to your press release, which will help you speak to your audience much more effectively. Adding different comments, especially from customers, makes the experience more personalized and interactive for your readers, and will help build faith in your brand.

7. Know your audience

Before writing a press release, it is extremely important to take some time out to get to know the audience you are catering to. Something as basic as a demographic survey can help you gather this information and learn essential points about your audience, such as age group, education level, gender, income, ethnicity, and the location of the audience. Gathering this information can help you tweak your press release according to the audience you want to target or sell your products and services to.

This information is gained by working with a public relations (PR) firm. They will give you significant insights into the audience that needs to be targeted, depending on the product or service that needs to be advertised. However, keep in mind to not stereotype your audience, while writing your press release, based on the demographic information received. Ensure you write a press release that doesn’t target just one set of people and excludes the others. This will completely defeat the purpose of writing a press release. 

Key Takeaways

Writing a good press release can be tough and overwhelming, but keeping in mind some important key takeaways from the above discussion can make the process a lot easier. 

• Writing a press release includes expansion of your topic. So, everything that is being discussed in the first two paragraphs needs to be expanded on throughout the piece. This is when you should be adding additional information that provides substance to your press release. 
• After that, it is essential to state important facts and figures, and provide evidence that supports the claims made about the product or service provided by your brand. 
• Another tip for a good press release is this: try to put yourself in the shoes of the reader while writing your press release. Think about the questions your customers, reviewers, or readers might have about your products, services, and story. 
• Use your press release to answer as many of these questions as possible with updated and relevant information. 
• Once you’re done writing your press release, wrap it up by putting emphasis on the main points that were discussed throughout the release, and reinforce these ideas in your readers’ minds. This way, the significant points of your press release are not overlooked, as they are mentioned in the beginning and at the end of the press release. 

Source

• Another important tip for writing a good press release is to remember to add background and contact information at the end. This section should state all the important information about the company, such as when it was founded, where it is located, how many employees work at the company, the main products and services provided by the company, and the types of customers the company caters to. 
• Make this last paragraph precise and straightforward. You may also add a few extra facts about the company, if required. 
• Proofread your press release and correct all spelling errors and syntax. Press releases with grammatical issues, irrelevant information, and unclear images usually fail to read their target audience. So make sure you revise your press release before sending it out and provide all the correct data and information in your content. 
• All your claims should be backed by proper evidence, and there should be no spelling errors. The images you use should also be interactive and informative. 
• Keep in mind that the customers you cater to will be able to tell the difference between a good or bad press release. So, understand the audience you are targeting, and make changes to your press release accordingly. 
• The information put out there by your company should be factual and accurate, all while catering to the consumers that your products and services will be used and bought by. 

Conclusion

All this information might be overwhelming, but by keeping these press release writing tips in mind while writing your content, you will surely come up with a great press release, and all your hard work will pay off! Following these tips will help you generate high-quality work that will definitely appeal to your readers, and will help in increasing the sales of your company’s products and services. Keep practicing, and happy writing!

FAQs