Whatever it is you’re promoting, these days, you need more than a well-written press release to get noticed. Competition is so fierce that it can feel like a struggle to get media contacts to even open the email, let alone read the entire press release, to say nothing of the end goal of getting media coverage! But by employing some of the latest innovations in crafting press releases, you can truly stand out from the pack and write press releases that find success every time.
3 Techniques for Writing Press Releases that Get Noticed:
- Tell a Story with Words and with More than Words: Every good writer knows that nothing keeps a reader more engaged than a great story. Drop the advertising doublespeak and promotional buzzwords in favor of a solid, well-told story. Transform a banal announcement into a compelling narrative. But, as this is something many a writer knows, implementing this important practice won’t be enough to distinguish your press releases. Support the narrative you create by adding multidimensional elements. You know what they say about pictures, and a thousand words. Picture capsules let you tie images and videos directly into your text. News capsules are an excellent way to demonstrate how seamlessly your narrative can fit into the current media.
- Keep It Concise with an Eye Towards Going Viral: The digital age means there’s a whole lot more information out there just waiting to grab our attention. It also means there’s less time to focus on any one thing, and too our attention spans are only getting shorter. Nobody has the time or inclination to read 1,000 words about whatever it is you’re encouraging the reader to be interested in. Keep it short and sweet, try and limit yourself to a page, and have a hard cut off at two. Be clear and concise, but feel free to include more information through links and places where people can read more. Remember that people will rarely click through or keep reading so be sure to get to the point at the top, and keep the most salient information in the first paragraph. Make use of hyperspotting (interactive embedded images) to increase the chance that people will get the information from included links. Also, think of an item’s potential to go viral. Your media contacts are facing the same struggles as you are to capture and engage their audience, and one of the best way to keep people reading is to discover what the next viral trend is going to be. Does your item fit into any current or emerging trends? Try and find a way to highlight that aspect, and be explicit about what aspects of your item will lead to clicks flowing in.
- Use SEO Effectively: A great contacts list remains critical, but now Google includes press releases in its search results. This means it’s equally important to optimize your content so it will show up high in search results. This can be an ideal way for an unknown media contact actively looking for the information you’re sharing to discover your release. Use headlines and keywords effectively and invest in making sure you have employed SEO correctly into your document.
It’s always important that every press release you write is well-written and edited, but including the latest innovative techniques in press release crafting will make all the difference. Implementing these three tips can see huge results in the success you achieve with each press release you put out.
A freelance writer and content strategist for the last eight years, Alexandra M is a highly skilled writer, editor, proofreader and researcher. From an educational background based in English literature and poetry, she brings a deep understanding of the artistic use of language at its most basic level. Experience in overcoming research obstacles such as language, censorship and bureaucracies, has prepared her to tackle any inquiry with creativity and depth. Drawing on a breadth of personal and professional experience, she uses original thinking to apply these skills to produce and write creative, corporate and technical materials. When editing, her attention to detail combined with a quick grasp of overall coherency allows her to respect the author’s voice and intention while steering a work toward its best possible form.
