How do you write a good press release? We as a PR agency know all too well that a poor press release can bury a news item that’s actually interesting, while a well formulated text can lead to favourable exposure.
There are, of course, a number of basic principles to follow in writing good press releases: examples are not writing unnecessarily lengthy texts and not forgetting to have a contact person the reader can get in touch with for further information.
These relate to the form of the press release, but it should also attract interest and make it clear why the newspaper or magazine needs to publish the news item. Here are seven useful tips, based on the collective experience of our PR agency:
1. The most important information first
Surprisingly often, we see press releases that don’t mention the news item at the start but wait until a long way down the text. This makes it less likely that the news media will carry on reading until the interesting bit starts.
It should already be clear in the heading what’s new. In addition, it should preferably not be more than seven or eight words long.
2. Be neutral and focus on facts
Ideally, it should be possible for a press release to be lifted into a newspaper or magazine without too many changes being made. So the tone is completely different and more neutral than in an advertising text, for example. Value judgements such as ‘world-leading’ or ‘innovative’ should only appear if it is clear even to an outsider that they are valid. Journalists usually write only what they believe to be true, and a credible press release is therefore better than a text full of boasting.
3. Make the news item bigger
It may perhaps be interesting that you are taking on a new member of staff, but it becomes even more interesting if the recruitment is just an example of how you are investing in a completely new area. It’s suddenly a matter of you ‘starting to compete in X’, where there are already known active competitors. The news item has become much bigger than it was at the start, as it’s no longer just about a person or a company but about a whole industry.
4. Well-written texts get read
Even the best can make the odd mistake. Not everyone has a perfect mastery of their own language. But there are limits (and many people think a limit has been passed when a sentence begins with ‘but’). So let several people who are good with language read through a text before it’s sent off somewhere.
5. By all means latch onto a trend, but don’t be desperate
These days, lots of companies want to talk about artificial intelligence, which is entirely natural as it’s a topic the news media are currently writing about. At the same time, it often means that companies want to tell people how their particular product is making use of artificial intelligence, which is not always quite so interesting. It’s quite simply not enough to have some kind of link to a trend, there’s still a need for something new to make a press release interesting.
6. Have a clear message
A common mistake in producing press releases is not to focus on a single item of news but to lump several different ones together instead. Sometimes, for example, we see companies running an opinion survey in which they put lots of questions to the public. The responses are then presented in a long list where the messages become very straggly.
Start instead from what you want to achieve, for example by thinking through how you want to change the target groups’ purchasing, views or awareness of your brand. Then adapt the message to make the most of this.
7. Think about both target groups
A news item is only published in a newspaper or magazine if the editor thinks the news is interesting to its readership. So a car magazine is interested in a press release about a new car model, but will not be interested in an audit firm having acquired a car dealer as a new client. It might in some way be about cars, but the readers will probably not be that interested.
Think of the journalists quite simply as another target group, beyond your own target groups. Bear in mind the way they work and their preferences, so you can convince them that what you write is interesting.
But we’re saving the best tip till last: Get in touch with us at the PR agency and we’ll be happy to help!
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