Quick Tips to get your Press Release published
Author: Korinna Lucero
Publicity is important especially in product launching. It also plays an essential role for marketing strategies and advertising, wherein promotional gimmicks are the most common forms of act. A press release is a company’s ticket to publicity. It is a written statement sent to media outlets for publication either as news or as a feature story. However, media is so keen in filtering out what is “newsworthy”.
As a startup, the challenge here is on how to get published in the media. Before we delve into the quick tips for making a press release that gets published, let’s tackle the basic format of a press release.
Format of Press Release
- Put a tag “For immediate release”
- Headline
- Body- 5Ws and 1H
- Contact information
The tag,“For immediate release”, indicates the urgency of your press release. This is placed at the topmost left in bold, and all letters are capitalized.
The headline is considered the most critical part of a press release because it is the therefore, not making it good enough might not want the reader to go along. It must be placed at the center, in bold. Usually, a headline is created after finalizing the whole article, so it is possible to grab catchy phrases and words from the article itself.
A subheading is also applicable especially in explaining the heading a little bit more further. It is placed below the headline, italicized.
An ideal news lead answers the 5Ws and 1H– Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. And these are the essentials in a good press release, but not necessarily in one paragraph. It is important for you to know what matters and what is most appealing to the public. Here, it is also important to filter the details that are “newsworthy”.
The first paragraph must contain the most important details. It is highly recommended to start with the date and place of where the news will take place, enclosed in a parenthesis.
A boiler plate is also placed after the body. It provides journalists an overview of what your company is all about.
Don’t forget to leave your contact information so journalists and readers can contact and reach you. Also, put your website link since it displays your company profile.
Listed below are four tips in writing press releases that will increase the chances of getting your press release published by the press.
4 Quick Tips to Making a Good Press Release:
- Make it “juicy” (concise yet complete)
- Make it unique, catchy and striking
- Timely and sensational
- Keep it simple
Nowadays, people usually don’t have time to read a long document. An ideal press release is one- page long. It is important to keep it short and make sure to include the necessary information.
A good press release is comparable to a juicy slice of steak. You do not have to eat the whole steak, a slice or two is enough, and the important thing is it must be juicy and flavorful enough to satisfy your palette.
The company event itself may not be unique. So how can you make a catchy press release? A good play of words can make your work catchy and stand out from the rest. It is like hitting your readers in the face, leaving a mark, and making it memorable.
Aside from making the headline catchy, it is also important to fit the event in the contemporary scene. You might want to ask yourself what timely event coincides with your company event.
There is no need to use technical terms and jargons. It is important for people to directly understand. Oftentimes, jargons have the tendency in making the article longer. Keep the words simple and keep the catchy ones as well.
For startups, it is common not to have a Public Relations officer. But that should not deter you to make a press release. These tips are not meant to be exhaustive. Getting media coverage is a challenging feat. You can also read more in this article, 4 Techniques to Land Media Coverage. As mentioned, publicity is important. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it.
