10 Tips to Make Your Press Release More Reader Friendly
Press releases get a bad rap. People generally don’t want to read them, and while it’s great that the media still uses them, it’d be wonderful if your audience of prospects would also be interested in your press release information. Now one of the reasons that people tend to click away when they see the words, “press release,” is that they just aren’t eye catching. They often look heavy and dry. There are simple steps that you can take to make your press release more reader-friendly; not only for the general public, but also for media representatives. It’s a win/win, and the tips are easy to implement.
- Subheadings – Add subheadings to your press release to break up the content and help the reader see the transition in ideas. Subheadings are a good place for relevant keywords.
- Bullet points or numbers – When you leverage lists in your press release it not only makes it easier to read, it makes the value of the content apparent.
- Quotes – Quotes add interest to a press release. They give it personality. And you can separate quotes from your other content by using text boxes, italics, bold or other formatting to provide visual interest and separation.
- Short paragraphs – short paragraphs help your reader move through the content. It’s difficult to read lengthy blocks of content and it’s just not necessary. Keep your paragraphs to five sentences or fewer.
- Images – Images add interest and credibility to your content. You can use graphs and charts, photos, memes, cartoons, infographics – just about any type of visual content. Studies have also shown that press releases with images are shared more often. And if you make the images social media friendly, you may find them being engaged with online.
- Video – There are a good number of research studies showing that the media really do respond better when a press release contains a video. Not any video of course; it has to be relevant to your press release. Use video to expand on the information in your release and to build your brand.
- Good grammar and spelling – There’s nothing more distracting for some readers than an error. Don’t make them. Have someone edit and proofread your content.
- Facts and data – Facts add credibility and interest. Use them well. Write your press release first and then go back and insert quality data where it makes your information stronger.
- Credible sources – Always source your information.
- Relevant to your reader! – Finally, make sure the content that you publish in your press release is interesting, newsworthy, and relevant to your reader. If not, then it doesn’t matter how visually appealing the content is; they won’t read it. Yet, good information can overcome a number of visual hurdles.
Easy enough, right? Integrate these ten tips in your press releases and watch your clicks and shares increase. Take it a step further and make them social media friendly with buttons that support liking, sharing, commenting and more.
Call us today to speak to one of our PR specialists: 1-800-713-7278
