3 Reasons Why Your Press Release Needs a Subheadline
When you look at a typical press release you’ll notice a few things. You’ll notice that they all end with a call to action. They also begin with a date and location. They’re formatted similarly. That’s because a press release is a formal document with a fairly rigid structure. One aspect of a press release that not everyone follows is the ability to add a subheadline to the release.
A subheadline serves as an extension of your headline. It is a summary of your news and pulls the reader from the headline into the first paragraph of your release. While the subheading isn’t required, it is a feature to take advantage of. Let’s take a quick look at why your press release needs a subheadline.
Keyword Love
Keywords still matter in the world of press releases. They matter because when your release is syndicated, the release may be indexed and the keywords make a difference in your ranking. Additionally, if a journalist searches based on the keywords “press release” plus your keywords, then they’ll find your release.
Keywords also matter to your reader. When we’re searching for information we look for keywords. Readers scan to look for relevant information. Generally they start at the top of the page with your headline. If your subheading and headline both have relevant keywords, you may grab their attention long enough to motivate them to continue reading. So your subheadline gives you another opportunity to include keywords and keyword phrases in your release.
Further Enhances Your Headline.
Let’s face it, sometimes you just don’t get to say everything that you want to say in your headline. Your subheading serves as support for your headline. We already talked about how people tend to read online. They read the headline, and if it grabs their attention they’ll move to scan the body of your content or, in this case, the body of your press release. Your subheading gives you another opportunity to add information that attracts attention and may motivate the reader to continue reading (and hopefully take action and click on your link).
Sharing Secrets
When your press release is shared on social media the only thing that viewers will see is your headline, the subheading, and the link. They’ll have to click on the link to read more. If you leave out the subheading, readers will then see the first sentence of your release, which often isn’t enough to grab their attention. Your subheading and headline have more power. Additionally, search engine results and some press release distributors will also only show your headline, subheadline and your link.
It pays to take advantage of the power of a subheadline. They’re not complicated to write. Give yourself about three sentences to summarize your story. Place your keywords in the beginning if possible and make them a natural part of your subheadline. Write for your readers, not search engines.
