How Do Press Releases Work?
Understanding how press releases work will allow you to see the value of adding them to your marketing tool box. It will also provide you with some guidance for developing strong press releases. Journalists, editors, producers and other media professionals are pressed to create more content than ever before to meet the shorter news cycles and twenty-four hour call by the viewers and readers.
Press releases make it possible for them to gather stories, discover resources, or add elements to current series to fit this fast pace. You have the option of sending your press releases directly to an individual or news organization, but you can also make it more widely accessible by utilizing different press release services.
The media professionals look at these sources as well as the numerous direct press releases they receive each day. Because of the volume of press releases that fill their inboxes, you need to invest time and resources into a press release that will catch their attention. One of the ways you can do this is to create target specific press releases, but you can also focus on elements of your press releases that will get you the attention you desire.
Making Press Releases Work for You
Catchy headline – one of the first things (and sometimes the only thing) that journalists will read in your press release is the headline. It needs to grab the reader’s attention and build up interest in the rest of the story.
Relevant quotes – provide quotes from the individuals in the stories that help to drive the stories forward. You can use quotes to present facts and that will help make even the facts more personal to the reader.
Develop clear and concise information – most of your press releases should be only one page long. That means you need to develop the elements of your story with as few words as possible while still maintaining a clear understanding of the story.
Include easy to find contact information – One of the major points of a press release is to make the story easier for media professionals to share. It is important that the contact information for media questions be easily displayed and correct.
Release date – the top of your press release should include a time that the story should be published. It is not unusual for the time to “immediate release” but it can also include a specific date.
There are other elements of a press release that will help your story catch the attention of the journalists and editors. The more you learn about press releases and the more you invest into crafting professional stories, the better your opportunity to be featured by a journalist or highlighted by a publication.
The fundamentals of a press release are not complicated. The press release is your way of telling your story and a way for media professionals to find their stories. The trick comes in making the press release work for you. You have to find creative ways to bring attention to your press release while still maintaining the formality of the press release that is standard for the industry.
