21st Dec 2016 by Leanne Bryan

10 Yetis Insight – Top Tips For An A* Worthy Press Release

10 Yetis Insight – Top Tips For An A* Worthy Press Release

Let’s just address the elephant in the room before we get stuck in, shall we – the release is not dead. There are other ways and means to get your point across, yes, and sometimes these are better suited to your campaign, another yes. But there are times, many times in fact, when a press release is exactly what you need; if you want to widely distribute a message that is better said in, well, words, then you shouldn’t be ashamed to call a press release your friend.

Rather than criticising the type of vehicle, it’s worth considering that any vehicle can be good or bad; suited or unsuited; relevant or irrelevant. It’s all in the execution.

So, leading on from this, how can a press release go from being words on a blue and white Outlook screen to a headline for a national news site? What does it take to create that simply spiffing A* worthy release that will warrant that flag for attention, and escape the grasp of the junk folder?

Here’s a few tips from the Yeti crew on how to make sure your release is a work of pure PR art:

  1. Is it ACTUALLY news?

This is a question that everyone writing a press release needs to ask themselves, because it’s the first thing it will be met with when it pings into the recipients’ inboxes. News and advertising are different things, but they can cross over on occasion; a good way to distinguish is to ask yourself if you can picture this as a news piece on your target publication, and if anyone without any ties to the company would really care. If the answers are yes to both of these, you should be in a good place to fire ahead with it.

  1. The company is thrilled to announce…

No. This is not the way to start a press release, end a press release, add a bit in the middle of a press release. Usually, this phrase is the mark of an exceptionally promotional release, maybe a new appointment; remember, unless you’re Google, Facebook, Apple or the like, nobody will care what you are thrilled about, or likely what you are announcing. If you’re anything smaller, you need to ensure there’s something more meaty and relevant than just what your new products are, who you’ve recruited or what new office premises you’re moving into; unless your new product is a jumping igloo, you’ve recruited the Queen or your new premises are in a submarine.

  1. Lead with the hook, not the company

You might have done some awesome research, or have something really interesting to say, but if you bury it under realms of text about your company, it’s founders, how many employees it has, it’s mission statement, the 2013 record turnover and the faulty watercooler on the third floor, journalists will have turned out long before they get to the hook. Most will forgive a company mention or two, but lead with the news and explain where it’s come from and why it’s relevant to you later on. The company is, generally, not what they care about; the news hook is.

  1. Throw in as many juicy snippets as you can

If you’re writing a release, it’s likely that it’s going to a few different publications at the same time, and isn’t going to be tailored individually to each publication. Because of this, you need to give-give-give. Make sure your release is full of juicy news hooks, which can appeal to a range of titles. If you’re sending a release to both lifestyle and health, for instance, make sure you have enough leading hooks that are clear and relevant to these sectors. This means that the journos can pick and choose the snippets that suit them and take the release in the directions that suit their publications.

  1. Extra, extra, read all about it

Yes, you’re sending a release, but if you have pictures, video content, spokespeople available for interviews, etc. etc. – don’t keep quiet about them! Perhaps you can hint at exclusive extra statistics or findings for the research in the release, to snare a high tier publication’s interest. You could offer exclusive commentary, or further insight if they’d like a more in-depth feature on the news. That extra pinch of something additional could strike the difference between a hit and a miss, so it’s worth offering everything you can in your cover email.

If you adhere by these tips and tricks of the trade, you should be in the running for a great press release, that journalists will be pleased to receive and interested to cover. The most important and critical point is promotional – of course you have a motive behind getting this coverage, but you need to give as well as take. Make sure that what you are saying is worth the headlines and write it in the most efficient way possible to make sure you have recipe for press release success!

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