How To Do A Press Release

A well-written press release can boost your credibility in the eyes of your target audience.

Over the years, various companies and organizations have recognized the benefit of using media channels to gain credibility with their potential customers. Whether it be in publications online and offline or on media like TV and radio, you can always find a way to use the media to establish a lasting presence in the market or the industry that you are in.

While advertising is usually the first thing that comes to mind when the subject of promotions is being tackled, it is not usually something that you can completely rely on especially if you want to gain the trust of the media and if your budget is limited. In fact, there is another way that you can reach out to the hearts of media professionals while making sure that you are able to build credibility in the eyes of society. This can be done by writing press releases.

What makes you special?

Compared to advertisements, the press release is written to attract the attention of the media. More commonly now it can also appeal over the heads of the media and engage directly with your potential buyers. As a public relations tool, it is structured to benefit you, your business, or your products and services. It is designed to emphasize what makes you stand out from the rest of other similar businesses and individuals that are offering the same goods to the masses. In order to do this, your press release should mention what makes your business newsworthy: what sets it aside from others and what significant role can it play in society?

Watch how you write your content

The right content is the key to creating a press release that can have the media, or your customers, knocking at your door. As mentioned earlier, your press release should be newsworthy so do not sound like you are selling something. Instead, sound like a professional discussing the answers to who, what, when, where, how, and why by providing simple but interesting information. The press release should also sound interesting from the start. This means that your headline or title should already be able to attract the attention of your reader. Finally, construct your press release to keep the reader hooked.

Be factual

Press releases are not meant for advertising so avoid flowery words, jargon, and exaggerations. Keep everything short, simple, and to the point. Writing your press release in the active voice is also advisable rather than discussing everything in passive form. Remember that your aim here is to write something that can make you credible and trustworthy in the eyes of whoever reads it so that your target audience will recognize you as the expert in your field. And while you are being factual, do not forget to make sure that your press release is actually current and timely.

Present it nicely

Content that is well-written on a press release but is formatted wrongly can put it at risk of not being published at all. Therefore, make sure that you are able to present it correctly by using the right format. Traditionally, press releases are formatted with an indication of when it is going to be released followed by the headline, the lead, the main paragraph that explains the lead, some company background, and your contact details. Correctly formatting your press release can help the reader to immediately tell that what they are reading is not merely an advertisement.