A well written press release usually will get some traffic on it’s own. However, you don’t want to leave your release distribution to chance. You will want to place your press release on the right sites so that the search engines can find you for further promotion. We suggest you read our tips on “How to write a successful press release” before trying to compose your own. You may also consider having a publicist or press release service company write your release. These services can charge up to $150 to create a masterpiece.

News is anything that other people are interested in or could be persuaded to be interested in. Being newsworthy proactive consists of alerting editors and reporters that you’re doing something of interest to other people. Have an event, be sure to tell a story, create or participate in any occurrence, support, oppose, or even observe a trend or activity.

Editors and show producers have the tremendous challenge of coming up with new stories to fill their pages and air slots everyday, every year. It isn’t always simple to fill all that space. Therefore, you can really become their ally.

Your newsworthy achievements–along with your ability to publicize them correctly and work cooperatively with media people–will cause local editors to welcome you. Not only will you have a very good shot at getting your press release printed (sometimes several times in different sections of the same paper), but a reporter might even arrange a more in-depth story. You can’t measure how valuable this could be for you!

The media are desperate for stories. With reduced staff, shorter news cycles, more publishing demands (print + blogs + twitter) media are hungry for scoops and story ideas that come to them. The weekend editions alone need a lot of non-news type, community-level or local based content.

Keep the following press release tips in mind for success.

Is your information “newsworthy?” The purpose of a press release is to inform the world of your “news” item. You do not want to use your press release as a sales letter trying to close the sale. A good press release answers the 5 “W” questions (who, what, where, when and why) and provides the media with useful information about yourself, your organization, product, service or event. If your press release looks and sounds like an advertisement, start over.

Start your press release strong. Your headline and first paragraph should really tell the story. The rest of your press release should provide the detail in support of the first paragraph. You only have a matter of seconds to grab your readers’ attention. You don’t want to blow it with a weak opening. First impressions are lasting impressions!

Remember you are writing for the Media. Depending on your method of distribution, you will often find that media outlets, especially online media, will pick up your press release and run it in their publications with little or no modification. What happens more frequently is journalists will use your press release as a springboard for a larger feature story. In both cases you want to try to develop a story as you would like to have it told. Even if your press news is not reprinted verbatim, it still should provide an acceptable amount of exposure.

Another point to remember is that …. Not everything is news! Your excitement about something doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything newsworthy about the story. Think about your readers. Will your readers find your story interesting? As an example, let’s say that you spent a lot of effort to launch a new website. Grand opening press is always an exciting time for any business. Conversely, the last thing the media wants to write about is another website. This is old news and usually not interesting.

You will want to focus on the features of your product or service, unique products and services. Answer the question, “Why should anyone care?” and make sure your announcement has some news value such as timeliness, uniqueness or something really unusual. Avoid clichés and focus on the aspects of your news that sets you apart from everyone else.

Does your press release paint a picture? You want to use real life examples about how your company or organization solved a problem or made a difference. Identify problems then identify why your product or service is the perfect solution. Share examples of how your service or product fulfills needs or satisfies desires. What benefits can your audience expect?

• Stick to the facts Jack!

• Tell the truth.

• Avoid fluff, embellishments and exaggerations.

If your release contains embellishments, it would be a good idea to set your press release aside until you have more exciting news to share.

Remember that journalists are naturally skeptical. If your press release sounds too good to be true, you are probably hurting your own credibility. Even if it is true, you may want to tone it down a tad bit.

• Pick the right angle.
• Try to make your press release timely.
• Tie your news to current events or social issues if possible.
• Make sure that your story has a good news hook.

You will want to use active, not passive, voice. Verbs in the active voice bring your press release to life. Rather than writing “entered into a partnership agreement” use “partnered” instead. Do not be afraid to use strong verbs. For example, “The committee exhibited severe hostility over the incident.” reads better than “The committee was enraged over the incident.” Writing in this manner, helps ensure that your press release will be read.

Less is better! Use only enough words to tell your story. Avoid using unnecessary adjectives, flowery language, or redundant expressions such as “added bonus” or “first time ever”. Wordiness distracts from your story. Keep it concise. Make each word count.

Beware the pitfalls of jargon. While a limited amount of jargon will be required if your goal is to optimize your news release for online search engines, the best way to communicate your news is to speak plainly, using ordinary language. Jargon is language specific to certain professions or groups and is not appropriate for general readership. Avoid such terms as “statistic planning techniques” “extrapolate” and “prioritized evaluative procedures.”

Avoid the hype. The exclamation point (!) can be and enemy. There is no better way to destroy your credibility than to include a bunch of hype. If you must use an exclamation point, use only one. Never pull this stunt >> !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get Permission. Companies are usually very protective about their reputation. Be sure that you have written permission before including information or quotes from employees or affiliates of other companies or organizations. Any dispute resolution will favor the other company, meaning that your press release may get pulled.

About your company. Your press release should end with a short paragraph  that describes your company, products, service and a short company history. If you are filing a joint press release, include a boilerplate for both companies.

Just like back in grade school, you learned about  the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How words. Thank goodness because these are the same 6 words you want to answer  in your press release. If you answer these basic questions, your press release will relay the right information that your reader will need to grasp your intended message.

• Who created, invented, did the event or Who said what?

• What was said about what, what happened when and What was done?

• Where did the event take place, where can we reach you?

• When did or will the event occur

• Why did this event happen

• How did this happen

A well optimized press release has the potential to reach millions of online readers and help drive traffic back to your website.  This welcomed result can help you generate a tremendous buzz plus help to grow a successful business in your Industry. You want to make your press release appealing to editors and show producers.

There are a few press release copywriter unwritten rules that you should be familiar with.

• Use mixed case in your press release. NEVER EVER SUBMIT A PRESS RELEASE USING ALL UPPER CASE LETTERS. This is the fastest way to get to file 13 and it will definitely be ignored by journalists.

• Use correct grammar. Always follow the rules of grammar and style. Your press release is not where you want to use slang or text message language. Errors in grammar, spelling and style will really affect your credibility.

• Standard Format. Write your press release under a standard press release format. Review other press releases and you will find a pattern. Don’t get cute! Write, proof read, preview. Rewrite, edit, preview, submit. Don’t take shortcuts to this process.

• More than one paragraph. It is next to impossible to tell a newsworthy story in a few sentences. If you do not have more than a few sentences, chances are you do not have that real newsworthy item.

• Summary paragraph. It’s a good idea is to include a one-paragraph summary in your press release. Some distribution points we use only receive your headline, summary and a link to your press release. If you fail to include a good summary paragraph, you may reduce the effectiveness of your press release reach.

• Do not include your e-mail address or contact info in the body of your release. We have a special place during the submission process for you to include your e-mail address and contact info. If you include your e-mail address in the body of your press release, you run the risk of receiving spam to that email address. This is because your e-mail address will be available to the public. Spiders routinely scour the Internet harvesting e-mail addresses for spammers. Provide your e-mail address only in the space(s) provided during the submission process.

• Uploading pictures. You can upload at most three pictures. Clear and high quality pictures can really complement to your press releases.

• Backlinks to your site. Use your available backlinks to point to your website, social media or locations for more information.

• Pay Attention to the Content of Your Press Release. If you don’t learn anything else from reading this information is that your content can make or break you. Pay attention!
  

Here are the things that you want to Do:

• Make Your Release Newsworthy. A good press release answers all of the “5 W” questions (who, what, where, when and why) and most times how.

• Avoid using hype and sales jargon. Remember that the exclamation point (!) is an enemy to your press release. There is no better way to destroy your credibility than to include a bunch of hype. If you must use an exclamation point, use one. Never do this!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are the things that you don’t want to Do:

• Lack of Content – We reject about 10% of all press release submissions for lack of content. Oddly, press release authors are sometimes particularly guilty of short press releases. (We assume that if authors can muster enough words to fill 300 pages they should be able to come up with a 300-400 word press release.) Please make sure that you answer all of the “W” questions, who, what, where, when, why and how to ensure a complete press release. We have assembled several press release resource tips for your convenience.

• Press Releases that shout BUY ME,  BUY ME! – Do not write your press release like an advertisement. Do not write your press release like a sales flyer. Always remember that journalists are NOT your marketing partners. Their job is to relay information to their audiences, not to sell your products and services. A good press release informs the media. If your press release shouts, BUY ME, then you want to rewrite your release to be more suitable.

• Hype Red Flags – This is a closely related to the BUY ME problem. If your press release contains too many “hype red flags” it will trip various spam filters and your press release will be intercepted before it even has the chance to reach its destination. A “Hype Red Flag” is anything that challenges the credibility of your press release. Examples of “Hype Red Flags” include an abundance of exclamation points or wild product and service claims, use of “all CAPS” etc.

• Funny Characters – On occasion, strange characters and formatting can creep into your press release during the submission (copy & paste) process. Make sure that you press release is formatted as you intended. Many sites ask you not to paste from Microsoft Word and other document editors.

• Word Wrapping – Do not break each line at 70 characters. Let your sentences wrap naturally. On many sites you don’t want to place a hard carriage return at the end of each line. You will want to include a carriage return only at the end of each of your paragraphs.

• Keywords choosing. Research the best keywords to use in you press release. Generally, we suggest you choose 3 to 5 keyword phrases.

Remember these valuable tips and you will have success with your press release.

A press release is an ideal way to grab more popularity and exposure online.

Scheduled monthly press releases, optimized correctly, will boost your online visibility plus help you directly reach your target audience where and when they’re most receptive.   Here are a few of the many benefits of using press releases in your marketing.

• Increased and better rankings on hundreds of search engines - The name of the game is being found in the search engines. Google being numero uno. Yes proper use of Press Releases will help boost your rankings.  Most Press Release Wires will allow you to use a backlink to your website which in turn will help boost your organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Rankings.
• Increase your website visitors - Newsworthy Press Releases get picked up by several hundred websites very quickly.  The mass distribution puts your business in the headlines on numerous websites.  Since these websites backlink to your website and talk about your website people will follow.  The more headlines and backlinks that you have on these websites will deliver more targeted visitors.

• Grab quick global exposure - Google loves fresh newsworthy targeted content.  A newsworthy properly optimized press release can easily go to the front page of Google under news for very competitive subjects and highly searched and adword expensive keywords.  Do you sell pet supplies?  A well optimized press release on pet supplies can land you on page 1 for this keyword.  A few days of this could mean hundreds and thousands of new visitors.

• Publicize your contact information – You will want to include your contact information in your press release. Journalist and news producers may want to reach you for a more in-depth interview.

Great question, a press release is a document usually issued to media and consumers to grand announce yourself and your particular product or service. A well-written, news worthy release can dramatically increase your press, sales and greatly enhance the image of your business, products or service.

A professionally well written press release can be that difference between a successful press release campaign and one that doesn’t leave the ground. A properly distributed press releases will increase your online visibility.

Here are a couple of tips for scripting a successful press release:

• Your release must have a general interest to the target audience and a strong news angle.

• Your release needs to be written in a journalistic rather than marketing ‘salesy’ style. It should be objectively written and really needs to inform people, not just sell them something.

• The focus/angle of your story should not be on the subject of the product itself but on the creator of the product. A human-interest story or a some kind of controversy can really help create interest.

• Preface the opening sentence of the release with the place and date of the release.

• At the end include a fairly standard paragraph about Lulu and your contact information.

• Aim for a clear message and avoid all “spare fat” including too many adjectives or adverbs. Extra words don’t help.

• Consider using bullet points where appropriate.

• Both the headline and the first paragraph should summarize and sell the story.

• Accentuate what is new, unusual, different and extreme about you, your product or service.

• Limit your headline to 20 words or less and should answer the questions, “So what?” and “Why now?”

• Your introduction should stand on its own, tell the whole story and tell why you have written the story.Use these tips and you’ll be well on your way to a successful press release campaign.

A press release is a write-up about a specific product, service or event. Unlike article writing that is generally neutral and informative, a press release mentions a particular brand. It is basically written not only to stir the interest of the reader on a broad topic, but it already informs the target audience about a particular brand or name.

It all starts with a date line. A date line contains the date and the place where the press release is created. The key element here is to state the freshness of the press release. At one point, a press release is like a news clip. When and where it was publish do matter. The press release must be recent and the best way to show it is through its date line.

Following the date line is the body. The typical press release introduces a person who is directly or indirectly connected with the product or service. He/She can be the owner who established the business, a person who helped achieve its success or a person who directly benefited from the product. This is commonly done by many writers because it can establish the credibility of the press release right away.

Next, the product or service is introduced in the body. Ideally, the product or service must be defined in common terms. For example, if it is a multi-level marketing business, it must explain what does it do and how does it operate. It pays to give the readers a general concept of what the product or service is all about.

Once the overview is done, it is now time to give the key features of the product. Without sounding overly promotional, state the parts of the product that sets it apart from all others. It can be a function or it can be the price. As long as it is something unique, it must be included in the body. Also include the benefits and advantages that a person can derive from the product or service.

An author’s box is placed at the end of each press release. Just like those in articles, it is used to let the readers have an access to the author of the press release just in case they want more details.

To your successful press release writing!