How to Write Press Releases for Optimal Results

Whether you’re announcing a new product, a company milestone, or an event, press releases remain a cornerstone of effective PR communication. 

But in today’s media landscape, with fleeting attention spans and ever-evolving news cycles, your press release must stand out. Otherwise, it’ll just get lost in a sea of online information.

So how do you craft a great story that captivates readers, compels busy journalists, and ultimately achieves your desired outcomes? In this article, I will comprehensively explore how to write a press release for optimal results.

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What is a Press Release?

A press release is a written official statement distributed to the media and other interested parties to announce something newsworthy. The statement is meant to promote awareness and attract media attention. 

Great press releases will typically provide details about an event, product launch, milestone, achievement, or other significant developments.

The importance of crafting a press release

Press releases offer a multitude of benefits that make them a crucial tool to include in your PR strategy, here are the key ones.

• Publicity

When you effectively distribute a press release about a newsworthy event or product, you attract the attention of journalists, media outlets, and the general audience. This increased visibility will lead to wide publicity in the press, from newspapers to digital magazines, and even social media.

• SEO benefits

By including relevant keywords and links in the news release, you can improve your online visibility, which then impacts your search engine rankings.

The increased visibility will also get the media’s attention. News outlets, online publications, and journalists will pick up your compelling press release, and most probably publish it with backlinks to your company’s website. This will help boost your backlink profile, which positively impacts your ranking.

• Secure media coverage

Media outlets are always looking for great fresh stories to publish, and releases are one of the most reliable sources. As I mentioned earlier, securing media coverage through press releases will help you enhance brand visibility.

• Build credibility

Press releases highlight significant achievements, awards, or milestones. The positive news coverage will help reinforce your brand’s credibility within its sector, which helps earn the target audience’s trust.

How to craft a winning press release

So how do you write a press release that helps you easily grab your target audience’s attention and generate interest? Here are some key elements of a well-written press release:

Begin with a compelling headline

Your release headline is the first thing journalists and readers will see, so ensure it draws people in and entices them to read further.

Keep your release headline clear and concise. Avoid jargon or overly complicated language that may confuse readers.

Also, center your headline around the most newsworthy aspect of your release. For instance, you can just tell what this Samsung product launch release is about just from the headline.

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Additionally, incorporate strong, action verbs into your headline. These verbs help create a sense of urgency and excitement that easily draws readers in.

Besides that, avoid clickbait or sensationalized headlines that misrepresent your press release content. Your headline should accurately reflect the story you’re telling and set appropriate expectations for readers.

Deliver key details clearly and concisely

Focus on delivering the most important facts and information upfront. Stick to the essential details that answer the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your story, and avoid including unnecessary filler content.

Also, structure your press release in a logical and organized manner to make it easy for readers to follow. Use short paragraphs, bullet points, or subheadings to break up the text and highlight key points.

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In addition, ensure you take the time to edit and revise your press release. Remove any unnecessary words or phrases and tighten up your writing to make it as concise as possible without sacrificing clarity. You can always consult an organization or individual that offers great PR services to ensure you get it right.

Elaborate on the story

While you must keep your press release concise, it’s also crucial that you provide context that helps readers understand why your news is important and why it matters to them.

So expand on the story with relevant background information and supporting data or statistics. Additionally, incorporate relevant quotes from key stakeholders or relevant experts to add credibility and authenticity to your story. 

For instance, Bloomberg in the example below includes direct quotes from their respective leaders in enterprise data.

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You can also use real-life examples, case studies, or success stories. Doing this will provide more information that helps readers understand the practical implications of your story. Additionally, it will make the story more relatable and compelling.

Additionally, you can include links throughout the release that lead readers to your extensive knowledge base, where they can get more information.

Incorporate appropriate visuals

Incorporating appropriate visuals into your press release will make it more engaging, memorable, and shareable.

So include high-quality visuals that are relevant to your story and appealing. Avoid using generic visuals like stock photos and use original visuals that capture the essence of your message.

Place the images, infographics, or videos near relevant sections of your story to enhance comprehension. Additionally, include alt text and descriptive captions to provide context and ensure accessibility for all readers. Check out how Apple does this in the release example below.

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Ensure your visuals are well-optimized to ensure compatibility with different devices and platforms.

Conclude with contact details

By providing your contact information, you make it easy for interested parties to follow up on your news.

Ensure you provide multiple ways for readers to get in touch with your organization, such as a phone number, email address, and website URL. This ensures that individuals can choose the method that is most convenient for them.

If your organization is active on social media, consider including relevant links to your social profiles. This provides another avenue for engagement and also allows individuals to connect with your organization on social platforms. Check out how this release does this.

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With these tips, you’ll write a successful press release. However, thanks to tech advancement, you no longer have to struggle to write a press release from scratch. For instance, you can use AI templates to write an entire press release in minutes.

3 Tips for successful press release distribution

All your efforts to craft a compelling press release will be in vain if it doesn’t reach the right audience. So how do you ensure yours does?

Contact targeted journalists directly

Rather than relying solely on mass distribution services, personalize your outreach by contacting journalists directly.

Research and identify relevant journalists, editors, bloggers, and influencers who cover topics relevant to your press release. Then, craft tailored pitches that highlight why your story is newsworthy and why their audience would be interested.

Reach out to media outlets with tailored pitches

You should also research each outlet’s audience demographics, editorial guidelines, and previous coverage. Then customize your pitch to fit the preferences and needs of each media outlet you contact.

The personalization demonstrates that you’ve done your homework and increases the chances of your press release resonating with the recipient media outlet.

Ensure you follow up on your pitches, but avoid being overly persistent or pushy.

Engage a PR expert to handle distribution

You should also consider enlisting the help of a PR expert or agency to handle the distribution of your press release. 

These PR professionals offer various PR services and have the expertise, industry connections, and resources to ensure that your news reaches the right people and gets the attention it deserves.

They can easily craft compelling pitches, identify the relevant media contacts for your release, and coordinate outreach efforts to maximize coverage.

While hiring a PR expert may require an investment, it can yield significant returns in terms of media exposure, brand visibility, and credibility which are often hard to achieve on your own.

Conclusion

With the right approach, your press release can become an invaluable tool for capturing attention and driving meaningful engagement with your target audience.

As I’ve discussed above, to write a press release that generates a buzz, start with a compelling headline, then deliver key details concisely, and also ensure you elaborate on your story. Don’t forget to include visuals and your contact information.

Once you have an effective press release, don’t stop there! Ensure you distribute it through media outlets, journalists, release distribution services, or PR experts to boost media coverage and brand visibility.

Now go ahead and write a press release that stands out. All the best!

By Chris Norton, host of the UK’s 7th largest marketing podcast, which celebrates marketing mistakes, Socially Unacceptable, and Founder of award-winning B2C specialist PR agency Prohibition. His social media training blog is listed in the UK’s top 10 PR blogs. For tons of digital PR tips, you can follow Chris here @chris_norton.

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