What Is a Press Release and How Do You Write One?
By Nikolina Cveticanin
June 19, 2023
Press releases used to be sent out exclusively to journalists and editors who would then judge whether the news they contained was important and interesting enough for the readers to be published by their newspaper.
Within the past two decades, however, social media platforms have progressed to become a significant part of our lives. They have drastically changed the way people communicate, and they have transformed the press release into one of the most valuable marketing tools companies can use to communicate directly with their target audiences.
What Is a Press Release?
A press release is a short news article written by a PR professional and made visible to the targeted audience. It is also called a media statement or news release, and its main goal is to catch the attention of journalists and online publications and raise awareness about a specific subject. Nowadays, anyone can easily create, publish, and distribute a press release thanks to a large number of press release distribution companies that have made this service available to an unprecedented number of people.
This is great news for small businesses because there are many benefits of writing press releases your company, too, can take advantage of:
- Instead of just being used to introduce a new product or a service, press releases can now be employed to enhance your SEO strategy and help your company connect with investors, customers, and (prospective) employees.
- An online press release is an excellent form of direct communication with the target audience without any third-party involvement.
- And finally, one of the greatest things about online press releases is that they’re easy to access, and they represent a permanent piece of a company’s public record.
How To Write a Press Release
Before writing a press release, consider a few points.
The most important thing is to determine what it is that you want the press release to accomplish. Is it just a promotion of a new product, or do you maybe wish to add subscribers to the company’s newsletter?
You should also ensure to answer the 5W1H questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Once you have all that information sorted out, you can start writing your press release.
The main elements of a press release are:
- Contact information. The standard press release should begin with the name, phone number, and e-mail address of the person who wrote the release.
- The headline. Probably the most important part of a press release. This is where you grab your readers’ attention, and you need to make sure it’s newsworthy and intriguing.
- Brief summary. This should be a short, one-line summary of the press release. And like the headline, it should be catchy and motivational.
- The body. The first paragraph of the body should contain the location and the date stamp. The rest of it should answer all the questions a reader might have about the product or service you are presenting.
- Call to action. A press release template usually ends with a call to action, an invitation for the reader to participate in the announced event or test the product.
What Makes a Good Press Release?
Apart from the basic elements every press release should have, there are also some details you shouldn’t forget about and tricks that can make it stand out.
A press release should be concise and informative. It should only contain newsworthy information with straightforward writing, without any jargon or grammatical mistakes. Find a good grammar checker and review the text prior to publishing it.
If you wish to know not only how to do a press release, but how to do it properly, here’s another tip: Make it scannable. To do so, you can use bold letters, bullet points, underline sentences, or add some other elements that make it easier to read.
Another thing that can help you out is including imagesin your press release. Various studies have shown that a press release with an image has seven times more chances of being picked up than the ones without it.