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Oct 15, 2024
A well-written press release gets attention from all the right people, increases organic reach, and allows you to build your brand narrative. It solidifies credibility as your company’s legacy becomes visible from a succession of press releases over the years, but also does wonders for brand positioning. This, in turn, will enhance the impact of any marketing campaign plan.
You likely know how to write a press release. But today, I’m getting into how to write a good one! Let’s start at the very beginning.
A press release is a document that announces your organization did something noteworthy. It synthesizes the important info around a story – which could be about a new deal, product, merger, event, or any other relevant business development. When the story is compelling, editors, journalists, bloggers, and vloggers share it with their audiences.
A press release announcing a new development for your organization is a crucial tool. It garners media attention, which results in improved ROI and enhanced organic reach, but also builds brand recognition over time. Most importantly, you’re in charge of how narratives form around your brand.
For example, it was a huge coup for Microsoft when they announced via press release that they were acquiring LinkedIn. The document highlighted how LinkedIn innovations made this an excellent deal, which in turn was essential for increasing investor confidence. You can read the whole thing below.
But a newsworthy press release can do a lot for nonprofits as well. AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) reached an audience of two million people via multiple touchpoints that all prioritized the contents of an impactful press release.
They did a study that clarified how much family caregiving is worth, then created a document that made it obvious how this impacts the reader. In doing so, they reached their goal of raising awareness.
It’s the definition of what people talk about when they say “meaningful news” and an approach to consider for anyone who wants to write a wide-reaching press release.
The infographic below was also a welcome addition. If you have one, use it as an attachment and you’ll make the story more visually compelling.
A great press release, also known as a media release, is more than the sum of its parts. It needs good, crisp writing, a deep knowledge of the brand’s industry and context, plus the foresight to address the reader’s questions before they’re even asked. Learning how to nail each element of an effective press release is a perfect place to start. Let’s get to it:
A good press release headline needs to be short, attention-grabbing, and inescapably compelling for the reader. It should also simplify your main message to the point that it’s an irresistible nutshell.
It really helps to look at it from different perspectives. How would a journalist see it? Does it pique their interest? How would a person reading it on a front page see it? Writing with the front page in mind can really help distill a message. And if you have unique data, the headline is a great place for it.
Divert is a waste collection business. See below how they approached a Valentine’s Day promo. The press release headline might be a little rude for some, sure, but who doesn’t empathize? As long as your brand guidelines allow for a bit of humor, aiming for relatability gets readers to lean in closer. I suggest you read the whole thing. It’s a masterclass.
The dateline should be at the very beginning of your press release. It typically includes the date (obviously) but also the location this document is coming from. It helps establish how timely the info is, while also providing extra context, especially in the case of businesses with multiple locations.
Datelines also help put a company’s evolution into perspective. If you’re digging through old press releases so you can set up an anniversary blog post, for example, they’ll always come in handy.
After the dateline, you should indicate when exactly this news should reach the public. These two options are often used:
Most companies work with this one as a standard. It indicates that whatever is inside can be shared with readers/viewers right away. But there’s a catch! The entire press release must make a strong case for why this info is time-sensitive and relevant to audiences right now.
Immediate release applies if you’re announcing a product launch, event, rebranding, award, and beyond. Pretty much anything that isn’t confidential for the time being.
It’s a good idea to use an embargoed press release when the subject is sensitive and/or requires a lot of careful preparation from journalists. This might include research, scientific discoveries, and corporate acquisitions, but also product launches or entertainment/art-related events.
Sending the press release with time to spare lets media outlets research the context around the event, providing thorough and accurate information, but also ensures that press coverage happens, for example, on the same week as a movie premiere.
It’s super important to add accurate contact details. Include the name, phone number, and email of the person who can be reached to provide additional info. This is also crucial for setting up interviews. Setting the stage for seamless media follow-up helps you build invaluable relationships with the press.
Placed between the headline and the first paragraph, your summary needs to be quick and impactful. Its job is to put the headline in context and offer the key points of the press release upfront. It helps busy journalists skim quickly and decide whether this news release is for them or not.
The summary is also a place where numbers and data should be included. But beyond that, focus on what this announcement actually means for the reader. The better you nail this part, the more news outlets are likely to pick up your story.
Some companies, like Johnson & Johnson did below, favor bullet points, which is absolutely a good idea, especially if your press releases have complex implications.
Others write summaries as crisp one-liners, like Microsoft did here.
With all press releases and everything you write in general, clarity and conciseness should be priorities. But this is all the more true for your first paragraph. It needs to cover the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the situation. If whoever reads it only makes it to this point, they should still be informed.
Your tone is important here too, as always. You’ll want to write in a confident, authoritative way that never spills into arrogance or posturing. Cut out hedge words (maybe, potentially, possibly) and anything that sounds like you’re not sure about the subject or its impact. But do address the reader’s possible doubts with transparency in the paragraphs that follow.
This is where you add the important details. Provide evidence and relevant background information for everything you’ve said so far. Elaborate by adding statistics, if appropriate. Don’t forget quotes! A simple official statement can make a great impact when distilled and put into context.
Don’t exaggerate anything and steer clear of clichés or euphemisms. Stick to the active voice. A fact-based approach is best, but avoid technical jargon that might not be obvious to someone outside your industry.
Controlling the narrative applies to the ‘About’ section as well, also known as the boilerplate. You’re connecting a news story to a brand legacy, so keep it short and consider what you want to prioritize when it comes to your brand universe.
This paragraph from a Barilla press release speaks volumes. Other similarly-sized organizations would have just prioritized growth and hollow corporate buzzwords in this section. Instead, they take it as an opportunity to strengthen their brand positioning. So should you.
Writing press releases can be a bit stressful, especially when you consider their contribution to a company’s reputation. But it doesn’t have to be. You take a time-honored process, you adapt it to your working style, and before long you’ll have a reliable structure to fall back on. Here’s how I do it:
Gather all the elements you need to assemble. Consider your event through the lens of quotes, statistics, relevant details, company information, background info, possible attachments, and so on.
Paring down a wealth of info becomes easier when you focus on your target audience. What’s relevant for segments of the public you want to talk to? What angle is more likely to compel media outlets to cover this? Working out a key message and a strong angle will dictate how you structure your facts into press release content that persuades.
Don’t edit while you write! I cannot stress this enough. Do not, to the best of your ability, edit while you write. It will slow you down and stifle inspiration. By all means, allow your first draft to be a bad one.
This phase is for focusing on structure and raw facts. Put your most important info at the very top and keep things short and as clear as possible. Most press releases truly take shape when you explain why things are as they are. Give evidence for your statements.
Instead of obsessing over the ideal wording at this stage, simply focus on getting down all your key points and expanding on them when relevant. You can’t edit an incomplete document, but you can absolutely edit a wonky draft that’s mostly finished.
Okay, now it’s okay to edit. Make sure everything important is included, but also cut out anything that doesn’t support your message. Layer your edit from the general to the hyper-specific. First, look at the overall flow of your press release format. Consider whether it’s a generally coherent document.
Then go into detail. Look at readability and sentence structure. Make sure everything is fact-checked, but also tease out any grammatical errors, typos, or formatting inconsistencies.
Speaking of formatting: this is also when you nail down the layout of your press release. Make sure the headline, date, contact information, summary, body, and ‘About’ section are all in the right place.
If you’re part of a team, getting a fresh pair of eyes on what you just wrote is crucial. It’s partly about catching errors that might otherwise slip. But it’s also about the way a piece of writing truly shines when you get a trusted collaborator on board.
Content collaboration tools can make the process even breezier via annotations and text suggestions. Here’s what working on a press release looks like in Planable:
Working on a press release in Planable
If you write solo, let your trusted collaborator be future you. Allow the document to simmer while you rest your writing brain for a bit. See what opportunities for improvement you can spot with fresh eyes.
It’s crucial to set up a review and approval process before you get started. This ensures that all relevant parties (higher management and/or stakeholders) have added their input, but also makes for more well-rounded press releases. It helps with goal alignment and keeping a content flow moving, without surprise bottlenecks caused by someone’s tricky schedule.
Integrating approval software into your process makes it easy to manage multiple press releases and several types of content at the same time. You’ll have changes, comments, and feedback in a single place.
Take care of any final formatting, add embargo information if necessary, and get your document ready for distribution.
Clarify the distribution channels you’ll be working with. They might include media outreach platforms, newswire services, plus owned media like your own website, email list, and socials. You can use a tool like Planable to seamlessly schedule social media posts in time for, say, a product release.
Here’s how to make sure a press release takes the best form it possibly can:
When you use a dedicated content management tool like Planable, you can see all your press releases, plus other written content and social media posts, in a single calendar. Collaboration and approvals are what Planable was built for, so getting feedback on a press release is an absolute walk in the park.
Content calendar view in Planable
What a headline. What a summary. Other brands have done similar things (not enough of them, though!) but that shouldn’t deter an initiative that’s driven by a powerful, well-executed, refreshed concept.
The brand voice really shines through in this campaign press release example. Plus, the instinct to go against overconsumption is perennially relevant to ModCloth audiences and beyond.
Some parts of this product launch press release may sound a slight bit self-aggrandizing, but that’s in line with the brand voice. It uses a bullet point summary that covers a lot of ground and does a good job of spinning every fact-packed paragraph into relevance for its target audience.
This is an event press release with a lot of charisma. Since everything relies on volunteers, CTAs for signing up are prioritized at the very beginning, as they should be. Rules of conduct are spelled out in a friendly, festive, humorous way, and it’s a really nice touch to close a press release like this one with “Mistletoe & Merriment”.
An attention-grabbing headline, some strong facts, and an undoubtable angle. This is all you need to get started with writing a good press release. It will get you media coverage, allow you to control narratives around your brand, and build a legacy that stands the test of time. Add crisp writing plus a smooth approval process, and you’re well on your way to penning press releases like a pro.
Irina is a freelance senior copywriter & content writer with an advertising agency background. If she’s not rummaging for good synonyms, she’s probably watching a sitcom or listening to radio dramas with plucky amateur detectives. She loves collage, doing crosswords on paper and shazamming the birds outside her window.
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