When writing a news release PR specialist should keep two goals in mind: 1. create a positive image of his company and 2. insure the maximum possible media coverage.
On average journalists get dozens of press releases on daily basis. Let's put ourselves in their shoes and try to see what makes a story interesting from the perspective of both journalists and the ultimate reader.
Before going any further, let's define what is meant by a news release. One of business encyclopaedias gives the following definition: ”News release is a public relations announcement issued to the news media and other targeted publications for the purpose of letting the public know of company developments.”. In other words, the main purpose of a press release is to provide newsworthy information to the media.
The question here is: ”How to serve your story to the journalists?”
Unless you offer money for free, there is no topic that would be interesting to each and everyone. Define a target audience to address your news to. Offer your news to those news media channels that specialise in your industry/ sphere of your business.
The main purpose of a press release is to announce, not to advertise. So, what could be a good announcement? In fact, it can be anything that influence or has a potential to influence your target audience, i.e. information should be of importance or value for the reader.
News release is not a reminder of past events, neither excursus into history. This genre covers only actual news about current events, which can also relate to plans for the near future.
Official news always require official language. However, at the same time, dry and overcomplicated texts are never welcome. A reader will not endeavour to make his way through a jungle of professional terms and bulky sentence structure. The shorter is the message, the better information is served.
People's opinions and views always catch attention. It is worth adding quotations of key people related to the news. Introduction of someone's opinion, especial a third-party expert from your business field, raises news credibility.
Facts presented in numbers and dates are also highly valued. No matter of a news type it is important to go straight to the point and communicate the message clearly.
Tone and angle of news offering is another key detail. When talking about your products and services try to avoid marketing expressions. As for the optimal length, it is better to stick to the standard of A4 format.
In order to get noticed by media representatives, before sending out your news, make sure:
As an example we can take the following scenario: an unknown medium-sized company opens a new office in another city. It does not sound that interesting to ensure some publicity for the news. However, if to turn this news the other way round and present as ”Company X creates new jobs by establishing its new office in city X”, its perception changes.
Lastly about the attachments: using oversized images or inclosing e.g. digital ”heavy” presentations might be a reason for getting into spam box because of private email settings of your receiver.
Service LianaPress » is professional solution for distributing your news to local and regional news media. It insures delivery of news releases to your target journalists and editors including all attachments regardless their size and format.
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