Use These 10 Insider Tips and Techniques to Avoid Common Press Release Mistakes. Get Noticed & Promoted!

Although the method by which we deliver press releases to the media has changed —mostly they are sent in the body of an email and occasionally by fax, but no longer by snail mail— guidelines for producing the best press releases have not changed. Avoid common press release mistakes! The team at Three Girls Media & Marketing wants your news to be noticed, promoted and sent virally to your audience. Follow these top 10 insider tips to write a perfect press release that will do its job for you right, the first time!

1. Use Proper Formatting. It is critical to represent yourself professionally, starting with the actual press release presentation. In a previous blog including precise layout details, we underscored the importance of following proper press release formatting. You can also get great general writing tips from the Associated Press’ Style Guide.
2. Include pertinent contact information at the top of the press release. Your name, address, phone number and email must appear at the top of the press release, not buried inside the body or at the very end.
3. Include your URL and social site information. This needs to appear with the rest of your contact information, at the top of the press release. Test URL links. Include your Facebook site or Twitter handle, if appropriate.
4. Play the SEO game—but cautiously! This is a perfect time to include a few search engine keywords, but do not overdo this! One or two is perfect; more than that will make the press release difficult to read, stilted and obvious.
5. Keep your reader in mind. Who is your press release audience? If you said, “my customer,” try again. Your reader is the media, the professional who will farm out your news to the appropriate press outlets. That is where the consumers and potential customers will find it.
6. A press release is not an advertisement. Based on Tip #5, write for the media professional. Keep it formal, and don’t use “you.” Even if you are writing about yourself, write from the third person. You are writing hard news, not a feature story. The media professional will turn your press release into the appropriate story.
7. Keep language simple. Media professionals are not professionals in every field. Avoid making them have to work hard to understand what you’re saying by not using technical or industry terminology or jargon, etc. Keep it understandable, and expand in simple language where necessary.
8. Keep it short. Aim for 400 words, roughly one widely spaced page. Keep in mind that you want to pique the media’s interest, and have them call you for more information. Another incentive to avoid wordiness is that some online press release wire services like PRWeb and Marketwire charge by word count.
9. Don’t bury your news! Per Tip #8, you will not only keep it short, but you will get to the heart of the news right away! Your first paragraph should clearly state the reason for the press release. The most important details (what happened, when, by whom, what impact it has) should be at the top of your press release; keep the less important details further down.
10. Proof read, proof read and proof read again! Have at least one other person besides the author proof the press release. If you don’t have anyone to help, try these tricks: A) Let the piece “sit” for a minimum of one hour; 24 hours is better. Then go back to it and read it with “fresh” eyes. B) Read your press release backwards. When your brain isn’t expecting a word, you are more likely to catch a misspelling or punctuation error. See additional proof reading tips on our blog post, Five Proof Reading Tips.

Special Offer: Three Girls Media & Marketing Inc. loves working with small and emerging companies to raise their brand awareness and name recognition. We offer a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation. Email info@ThreeGirlsMedia.com to make your appointment today!

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