Be Your Own Publicist: How to Write Savvy Online Press Releases

[ZekeLL]

Before you write online press releases, you need to arm yourself with a few basic journalistic writing tricks. It also helps to understand the media and how they think and operate. If you follow these basic steps, you can act as your own publicist (while saving a few dollars in the process). These writing tips will teach you how to write an effective press release that will outshine your online competition.

Write “newsworthy” online press releases. Do not write press releases that read like a sales advertisement. A press release is used to inform media outlets of a company’s news. A newsworthy angle could be your company just acquired a new facility or made a new advancement in technology. A press release is formatted in AP-Style. (http://www.apstylebook.com). Press releases need to answer the five W’s: Who, What, Where, When and Why.

Start strong and stick with the facts. Your headline and first paragraph summarizes the story and the rest of the paragraphs provide the details. Don’t stuff press releases with “fluff” – stick to the facts. You only have a few seconds to grab the media’s or reader’s attention. If have a weak opening, your story will be lost in cyber space – literally! A well-written online press release should be between 300 – 800 words.

Eliminate industry jargon. The fastest way to lose your reader is to use excessive jargon in press releases. Every industry has specific jargon. It’s okay to use a few industry terms but make sure you further explain in “lay person’s” language. Maintain simplicity with your words – remember less is more!

Good grammar wins every time. Always write in the third person and do not use superlatives (examples: very, extremely, youngest, oldest, richest, etc). Use active voice and strong verbs. Headlines should be tight and succinct (no more than 80 characters). A big no-no: don’t write headlines in caps. Write short sentences and paragraphs. Add one space between paragraphs. Always edit (use spell and grammar check) before you send out to online media outlets. For more grammar tips check out “The Elements of Style” The Elements of Style

Add search engine optimized (SEO) keywords. These SEO tricks will help search engines pick up online press releases:

• Use keyword in the first paragraph.
• Sprinkle keywords throughout the rest of the paragraphs (don’t stuff keywords just for the sake of adding keywords).
• Use keyword at least once in your closing paragraph.
• Hyperlink company’s URLs in the first paragraph.
• Use keyword-rich links throughout press releases. If you have a few extra marketing dollars in your pocket, use press release distribution services that offer this service for an extra fee (www.prweb.com).

[WealthNet]

Good post Zeke. The longer I am at this game the more I realize how poorly most people write. Perhaps you can offer the forum some insights on writing good copy that is media worthy. My .02 is I like to write as I speak. And since I tend to speak well, in terms that an 8th grader could understand, most people can read what I write and get it. How would you describe a writing style that is media worthy and get's noticed?

[feint]

are Press releases even that important anymore? I find contacting journalists directly works better.