Did you know that this is a one million dollar question as it can actually bring you a million bucks in earnings? That’s right! A press release that’s done the right way can turn a non-traffic site into a cash cow.
Let’s begin by defining a press release and knowing what type of content should be included in it.
“A press release is simply a statement prepared for distribution to the news media announcing something claimed as having news value with the intent of gaining media coverage.”
It is very important that every press release should have the following key elements:
Headline
This is the first line in a press release and should contain the main gist of the article. This is what readers immediately see and must contain a catchy phrase that should grab the attention of journalists and your target audience.
Writing from the point of view of a reporter is very essential. The headlines that you see in the papers should give you an idea of how it’s supposed to sound.
There are certain rules as to the length of your headline. PRLog limits any submission to only 100 characters. Therefore, a headline should be brief and straight to the point yet complete. The first letter of each word should be capitalized while the rest of the letters can be in lower case. Acronyms may also appear in uppercase letters.
Summary
This is your chance to give detailed information about the headline. Grab this opportunity to sell your press release to both the journalist and your target readers. Build your product or service by identifying its unique feature.
Remember that the news will only be read if you present something that is unknown, valuable and very different. This is where you market the press release with a good differentiation strategy that will certainly do wonders.
The summary should be limited to only one paragraph with about three to five lines. Beyond this limit, the article will be rejected by PRLog. Sentences should also follow the correct sentence construction format, that is, the first letter of every sentence must be in capital letter. Again, acronyms can be written in uppercase letters.
Dateline
The dateline gives information when the press released was made as well as its originating city and state. With PRLog, you will find that the date is automatically entered so there’s no need to change this.
Introduction
Basically, the introduction answers the questions who, what, when, where and why. This is the first paragraph in the press release and should again be appealing enough to keep your audience reading and asking for more.
Details
This comes after the introduction and is like the body of the press release. This is where all the supporting information is presented. It provides more details, facts, statistics and testimonials as basis for the entire press release. Remember that the news should give accuracy and not merely fabricated data.
There are again certain requirements for this. This part of the press release should be at least 3000 characters or 500 words long.
PRLog however provides a much higher limit of 8000 words. The minimum requirement is two paragraphs with each paragraph containing five to eight lines. Put a space after each paragraph to make it easier to read.
About
This short section provides background information on the company or organization. Oftentimes called as the “boilerplate”, the information found in the body is mostly repeated in this section.
Media Contact Information
This is where you can find the name, mailing address, contact number, email address and website of the author or the company issuing the press release. The email address should echo the organization’s name. This gives the press release a sense of credibility.
General Tips
Avoid using the pronouns I, we, you, your, us and ours. Just like in the news, the press release should be written in the viewpoint of the third person. It should also sound friendly yet professional. Looking at some good press releases will give you more insight on how to write a good one.
Don’t hesitate to view the most popular ones as well as the ones that don’t get much attention. Comparing the two should give you a lot of ideas on what to include and what to avoid.
This article was submitted by Ramiro Rodriguez of Original Press Releases at http://www.original-press-releases.com/
I bow down humbly in the presence of such graetness.
Just post. I thought it was interesting.