10 Tips For Better Press Releases

Press release marketing is an integral part of content marketing that a lot of people take for granted.  It’s so widely UNDERutilized which amazes me given the potential that press releases have in pushing traffic, and targeted traffic at that.

Individuals and organizations pour money into search engine optimization techniques in the hopes that they can get certain pieces of content or landing pages to show up on page 1 of Google.  What’s amazing is that they don’t consider that press releases automatically show up on the first page of Google.

Granted, just writing a press release isn’t enough to start that flow of traffic.  Like other pieces of content you use for marketing must deliver a proper message in a solid format in order to sink in, your press releases need to be crafted with expert precision to hit their mark with the targeted buyers within your market.

Here are 10 tips to help you start producing better press releases:

1. Make sure that the information is newsworthy.  It doesn’t need to be on the level of a 2012 disaster but you also shouldn’t write a press release for something that is completely irrelevant.  People do this enough on Twitter, so keep your content pertinent to the desires of your target audience.

2.  Craft content that clearly states what the information is and why the audience should be reading it.

3.  Start your press release with a description of the content and then point out who is making the announcement, not the other way around.  Potential customers don’t care about who you are, they want to know the why.

4.  Ask yourself how people will relate to your content and if it will connect with them.  Find a better way to make the connection and improve your engagement.

5.  Make sure the headline, those first handful of words, are the most effective and deliver the strongest punch to keep them reading.

6.  Stay away from fluff, color and fancy language.  Stay on task with your press release content

7.  Stick to the facts and avoid content that delivers assumptions or vague generalizations.

8. Provide as much contact information as possible in the About or Company segment of your press release.  This included individual contact info, addresses, phone numbers, faxes, email, web site address, etc.

9. You may feel like you need to wait until you have something with enough subtance to do a press release but that’s not true.  If it’s relevant to your target audience, then share it – especially if there is value in it.

10. Avoid free press release distribution services, as they pepper your press releases with ads and often won’t allow embedded links.  Invest in a premium press release marketing service such as Newswire or PRweb

To Your Success,
Joerg Weishaupt

P.s. Get more information on social media and marketing in my free primer "Building A Successful Marketing Strategy". Sign up for your free copy today.

Related posts:

1. 3 Common Press Release Marketing Mistakes
2. 6 Tips for Using Twitter for Business

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