Writing press releases is pretty easy – just search on ‘writing press release’ in a search engine and you’ll see endless ways to conjure up the right content. Submitting them is just as easy, and there are many firms who will do this for you, or you can simply send them into your local media outlet, such as the local paper, radio station or industry journal. Writing press releases for SEO is the newest field of content creation. Press releases all over the world have a predefined format.
Make Sure it is Newsworthy
A press release is basically a news article. It is not a sales letter. This is one thing that gets many people into trouble. They write their press release to sell and forget to make sure that it is even newsworthy. Press releases should provide good information that is helpful. It should answer questions like what, who, when, why, and where. If the release you write sounds like an ad, write it again until it sounds like real news.
Start Off Strong
It is important that you start off strong with your press release. Your headline has to capture attention and your first paragraph should provide all the relevant information. The rest of the release is to give the details. You will only have a short time to get the attention of your readers. If you don’t have a great headline or a good opening paragraph, you will probably lose their attention. Remember, you want them to read the entire release and get to the bottom where your links and contact information will be located.
Avoid Hype and Keep the Facts
Instead of having hype in your release, you need to keep to the facts. Avoid using exclamation points, and don’t use any words that make it sounds like a sales letter or like you are trying to hype up your product. This will ruin your credibility.
Have a Specific Angle
A good press release should be timely. It is great to tie in the news you have to social issues or events that are current. You want a good hook to draw in readers. Come up with a good angle for your release that people can relate to. You’ll get more readers, which will result in more traffic to your website.
Keep it Short and Sweet
Keep your press release short and sweet. Don’t go on and on and avoid using expressions that are redundant or language that is flowery. Every sentence should be very concise. Make sure that every word is made to count.
Related Story:
