Press releases are wonderful, relatively inexpensive ways to increase your business's visibility. You can announce a new product or new product feature, introduce a new employee or significant employee change, launch a partnership, invite the public to participate in an event or cause, etc.
But what makes a press release stand out? What makes one more readable or compelling than another? For the answer, we looked to two companies who make distributing press releases their business.
Business Wire, who distributes press releases for thousands of member companies and organizations, suggests making sure your press release "contains actual news" (http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/how-to-write-press-release/). The company also suggests limiting your headline to less than 23 words and avoiding clever phrases or plays on words: straightforward headlines are more likely to be indexed correctly. Finally, include numerous links right from the beginning. Things to link? Business Wire recommends linking the first reference to a brand or product name and the names of employees identified in your press release.
PRWeb, an online news distribution and online publicity company, suggests keeping both sentences and paragraphs short: no more than three or four lines per paragraph. The company also recommends writing in the third person to avoid sounding like a direct sales pitch and limiting links to no more than one per 100 words.
Above all, both companies emphasize making any professional press release clear and concise.
Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.
Thanks for the mention of PRWeb in your post - spot on recommendations. More press release writing tips are available in our learning center: service.prweb.com. Cheers!
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