Getting your company or brand featured in the press helps in winning over new customers and investors.
It can also open up the doors for you.
You will be known as a subject-matter expert with a wonderful rise in your stature in business circles and among your target audience.
“An online press release did wonderful things for me”, says a small and medium business entrepreneur. “I could reach out to new business partners and got speaking opportunities at important business locations, along with prospects to see new places”.
Getting a press profile needs hard work, but it can offer endorsements that money cannot buy.
“A businessperson must submit press release every now and then whenever there is a newsworthy story. It is far more effective than an advertisement”.
There is no magic mantra for success in a press release strategy.
You must learn the rules and know the tricks of the trade.
First, understand why anybody should care.
Having a clear appreciation of this question is the vital step to getting media attention.
Mind you, even big businesses struggle to get press coverage unless they have an important news angle.
This simply means that smaller companies must struggle even harder.
Before you even make an attempt to submit press release it is worthwhile answering the following questions.
Is there anything exceptional in my story?
Would this be of interest to a wider audience outside my business domain?
Will people really bother about reading it?
The last one may sound terse, but this is the most significant.
A well-qualified person may have joined as a commercial director in your company, or you might have launched a new product.
But unless the news is of relevance to readers, there is no point in releasing your story.
If you are still in a quandary, read publications related to your business or industry coverage in media to get an idea of what kind of stories get attention.
If you have come to the conclusion that your story has a unique angle, then keep in mind the following.
Think of an attention grabbing headline.
Focus on what is exceptional about your story. Ideally, it must be impactful and innovative.
If it is a product launch – how will it help consumers in a novel way?
Make it fewer than 10 words.
Avoid hyperbole and exaggeration.
Avoid brand names but let the journalist get a clear idea of how the story will unfold.
Capture journalist attention in the first paragraph / line of your release.
Journalists may open your mail, but if the first sentence is not compelling enough, they may not read further. Get your top line or key angle of your story straightaway at the beginning of the narrative. And mind you, journalists keenly look for the 5 W\'s (Who, What, Why, Where, and When) in the opening lines itself.
Be concise.
Ideally, your press release should fit in an A4 page – restrict the narrative to 300-400 words.
Use quotes.
Use quotes from an industry captain or an influencer. It should provide insights, not information.
Finally – be realistic in your expectations. Editors are inundated with press releases, so it may take a few attempts before you get there.
Resource Box
Max Newswire is a well-known press release and distribution service with high-class infrastructure setup that promises clients fast and effective reach for their news. This company offers innovative and market leading solutions powered by the best brains in their respective fields.
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