When your organization has some big news to share, a press release is one of the best ways to announce it to the world. However, even though a press release is meant to shine a light on your company’s achievements, taking this approach won’t get you very far.
From editors and reporters to investors and clients, everyone reading your press release wants to know why they should care about your news. Why should journalists cover it? Why should potential customers be interested in your company, products, or services?
If your press release isn’t well-written, it won’t get any attention. In some of the worst cases, it could affect your reputation, which is a major contributor to sales and, therefore, profit. As a matter of fact, according to the World Economic Forum, over 25 percent of a company’s market value can be directly related to its reputation.
So how can you make sure that your release benefits, rather than harms, your business?
Here are four tips to help you write a press release that effectively tells your story while piquing the interest of readers and building your brand.
Get to the Point, Fast
The opening paragraph of your press release is where you could win or lose readers. Will they read your full release or just gloss over it?
Your lede sentence should get to the meat and potatoes of your announcement in an impactful way. State your news, why it’s important, and why people should care about it. Many press releases make the mistake of including a brief company description in the lede sentence. For example:
COMPANY NAME, a leading provider of SERVICE, is proud to announce [NEWS]…..
This type of lede sentence is pretty dull and will likely prevent readers from going through the rest of your press release. To create a better opening, lead with one of these examples:
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A strong statement about your news: COMPANY NAME received $XXX in funding to expand its existing IoT solution aimed at solving a long-standing problem in the manufacturing industry.
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A significant data point: With the number of connected devices forecasted to reach over 75 billion by 2025, COMPANY NAME aims to help businesses enhance safety and security through real-time monitoring.
Now that you have your lede in place, the rest of the first paragraph in your press release should build on the opener. Include all the essential details that make your story newsworthy. For instance, if you’re announcing a partnership with another organization, provide information surrounding the goal for the partnership and the expected outcome of it.
Build Your Story
The following paragraphs after your opener should build upon the story of your announcement. The more compelling your story is, the more likely it is to receive coverage.
Use statistics or third-party research data to amplify important points. Explain how your news is impacting an industry or a community. Add quotes from key players, such as the company’s CEO, a board member, or an individual relevant to your story. For example, this could be a client who had the opportunity to use a product you’re launching and who can offer valuable insights.
This is your opportunity to create the narrative around your news. So be sure to utilize clear and captivating information that supports your story.
Be Concise
According to a study by Greentarget, 68 percent of journalists spend less than a minute reading press releases. One in three looks at releases for less than five minutes. And 53 percent said they would find it helpful for information to be presented in a bullet point format, citing press releases issued by police departments as an example of easy-to-read content.
You have a short window to get your news across, so be impeccable with your writing. Get rid of the fluff. Focus on the facts and narrative.
As a general rule, you should keep press releases to one or two pages. This will force you to condense the most salient information into a more readable document.
Don’t Be Complicated
Overly technical language can be a death sentence for a press release. In fields like IoT and high-tech, this isn’t always easy to do. But it’s absolutely necessary to make sure your press releases are easy to comprehend for the masses.
Even journalists focused on complex beats call for this because their focus is on making consumable content for their audiences.
If your release does require the use of technical verbiage to detail your story, you can opt for bullet points. This helps to highlight complicated but critical information without having to bury it in a paragraph that could get overlooked.
There are a ton of press release templates online that you could use to craft your own announcements. But writing a high-level press release that can help your company gain coverage in the media and amongst influencers takes a lot more than simply filling in blocks of text in a template.
These tips can help you write winning press releases, but if you’re seeking media coordination and distribution as well to amplify it, the team at IoT Marketing has you covered! Contact us today to learn more about our PR services.