Monday, December 15, 2014

Mistakes To Avoid When Writing A Press Release

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Mistakes To Avoid When Writing A Press Release
A press release is a presentation of facts that are written for journalists in the hope of it getting published. It is an opportunity for businesses to reach their target audience through the media, telling world about their interesting stories. Press releases can be very effective in securing positive media coverage and boost your profile and attract new customers. There are many common mistakes people make when creating a press release. Here are 10 press release tips to avoid making them yourself.

How to Write A Press release
The title doesn't work. Your press release title is the first thing journalists will see, so ensure that it is concise, enticing, and gives a good overview of you store. Your title should be something that will encourage the journalists to keep reading. Avoid long and detailed titles; keep it punch. If you need to use puns, ensure that they are witty with as little clichés as possible.

It is written in the first person. In any news story, you will notice that everything is written in the third person, that is, unless you are talking about quotes from actual people. One good tip is to pick up any newspaper and see how stories are written; you will see that everything is in the third person voice, as though the journalist tells the reader about something else.

You do not give enough information. Do not assume that a journalist will know everything about so, so include all the facts. You can add a summary in the first paragraph of your press release template, along with the business name, address and angle of the story. While some can time to look up a company on Google, some are not, so make sure that you add all the information.

press release marketingYou forget proper punctuation. When writing a press release format, it is important that you use proper punctuation all throughout. Journalists are time and resource poor these days, and making their job easy with a ready-to-publish copy would make their job easy. With a first class copy, you also get solid reputation as someone who gives quality press releases all the time.

There is lifted copy from a newsletter or website. Copy that is specifically written for your own website or business newsletter will not work for a press release. Do not be lazy by giving something that you have already used internally. Start from scratch and write the release specifically for the e-zone, magazine or newspaper you are targeting.

Proper Press release Format
It does not make the most of quotes. After establishing an angle for your story, give one or two quotes form yourself or the person involved in the activity. Never let these quotes go to waste. These are the only things journalists can change, so make the most of them by adding in some strong key messages. Keep them upbeat, positive and to the point.

There are too many caps. One thing that really irks journalists is the use of caps to emphasize names or word throughout a press release. It looks old, sneaky and means that the journalists needs to back through the whole release and change everything to lowercase. Avoid caps as you do not need to highlight the name of your business; it would be obvious without.

It is too short. Short is not always sweet. Do not make the mistake of not giving enough content. More than anything, a journalist would want to get all the facts so ensure that you include as much information as possible. You can still stay on track and be concise but do not forget to include every little detail. If in doubt, consider the golden rule of Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.

The copy is too promotional. Once you have completed your press release, sit back and read it through. It should not be too promotional but, rather, give a good rounded overview of the production or performance. Press releases might be meant to be promotional, but they are not advertisements; they are a presentation of facts, so keep it factual. Use objective copy all the time.

There is too much over-hyped copy. A press release that is littered with exclamation marks and wild claims about your exhibition, service or event scream span, and will only end up in the spam folder of the journalist. Avoid unnecessary adjectives as this will only make your release read like and ad, which is something that you want to avoid.

Contact A Press release Distribution Company

These are just some of the common mistakes people make when creating a press release. If you want to avoid these, it is best that you contact an online marketing professional to teach you how to write a press release, and even do it for you.

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