Over coffee with a journalist friend, I was told that he receives a minimum of 300 emails a day from publicists. He scans the subject lines and only opens the few that grab his attention or are relevant to a story he is working on. The remaining go directly into the trash.
Many publicists make the mistake of sending out a press release with a mediocre title and very lengthy copy. When they don’t get the desired response, they follow-up with the same generic follow-up message instead of modifying their approach.
As a journalist’s inbox is already flooded with hundreds of press releases, aggressively following up on a release that didn’t grab their attention initially is not the most effective tactic. Below are seven vital tips to making your release standout upon receipt.
- Find your angle.
Media outlets want to be first to cover news when it breaks. So, lend them a helping hand in clearly defining the newsworthy angle of your product launch, event, partnership or award win. Any research sharing that includes unique data and original insights is always interesting. If your release is focused on crisis management, provide a point-of-view or insight that only your brand could provide.
A few questions to ask yourself dependent on the type of release you are working on:
· Impact: How is your story impacting your audience, industry or community?
· Progress: Are you effectively highlighting progress made towards a certain goal?
· Conflict: Is your press release offering a unique perspective or another side to a conflict?
· Emotion: Does your release evoke an emotional response for readers?
When constructing your angle, remember the 5 W’s: Who is this story about? What are you announcing? Where is it going on? When will it occur? Why is it important? Yes, it’s an old school journalism best practice, but it’ll make sure your release is informative.
Start by following this template:
[WHO: COMPANY] today announced it will [WHAT] at [WHERE] on [WHEN]. The [EVENT/ANNOUNCEMENT] will provide [BENEFIT] for [AUDIENCE].
- Grab attention with a strong headline.
A strong headline will serve as your email subject when you send out the pitch and is crucial for pulling in journalists seeking a good story. Your headline should be as engaging as it is accurate.
Attention-grabbing language only works if the headline accurately describes your press release. Writing a misleading headline can cause media to lose trust and avoid your content in the future. If possible, include numbers within your headline or subhead. Action words are also extremely impactful and create a sense of urgency so work towards using verbs and if the length allows, the right adjectives can make the title more attractive to your audience.
All copy writers are familiar with the 4 U’s of headline writing: Your headline should be unique, ultra-specific, convey a sense of urgency and/or be useful.
Ask yourself if you effectively checked off at least two of the U’s and put yourself in the shoes of the person you’re pitching. If you read only the title line of your press release, would you have an understanding of what it’s about and why its noteworthy? If not, keep working.
- Follow the inverted pyramid and get right to the point.
Like my friend who only reads subject lines, it can be assumed that most reporters and editors are extraordinarily busy people who will only read the first sentence and then scan the rest — and even that’s a generous assumption. Get the message across right away by following the inverted pyramid.
· Tier 1: Lead with the most critical information in the first paragraph including your angle or hook. This is what will get your audience interested and give a reason for a reporter or editor to care. The subsequent paragraphs provide the supporting information.
· Tier 2: This is for your secondary information, quotes, statistics and other details in descending order of importance.
· Tier 3: It’s important not to overlook additional information like a listing of times or dates associated with the news release, pricing and availability for your product, boilerplate copy and contact information.
- Include hard numbers and quotes while eliminating fluff.
Leave the artistry to the editors, writers or reporters you’re pitching to and instead pack your release with hard numbers and quotes that support the significance of your product or announcement.
· Filling up a page with a creative narrative is easy to do, especially when you’re passionate about the topic. When proofreading, edit out flowery language and work towards removing the fluff from your writing. Then focus on numbers, statistics and quotes to quantify your statements and make the release more compelling.
· Including strong quotes from someone at the company can give a human element to the release and serve as a source of information. An interested editor may ask for an interview or for exclusive quotes to include in their story knowing you have access to a spokesperson. You may choose to include that offer to top-tier editors or tease it within your follow-up email. If a follow-up is even needed!
*Pro tip: It is far easier for both parties if you write the quotes yourself and then send them to the subject you’re quoting for approval. You get to craft the message in a digestible, media-friendly form rather than reworking and editing down a complicated quote that doesn’t really hit the mark. They get to make their adjustments, personalize it and give final approval rather than starting from scratch. Win, win.
- Keep it concise – ideally one page.
Eliminate fluff, keep it concise and ideally cut it down to one page or it will go right into the trash bin. Two pages is acceptable but not preferred. By challenging yourself to limit to one page, you’ll be forced to condense your release into a more readable document — something journalists are always grateful for and more likely to respond to.
- Provide access to more information.
Knowing that you are limiting your press release to one page, include relevant links for your readers to learn more. Provide links to your company’s website, where prospective writers can learn more about your mission, accomplishments, benefits and offerings. Don’t make writers search on their own for more information — guide them as effectively as possible to your website and social media platforms to keep their interest piqued.
- Proofread.
Finally, proofread your press release — and let a few other people proofread it as well. Before disseminating a release, you should check for grammatical errors, eliminate fluff and ensure you’ve hit all your key points in a concise and clear manner. You don’t want a silly mistake to dissuade a reporter from taking you seriously.
