Is Your Press Release Worth Reading?

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We’re often asked how we get such great coverage for our clients, is it all about who we know, or is it simply down to our mad PR skills?  Although we’re not going to tell you all of our secrets we’re happy to share some of our knowledge, especially when it comes to the dreaded press release.

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Top Tips for your press release

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1)      Press releases are a great way to get information about a person, product or brand in front of relevant media.  The key word here is ‘relevant’ – the quickest way to annoy a journalist is to send them a press release which has absolutely nothing to do with their beat.

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2)      Along with relevance your press release needs to be newsworthy, it can’t simply be an advertisement for a new product or for your company unless you’re announcing a brand new company or a brand new product.

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3)      Think about news hooks – how can you tie your announcement into the news agenda.  For example, if you’re keen to get some publicity for one of your products during Wimbledon, talk about how spectators and tennis players alike would love your product!

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4)      Alternatively, wait until a specific day to send out your press release so it hooks in with the news.  If you’re launching a new seafood menu, launch it on National Seafood Day and send the press release out a few days beforehand.

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5)      Keep your press releases short and sweet, less that two A4 pages is ideal.  Include key information, if a journalist is interested they’ll come back to you for more info if needed.

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6)      Photography helps, A LOT.  Good quality photography is key to securing coverage, especially when talking about products.

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7)      Finally – check, double check and then triple check your press release before sending it out.  You will not be taken seriously if theres loads of speling mistakes and grammatical errors.

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These are just a few insider tips to get you started, a lot of PR comes down to timing and working with the media to create great, newsworthy and relevant stories which (hopefully) involve our clients.  There’s no distinct formula that we can pass on, we constantly have to think outside the box and get creative with our pitches to the media, our clients rely on us to get them seen by the right audiences.