How to Write Powerfully

Effective Press Releases

for Traffic, Credibility and
Influence
eleases have any value these days? They’ve been touted by many as the ultimate ba
ategy of all time, while others claim they’re completely useless. The truth is they are o
erful tools for your marketing arsenal, when done properly.

t a press release can get picked up and shared thousands of times, bring in hundreds
of new subscribers, and even get you landed on TV. That is true of most any viral con
shouldn’t be your expectation though.

y putting out great press releases will yield you great benefits however. There are bill
nt each year on PR. It’s not that difficult to get picked up by several hundred sites - ev
- and reach thousands of new prospects.

SEO benefits from the hundreds/thousands of backlinks too, even those that are ‘nof
se can potentially get picked up by a huge site with both strong “seo juice” and/or mas

nefit is you can easily repurpose press release content into videos for YouTube.

ses are not complicated to write - anymore. In the old days, they did have to follow a
ucture, and there wasn’t an easily accessible way for just anyone to distribute their ow
e web has changed everything.

 learn here in this guide is how to write press releases that have the best chances of
sults.

Old Way” of Press Releases Fails:

all about the company (instead of reader-focused), and written in a boring corporate s
ull of jargon that no one outside the industry understands.
ve no specific audience in mind they’re speaking to. It’s generic.

press release tells a story, while reporting news, and/or helps a cause. If you do a go
ry, the media will find out and then they’ll write about you. People want authenticity. T
te. To be talked to, not talked at. Effective PR is a perfect blend of education and ente
e to an event.

y “rule” is that you’ll need to always include the: Who, What, Why, and Where. Otherw
s of journalism.

e newsworthy event your story is about?

olved?
he story happening or coming from?
this event happen or when will it happen?

mportant?

getting a press release not only distributed but shared virally, is to use something cal
nt. In today’s world, people have very short attention spans and are accustomed to be
24/7. The best way to get and keep attention is through entertainment.

t way to be entertaining is simply to tell a story. This can sound difficult if you believe
siness or product. However, as an Online Marketing Classroom member, you have us
posal such as the Viral Search Tool. You can use it as inspiration, by seeing what stor
most traction in your niche.

sona

marketing creatives, you want to start with knowing your buyer persona. The more yo
fectively you can speak to them. Are you talking to a parent or their late-teen child? A
ollege student?

u can recognize why you would want to tailor your message to each of these groups
, rather than try to speak to them all the same way. They’ll each have different challen
desires. The same product may be able to solve the needs of every group, but knowi
elps you determine which to focus on primarily.

ectric toothbrush for example. Although everyone likely wants a comfortable grip hand
smile, it’s likely the senior citizen will care most about the comfort and ease of use, w
dent cares more about teeth-whitening.

know what to write a press release about, know that you can turn just about anything
y event. Below is a list of the standard opportunities that are often used, coming from
ur magazine. To really stand out though, look for ways to turn ordinary events into sto
t, unique example from The Crescent Hotel and Spa.

 an extensive list of press release starters from Entrepreneur magazine:

acquisition

 ct line release
a company
g an anniversary
an award
an appointment
g in a pansophic event
a unique strategy approach
g a partnership
he company or product name
cognition of the company, product or executives by a publication
tatement of position regarding a local, regional or national issue
a website
g free information available
ng your business model
a workshop or seminar
g a major milestone
significant new customer

source to use is Native Advertising. These are the crazy/wacky ads you see all over th
, usually at the bottom or side of pages. Billions of dollars are spent on Native Ads pe
written in story or news style, which makes them great inspiration for coming up with o

th A Nonprofit

are almost always needing assistance. Lending them a hand or offering support in an
it’s good for your PR in addition to helping the organization.

ng Current Events

g is one of the easiest and most effective ways to create a press release that will get
his is where you basically piggyback off of a current event that is getting a lot of atten
mehow.

with this though… you need to consider the big picture. American Apparel is an exam
hat did this horribly wrong… running a sale to Hurricane Katrina victims. Unsurprisingl
ative backlash for it. Duracell on the other hand, tapped into the same news more eff
massively from it.

rts

a list of any words or phrases that you could even potentially tie into your product in s
p Google Alerts for all of them and pay attention to what the hottest trending news top
pot opportunities for newsjacking. Keep on top of the hot trending news that don’t fit t

Your Customers are Already Looking

ook Audience Insights to see what news publications and bloggers your audience are
you know where to direct your focus.

r Objective Before Writing

our objective ahead of time helps you craft a press release that naturally leads reader
action. For example, are you looking to get readers to download a free resource? To

n a particular product? To subscribe to your YouTube channel? Start with the end in m
atural transition as you turn the close of the press release into a call to action to reade

ease Structure

ne

marketing content, the headline is the most important. Write your headline as if it were
ront page of a very popular newspaper, because it might end up there! Close your ey
ur press release headline on the front page to determine if it sounds like a headline yo
esn’t, keep trying different variations until it does.

idea to spend an hour or so reading and even writing down titles from the hottest mag
grocery store aisles and headlines in the nation’s most popular newspapers. This will
structure and concepts that produce an eye-catching headline. Then when you go to
nes, they will ‘automatically’ be better. Also refer to our training guide titled “How to W
r That Converts” for more in-depth training on headline writing.

Common Question

dustry, there is often a handful of questions nearly everyone wants the answer to, and
been “answered” before, the answers have never really given any true closure and a

 e in the anti-aging market, people want to know, what is the magic elixir that causes y
.

een answered hundreds of times but since nothing has truly been able to achieve it in
ay, people are still seeking and therefore will be drawn to reading about and trying eve
omes out. It’s the same with weight loss, making money online and so on. People will
the “better” answer. The faster one. The easier one. The “best” one.

ort and Sweet

mes to news stories, the shorter the headline the better. Long headlines simply won’t
hese for example:

Finds Cat Ownership Lowers Blood Pressure

d Airlines Wants Your Dinner for Jet Fuel

se include facts just vague enough to gain curiosity. They naturally lead into the story
rder to explain the headline.

the press release fulfills the promise of the headline. Don’t use click bait headlines th
ith something that sounds sensational, and then doens’t deliver on the exciting prom

ture With Words

ptive words in the headline and throughout the press release that create a visual pictu
n of readers and gets them emotionally connected. Here are some example words:

ok engages curiosity and makes the reader feel desperate to know more. We’ve all se
re we just have to know more and it’s almost impossible to stop yourself from tuning

t results, the story you’re telling and the hook that draws people in needs to be ‘bette
eds to stand out, and not look like something people have seen over and over again.
hould go to crafting this hook and writing the headline.

and Quotes

te is commonly used at the beginning of a speech to capture attention. It’s a quick sto
ple laugh and/or instantly establishes the primary point of the story/speech/etc. A quo
ted leader in the industry also does well for grabbing and keeping the reader’s attenti
pull them into the rest of it.

 cking Statistic/Fact

owerful technique. The bigger the shock factor, the better. Or ignite curiosity with a sta
ng or odd enough to stop people in their tracks and get them to pay attention and wan

Key Points

t the entire press release, keep these key points in mind for the best results:

ell

otential customers what your product does, tell them how you solve problems for the p
any serves. Education marketing works much better than a sales pitch. Leave the call
. Focus the bulk of the content after the hook on educating in some way. This can still
y. Again, this is infotainment. Educational, entertaining marketing.

on and Industry Speak

know who will pick up and run your story, so you want to write messages with a wider
those who already understand the industry. Avoid using any sort of words or acronym
ry-insiders know.

iqueness

ss release really unique, and effectively demonstrating why your company is different
re’s a good test to know for sure… swap out the name of your product/service and co
competitor and if the press release still makes sense… that’s not good.

ers

isual elements in your release, the better. Charts, graphs, infographics, photos, and v
richness of the story, helping to capture and keep your audience’s attention. Studies s
ontaining an image are 7 times more likely to get picked up, and if the press release h
s more likely to be picked up.

is searchable long after it’s published. People can still be finding your content years a

shed. That’s why keyword optimization is so crucial. You can follow the same keyword
you’d do for your website content and other SEO efforts. Do your best to get as man
rd phrases in there as possible, as it gives you more chances to get your press releas
diate and future searches.

ng

nly as great as the ending… the greatest stories can suddenly turn into the worst whe
ad.

ain point of the story into reader’s minds with a strong final closing statement. Whatev
ou’re looking to make with the news story, let this be the chance to emphasize it and g
ture view once again.

Action

don’t forget the call to action! Here, you direct the reader to take the next step, whate
may be to visit your website to download a free resource, subscribe to your YouTube
uct page, and so on. This is essentially your ‘boilerplate’, which is the area where you
your company.

n Channels

me to get your press release out there! There are a few ways to go about it, each with
s and cons:

bution

he biggest positive of this is that it doesn’t cost anything… but a well done press relea
investment. Free can often end up costing you more in the long run as you miss out
.

e cons are:

le to no customer service helping you along the way.

s typically only published on the free PR publisher’s own website or their partner sites
ans not showing up on any major news networks. Some services do offer additional d

ually no monitoring showing you where your release has been republished.

typically have RSS feeds with high profile journalists subscribed.

ally limited to one image, if you are able to add images at all.

se

trary, with a paid release:

who subscribed to the service’s RSS feeds will receive your story once it goes live.

services have a team of customer service staff who assist clients every step of the w

release is published on industry-specific and/or geo-targeted locations, ensuring it re

t audience.

trong possibility that you get mentions or coverage on large, high-traffic networks.

allow you to add images, videos and sometimes even audios.

monitor the results on your campaign and provide regular reports, giving you detailed
how your press release is performing.

services have a team of customer support available to help every step of the way.

s been considered one of the top paid services for a long time, and continues to perfo

ith Journalists for Better Exposure Opportunities

p journalists in your industry, follow them on Twitter and comment on their posts. Rea
youtube channels and comment/interact with them. Join their email newsletter and s
when appropriate. This gets you on their radar and more prone to opening and respo
suggestion from you.

acting any reporter, at the very least, make sure you know their name. Nothing will ge
ter than addressing the message .. to whom it may concern!

Press Release Kit on Your Website

e of a press kit is to make it easy for journalists, bloggers and so on to write about yo
Your electronic press kit, or EBK, will be most effective by adding as much as you can

Story / About Us: Make sure this includes the 5 Ws mentioned earlier than the media
where, when, why, and how

Bios: Even better if any members of the company have been or are open to being inte

ress Releases: Best to continuously update these so they’re never more than six mon
ecent, the better.

s on Product/Service: This makes it easy for the reporter to include accurate details w
o searching around the website. Include details on what differentiates your products o
mpetition. This can often spark new ideas for the journalist, making it more likely they
use your company for their story.

es: Different than testimonials but similar, a case study is less of a marketing angle a
sed. It simply shows the before and after with little to no emphasis on self-promotion.
s news stories promote the company discussed in an indirect way, and journalists are
anything that sounds like an advertisement.

ghlight any awards or achievements you or your company has recently won. Make su
far in the past as that gives the impression your company hasn’t won anything recen
ckfire.

r Results

a backlink count of your website prior to the news release. Check this again two week

 h after the release. Also track your average daily traffic for the 30 days prior to sendin
se. Run weekly traffic reports to see how it’s influenced by your short term and long te
using a paid press release service, they’ll also provide you with reports of key metrics

Mortem

ng each press release, do a post-mortem and ask yourself:

ed well with this release?

work well?
earn?
do better next time?

gned press release marketing strategy can be a powerhouse tool in your lead genera
d bring in loads of warm traffic predisposed to purchasing from your company. Not on
m the hundreds or thousands of backlinks to your website, but also the immediate and
ell as gained credibility and influence of being published and featured across many lo
en featured on a high-profile website/magazine/television network. We definitely reco
a regular part of your marketing schedule.