Press releases aren’t going to get your name in the press unless they get off to a good start. And that means writing them without ego.
It seems counterintuitive to say that a press release isn’t about your business but it isn’t. Not really.
A press release is about telling a story that is interesting to the readers of the journalist you are pitching to.
The fact that your company is involved in that story, is a billy bonus.
Which means your release needs to get off to the right start.
Get to the story
Journalists are busy. They get a lot of press releases. They want to know what the story is as quickly as possible.
They don’t want to wade through long descriptions of your business and mostly unqualified marketing rhetoric about how important you are.
That’s background information, it’s the actual story which is important to the journalist so they can decide whether it is of interest to their readers and therefore worth pursuing.
Which means your first line needs to cut to the chase. It needs to say the most important bit. The juiciest piece of the story.
No room for scene-setting
There is no room for slow-burn introductions and scene-setting.
If you were running into the pub to tell your friends about this story, what is the first thing you would say?
I’m guessing it wouldn’t be ‘The UK’s leading provider of window boxes has…’
So don’t waste valuable words (and time) talking about stuff that gets in the way of what the story at the beginning of your release.
Jump straight in.
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