June 2nd, 2010 | Samantha Montano, Customer Relations

When creating a truly effective press release you need to make sure it has the same format of a press release that you would purchase.  A press release is an informative announcement of newsworthy content regarding your company/product.  You can pay a company to write and submit your press releases or you can do it yourself.  Both ways are extremely effective but like anything, when done yourself it is always perfect and in this case a little more effective.  When doing a press release yourself it is very important to follow the general guidelines for the press release regarding format, as mentioned before.

Here is a breakdown you can use as a template to create your own effective press releases:

  1. HEADLINE: There should be a headline that announces your news in the title and should stay under 80 characters.  The headline is like your title so every word should start with a capital letter.
  2. SUMMARY PARAGRAPH: This should be followed by a summary paragraph which should elaborate the news you mentioned in your headline in just a few sentences.
  3. PRESS RELEASE BODY: Make sure to start the body with your location by City and then State and also the date the release will be submitted.  Example:    Huntington Beach, California, June 2nd, 2010 – BODY CONT.  Now the lead sentence that is attached to the location and date contains the most important information and should always be less then 25 words.  This is where you need to grab the attention of your reader by stating the news about your company or product you have to announce.  Write each section as if the other won’t be read with out sounding to redundant or using the same exact phrases.
  4. The paragraphs in a news release are always kept short at about 3 to 4 lines per paragraph.  Then the who, what, when, where, why and how questions should be answered in the first few paragraphs as well.  You can use quotes or news facts from other sources about your press release but keep in mind that the press release is not an actual article or a re print of any kind so the content must be very unique unless quoting another source.
  5. A press release should be around 500 to 650 word count and should never exceed 800 words.  Always make sure to check the spelling and grammar of the press release prior to submission.  This is so important because press releases are viewed as authority because they are supposed to be based off of facts regarding the news for your company or product.  If the grammar and spelling are lousy then none of the search engines will give the writer or the company any authority over the supposed “news worthy” information.
  6. You should add more content to the following paragraphs by using quotes from yourself, your staff, customers or even specialists in your field, regarding your company or your product.  Now you need to detail the news you have been mentioning in the summary, headlines and first paragraph of your press release.  This is a good time to bring up anything that is unique or confusing about your company by going into detail to clarify this important content.
  7. Never address your target audience directly in a press release as well as keeping a neutral and objective tone.  NEVER EVER USE THE FOLLOWING TERMS: “I”, “We” or “You” or your press release will be seen as an advertisement and not a news release.
  8. Never include your e-mail address in the body of your press release because it will be protected by spambots who will overwrite it.
  9. Always end the press release with an about the company paragraph and then go into a line that says something like, “For more information on this (great new company product or service) you can contact (owner or customer service) or visit (your website URL).
  10. Last you need to include your companies contact information regarding the owners name, company name, physical address, e-mail address, phone number and the link to you website.

A press release can be written about anything that you feel is a news worthy announcement for your company.  It can be written as an announcement about a new product or service or even about a merge or strategic partnership.  They can also be written about receiving awards or completing any special training required in your field.  Finally they can also be written about publishing of any books, short stories or news articles as well as the launch of a new website, a revised website or any new software you might have to offer.  Writing a high quality press release can be very easy when you follow these simple guidelines.  By submitting a high quality news release you will see how highly effective they rank with the search engines and how they can really increase your SEO.