How to Develop and Leverage an Effective Press Release

A press release, when leveraged properly, can be a highly effective marketing tool for businesses of all sizes. Prior to the Internet, a press release was mailed out to editors and reporters at leading magazines, newspapers and broadcast stations, followed up by an aggressive PR person trying to gain coverage for some new product, service or event. Beyond this attempt to gain free publicity, a press release was not terribly effective at promoting a business or its brand.

Today, however, with the power and ubiquity of the Internet, a press release opens up a whole new world of branding/marketing opportunities to businesses of all sizes. Furthermore, if you know how to appropriately craft one yourself, it costs you nothing. In addition to the potential print and broadcast news value, a press release today (whether newsworthy or not) will likely wind up on national and international news distribution services sharing your news with media, investors, potential customers and the like, the world over. All you need to do is develop an effective press release and post it online at a number of free press release distribution sites (listed later).

Just this May, I entered into a partnership with a New Jersey-based Public Relations firm and promoted the news through such a press release. To our surprise, with the power of the free online news services, our press release wound up on CNBC online, Investor’s Business Daily online, Forbes.com and a slew of other lesser-known news sites. Wow! Isn’t that something? With the following simple headline, my partner and I were able to get tremendous visibility for our two firms: “FastLane (www.fast-lane.net) and Winning Message (www.winningmessage.com) Form Alliance to Offer Strategic Messaging and Positioning Services”. Combined, these leading news sources I mentioned above that covered this story account for tens of thousands of online visitors. This means that the names of our two companies were at the very least seen by thousands of eyeballs. Not too bad, huh?

Here’s how to develop an effective press release:

Based on the hundreds of press releases I have developed over my 13 year PR career, here is my winning formula for developing these marketing vehicles…

A. Intro paragraph – starts with a short statement describing the news itself followed by a statement describing, quantifying or qualifying the value of the news
Examples (these are not actual headlines and are for demonstration purposes only):
–WidgetMaker Inc. today announced the world’s first water-based widget that helps manufacturers increase production time by as much as 10 percent. WidgetMaker’s new Widget-H20 speeds the assembly-line process by…
–Jackson Candy company announced today it has acquired Gail’s Gumballs for $750M creating the world’s only full-service wholesale gumball distributor. The combined organization now has a national network of distributors that are able to service every city in the country…
–ABC Real Estate just sold its 750th house this month, marking the record in Boise Idaho for the most number of homes sold. ABC believes this record validates its ability to successfully sell anyone’s home in 30 days or less. The company’s success lies in its innovative approach to home staging and listing, whereby ABC…

B. Second paragraph – Elaborate on the value specified in statement two of the intro paragraph. Further describe the uniqueness of the event, service, product, etc. Be succinct but complete – giving the reader enough information to determine whether or not to seek additional information from the company or companies listed.

C. Quote – Include a quote or two from a leading executive with the firm or firms listed in the introductory paragraph. The quote should add some additional value to the story by offering another perspective on the news, talking further about the use or application of the new product or service, etc.

D. Final paragraph – List any pertinent pricing, distribution or contact information that will enable the reader to take further action if interested. This includes stores where the product or service can be purchased, stock symbols of the newly formed company, website links, etc. Phone numbers and email addresses should be listed separately at the top or bottom of the press release under a “contact” section.

E. About the company – Provide a paragraph describing each company featured in the press release and expounding upon its full set of products or services, industries served, etc.

You may have heard somewhere that a press release needs to be longer than this, but let me tell you that it simply won’t be read by anyone if it is any longer. Frankly, most readers won’t even get beyond your intro paragraph. That is why it is so imperative to include the real juicy news in those opening statements.

Once you have developed your press release and had it checked for clarity and grammar by a friend or colleague, post it for free at one or more of the following sites (just a sampling) to gain wide-spread visibility to clients, prospects, investors and more:

–PR.com
–free-press-release.com
–24-7pressrelease.com
–prlog.org
–prfree.com

By Kevin B. Levi
www.winningmessage.com
www.muckrakeronline.com