Despite the rise of social networks, the press release remains the favorite tool of journalists according to a study carried out by Cision, leader in PR and influence software. According to this study conducted among French journalists between March 1 and April 15, 2016, the best way to contact journalists and the one they prefer remains the press release, that is to say the traditional method. Because in Press Relations, it is the “relational” that predominates, the objective being to create a relationship of quality and trust between the source of information and the journalist. Email remains their favorite means of communication (67%), followed by telephone (40%) and face to face (17%).
You have an announcement to make and to make it known you plan to write a press release? Here are the 5 easy steps to follow to make a successful press release and increase your visibility.
Identify a subject and an objective
Before you dive into writing your press release, you should ask yourself 3 questions
What is your objective ? : is it to reassure your market? to retain? win new customers? gain credibility and notoriety?
Once your objective has been identified, what news do you want to highlight ? : is this a product or service launch? a new partnership? a position in response to current events?
What types of media do you want to target? the mainstream press? the specialized press? etc…
Find an angle that will interest the journalist
Based on these first 3 questions, you begin to identify a topic that seems relevant to you. Now ask yourself this question, “If I were the reader of these media, would this subject interest me? “What will interest the journalist and therefore his reader? Because the journalist writes for his reader and not because you sent him a press release. Have you validated the interest? So you have identified a relevant topic.
On this subject, you cannot say everything in one page, you will have to find an angle to treat it. A subject can be treated from different angles, different ways starting from an aspect, a detail, a novelty, an atmosphere. Like journalists who are constrained by time or space when talking about a subject and not being able to say everything, they choose an angle to deal with their article.
You have found your angle, keep in mind that it will be your common thread for writing the press release, then go quietly to step 3.
Respect the structure of the press release
In order not to pass for an amateur, you must respect a few codes when writing your press release. You have little time to catch the eye of the journalist, so make it easier for him to read and be concise (about 1 page).
are (first name, last name, function, telephone, email) so that journalists can easily access your contact details to contact you quickly.
Work on the content of the press release
You have the typical structure of a press release. Here are now the 10 tips to follow for writing
Tip n°10 : Avoid superlative words: “revolutionary”, “incredible”, “fabulous”, “unique”,…. Your goal is to arouse their interest and the desire to write about your news and not to buy your product or service!
Target well to send information to the right journalists
You spent time writing, you had it proofread by several people who also validated. Now all that remains is to send your CP to journalists. You will have to send it to a list of journalists and influencers who are interested in your themes, otherwise you will throw a bottle overboard and make a flop!
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