Promote yourself, your website, services, and products with
fine-crafted press releases. Free publicity drives traffic to
your website and increases page rank. If you make your press
release interesting, you may even get the attention of a major
newspaper or radio show producer.
A press release, not an advertisement or article, reads like a
newspaper story written in journalistic style. Choose an
interesting angle. Connect to a newsworthy event, current event,
or popular social issue.
Effective Press Release Outline
1. Headline Captures Attention (Title Case, not CAPS) Spend time
creating your headline. You must make an instant impression with
your keywords and benefit to your audience.
2. Brief description to target market. Make it NEWSWORTHY and
tell reader WHY (benefit) to read on.
3. Body: Interesting Details * Include the five journalistic
contents: who, what, where, when, why, how. * Write short,
concise sentences and paragraphs. Focus on what makes you
different from everyone else. * Avoid adjectives, passive verbs
(is, are), vague pronouns (it, she, he, they), redundancy,
fluff, embellishments, exaggerations, jargon, hype, "too good to
be true" statements, and excessive use of exclamation points!!!
If your true story sounds unbelievable, tone it down a bit for
credibility. * Proofread. Proofread again. If you don't have a
PhD in grammar, hire an editor.
Tell a story that shows how you helped someone with a problem.
Reinforce your service or product's benefits to the reader. Give
examples and testimonials or endorsements. Ask for permission
before you use another person's words or write about them.
4. End with a short description about your company, products, or
service and a short history. End with a strong call to action.
Tell the reader to visit your website for a free report or
ebook. Bragging about your qualifications won't persuade the
reader to click. Create an enticement with a powerful benefit to
your target market.
5. Add your contact information. Protect yourself from spam;
don't provide your email address.
Press releases provide a low-cost method to multiply your
visibility, add credibility to your business, and give your
online presence a dramatic boost through greater exposure.
Copyright 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher
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