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Your boss or your client has news about the company and wants it in front of the editors of the industry trade magazines. A press release is the logical answer, but press release writing may not be your thing. Here are the practices we follow to write for readers and to increase the odds that a release gets published.
Write for the editor first. Their readers come next.
Editors are busy people who skim, and they may miss the important detail in your announcement. The 3-30-3 rule works alongside the traditional inverted pyramid (see Write Better Press Releases Using the Inverted Pyramid): you have three seconds to draw a reader in. If you earn their interest in those three seconds, they will give you 30 more to read further. If the message is relevant and interesting, they will spend three more minutes with it.
The headline occupies the first three seconds. The opening paragraph takes the next 30. The remaining three minutes are your chance to provide supporting detail. If an editor gives you three minutes, do not hand them a release that takes 15 to read.
Announcing that a product exists is not enough. Give editors a hook by making the topic timely or relevant. One of the best ways is to tie your announcement to something already generating news in the industry, such as electrification, telematics, the labor shortage or a change in emissions rules. Editors are always hunting for a new angle on a story their readers already care about.
Never forget the "so what" of the release. Answer who, what, when, where and why in the first paragraphs so an editor can answer their own initial questions by the time they finish reading.
Think like an editor. Keep the writing concise and a little punchy, with a strong lead sentence. A release is a teaser meant to get an editor interested, not a spec sheet. Say what you need to say in 400 to 500 words and give the editor a way to reach you for more.
Include a quote from a company expert to add credibility. Position at least one person as the authority on the news, whether that is the CEO, a product manager, a dealer or a marketing representative. That person needs the authority to speak on the topic and needs to be reachable for follow-up questions or interviews.
Make it easy for editors to copy and paste your content into their format. Eliminate typos before the release goes out and follow AP style, which is the language editors write in. It is the best way to convince them, in their own terms, that your news is worth their time.
Optimize the release to be found by search engines and shared on social channels. Use the keywords your customers search for, link them to related content and remember that people, not algorithms, are the ones reading. Use keywords where they make sense in context and nowhere else.
A high-resolution photo or illustration adds credibility to any announcement. Editors are far more likely to publish a news item with a photo than one without. If the file is too large to email, post it where editors can download it and say so at the end of the release.