{"id":41809,"date":"2020-08-18T10:00:35","date_gmt":"2020-08-18T17:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/resources\/press-release-best-practices\/"},"modified":"2024-08-13T13:48:38","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T20:48:38","slug":"press-release-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clearvoice.com\/resources\/press-release-best-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"PR Pitch Best Practices: How to Write, Target, and Clean up Your List"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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I have been on the receiving end of thousands of PR pitches in my career, and I\u2019ve also sent a few. There are definitely good and not-great tactics for writing press releases, but there are also good and not-so-good ways of sending them. How you target media, clean up a list, and personalize your email pitch is of equal or more importance to what\u2019s in the press release.<\/p>\n

Since PR is blurring lines with content marketing and social media, the field is in an interesting state of flux. Compared to journalism it\u2019s clicking along \u2014 but it\u2019s also an industry where to succeed<\/a> you need to shift between many roles. So, if you\u2019ve landed here because your background is the publishing world or social media management, and you\u2019ve been tasked with PR outreach for a client and are trying to get it right \u2014 good on you for doing your research. That, in itself, is a crucial, often overlooked part of PR.<\/p>\n

Here are other tips to help you get the media’s attention and not alienate them.<\/p>\n

Press release best practices: Top 7 do’s<\/h2>\n

\"Top<\/p>\n

1. Do determine newsworthiness.<\/h3>\n

What about your information makes it current, relevant, and interesting<\/a> enough to be published in an outlet? Think it through before you write. Don\u2019t just default to \u201cbecause my VP asked for it.\u201d Even if that’s true, it won\u2019t convince anyone who doesn\u2019t work for your VP. The information has to be useful to them.<\/p>\n

2. Do answer the 5 W’s (who, what, where, when, why).<\/h3>\n

Do this even more efficiently and succinctly than a lifestyle journalist would. Whatever the most important piece of news is, get it out there immediately. If there are other interesting facts to support a larger story, put them in the first half of the page.<\/p>\n

3. Do fact-check everything you put in a press release. You are playing with fire if you don\u2019t.<\/h3>\n

The other day I got one announcing the \u201cfirst-ever vegan potato chip brand\u201d and it absolutely ruined the entire brand for me. Do you not know what potatoes are? <\/em>I wondered\u2026 and responded. Turns out the brand had an inspirational entrepreneur founder, a great packaging gimmick, and an enormous retail partnership to announce. But all I remember is \u201cvegan potatoes.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Do go light on \u2060\u2014 or remove all \u2060\u2014 cutesy slang.<\/h3>\n

Any reference to girl bosses, mompreneurs, sipping the tea, \u201con fleek\u201d or even \u201ccontent is king\u201d immediately gives your press release a limited shelf-life and audience.<\/p>\n

5. Do pack your press release with relevant keywords.<\/h3>\n

A lot of journalists hang onto them and run inbox searches much later when they\u2019re working on stories and need to include an additional company or quote at the last minute. Make it easy for them to retrieve your presser.<\/p>\n

6. Do include at least one quote from someone integral to the press release.<\/h3>\n

Two quotes from two people is better, especially if one of them is a credible industry expert not in the company. That\u2019s enough for many journalists to build a news post out of, and in this era of rushing to feed the content beast, many of the will.<\/p>\n

7. Do keep it short \u2060\u2014 two-thirds of a page is good.<\/h3>\n

Because the bottom third goes to the boilerplate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In most cases, the boilerplate that goes at the bottom of a press release is already written and proofed, and you shouldn\u2019t have to do anything with it. At most, you\u2019ll have to make a couple of tweaks if it hasn\u2019t been updated. This condensed version of an About Us section<\/a> includes key information about the company\u2019s background, mission and milestones. Contact info for more information on the release typically goes in the same area.<\/p>\n

Tips for pitching your press release<\/h2>\n

Even PR people who say \u201cthe press release is dead\u201d continue to send out press releases, just in a slightly different format. Maybe they\u2019ll put their presser in the body of an email instead of an attached document. Maybe they\u2019ll attempt to write it like an article. Maybe they\u2019ll cleverly attempt to sneak their client\u2019s news into a trend pitch. If they\u2019re still including the hook and the facts and the quotes, and they still want media to pick it up, then it’s basically a press release.<\/p>\n

The targeted intro letter<\/h3>\n

Short, personalized and often offering \u201cjust the facts\u201d in a truncated casual style, the intro letter can sell a pitch as well as a press release. Usually, the intro letter is what hooks the reader, while the press release is where they go for more information.<\/p>\n

What can you offer (or shouldn’t)?<\/h3>\n