Transcript Press release primer - Student Labor Action Coalition

Press release primer
PLEASE READ ME!!!
Use me.
What is a press release?
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A press release is pseudo-news story, written in third
person, that seeks to demonstrate to an editor or
reporter the newsworthiness of a particular person,
event, service or product.
How is a press release used?
Press releases are often sent alone, by e-mail, fax or
snail mail. They can also be part of a full press kit, or
may be accompanied by a pitch letter.
What is considered newsworthy?
Items that would be considered newsworthy include:
 Your business sponsoring a charity event.
 Implementing/developing a new product that
addresses a specific need.
 Merging or partnering with another well known
business.
 Gaining a contract with a large company.
 Results of research you've carried out.
 Awards and industry/community recognition
Press release headline
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State your most exciting news, finding or
announcement in as few words as possible. Emulate
the headlines you see in the newspaper every day.
Bad Press Release Headline:
NEW WEBSITE THAT OFFERS HERBAL WEIGHT
LOSS PROGRAMS LETS TEENS SPEAK OUT
ABOUT WEIGHT ISSUES
Good Press Release Headline:
TEENS: ULTRA-THIN MOVIE, POP STARS SET
BAD EXAMPLE
The Subhead
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Subheads are useful, yet usually overlooked by
press release writers. The press release subhead
gives you the opportunity to flesh out your angle and
further hook the reporter, without stepping on the
drama of the press release headline.
Here's a headline/subhead combo:
TEENS: ULTRA-THIN MOVIE, POP STARS SET
BAD EXAMPLE
Website Forumgoers Weigh In: Teens Don't Find
Ultra-Thin Celebs Attractive; Girls Say Negative SelfImages Reinforced by Hollywood's Super-Skinny
The lead
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It's Journalism 101 -- the lead paragraph includes the who,
what, when, where and how of the story. If the reporter were
only to read the lead of a good press release, he'd have
everything he needed to get started.
There's no room for BS, hype or sell. Just the facts.
Start off with your best shot. In the first sentence, try to give
the reporter something that will make him say either "Gee, I
never knew that" or "That's an interesting angle for a story". Or
better yet try to get him to say both things! Don't mess around
with formalities, and don't bury your angle in hype
Examples
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Bad Press Release Lead
Recently on theplace4vitamins.com, an online store dedicated to
selling the best herbal products, teenagers had the chance to say what
they thought about weight loss and whether a society that pressures
young people to be thin is a good thing or a bad thing.
Good Press Release Lead
America's teenagers are angry at Hollywood for glamorizing ultra-thin
bodies, and many girls say they feel too self-conscious about their
bodies as a result of watching TV, movies and music videos. The
findings are gleaned from more than six months of ongoing discussion
and debate at the website theplace4vitamins.com. According to
theplace4vitamins.com President John Smith, anger and resentment
toward the Hollywood ultra-thin runs deep, particularly among teenage
girls.
The rest
The balance of the press release serves to back up whatever
claims were made in the lead and headline. Pull some quotes
from the message boards. If you have permission use names.
Otherwise, simply say "a 14 year old boy said..." or "a 16 year
old Midwestern girl added..." Also, if this technique appeals to
you, be certain that a disclaimer appears on your message
boards notifying posters that all posts become your property
and copyright).
 Next, you might ask an expert for a quote:
"This demonstrates once again the need to teach young girls and
boys about how to develop a positive self-image," said Jane
Doe, author of "I Like My Body Just As It Is.”
theplace4vitamins.com has done a true service by bringing
these attitudes to the public's attention."
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Especially effective items you should
include in a press release
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Quotes from a company representative interview style is very effective.
Statistics - people love stats! Really they do!
Information relating to how, what, when,
where and why.
The boilerplate
Finally, spend a sentence or two describing your
company and what you do:
 theplace4vitamins.com was founded in 1997 to
provide consumers with a wide choice of vitamins,
supplements and herbal products. The site offers a
range of articles, research materials and message
forums for the health conscious consumer.
 This paragraph is known as the "boilerplate" -- an old
newspaper term meaning a block of standard text
that's used over and over again. It might be the text
that you might use at the bottom of all your releases.
Target your pitch
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Even if you have only one version of a press
release, you can still target your pitch to a
particular media outlet. Frame the story in a
way that makes it clear to the journalist that it
fits in with that media outlet's approach.
###
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The end . . . Or is it?
Tips
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Stay away from hype-bloated phrases like
"breakthrough," "unique,” "state-of-the-art," etc.
Always write it from a journalist's perspective. Never
use "I" or "we" unless it's in a quote.
Read lots of good newspaper writing, such as the
New York Times or the Washington Post to get a feel
for the style.
Shorter is better. If you can say it in two pages,
great. If you can say it in one page, better.
SEO – search engine optimization
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It is very important to make sure your online press release
efforts help boost your company's search engine rankings.
Effective press releases are targeted toward both search
engines and readers.
Getting your information in front of Internet users is half the
battle—the content has to keep their attention (in a positive
way) and make them want to click through to your site and
learn more about your company.
This is why quality is so important when you're publishing news
releases online. When creating online press releases, use a
professional writing style and make sure that the content is
clear and likely to capture—and hold—the attention and interest
of your audience.
SEO tips from Vanessa Bugasch
1. Choose the Right Keywords
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Search engines think like your audience. Before you begin to write, know the keywords or phrases that will
drive them to the news release and motivate them to click through to pages on your Web site. Do basic
keyword research on sites like Google AdWords, Wordtracker or Keyword Discovery.
2. Use Your Heads
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Use one to two keywords in the headline and subhead. Search engine spiders read left to right, so take
that into account as you compose your headlines and your first paragraph. Use no more than 200
characters in the summary or subhead.
3. Optimize From the Top Down
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Spiders also read from the top down. Using keywords in the first two paragraphs makes a much bigger
impact than using them lower down. As you write, think in sound bites, like 140-character tweets.
4. Don’t Over-Link
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As with keywords, don’t overdo anchor text, as it causes confusion and dilutes the impact of the links
themselves. Offer two to three links for a 400-word press release.
5. Use Multimedia
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Research shows that press releases with pictures, video and other multimedia get at least 80% more
search traffic than text-only releases. They’re usually more appealing and interesting, too. You’d be
surprised how easy it is to create your own video or add visuals that support your product, message or
campaign.
Vanessa Bugasch is senior vice president of global marketing , a provider of PR software, services and
tools. You can follow her on Twitter: @vanessabugasch.
1. SEO tip – find the best keywords
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Keywords are the terms your target audience uses when searching for
information/products/services online.
For example, if you are in the Madison real estate business. Keywords you
should consider using might include: Madison Homes for Sale, X neighborhood
houses for sale, Madison Realtors.
The terms are dependent on what you want to be found for, but you should also
understand the sophistication of your audience and their Internet habits as that
can influence the keywords you select.
The skill is first thinking like your audience and generating a list of phrases they
are likely using. Then, double check your hypothesis with a free keyword tool
such as Google’s AdWords tool, which will help you understand which phrases
are searched upon most frequently.
Remember that informal words are often most effective because they are part
of the language of the target audience. Avoid getting caught up in industry
jargon, product or service names and industry acronyms which may not be how
the audience will search online.
2. Build priority keywords and anchor text
into every press release.
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After identifying which 1-2 phrases your press release needs to
have to become visible online, integrate the keyword phrase in
the headline, sub-head and lead sentence.
In addition, the keyword phrase in the first paragraph should be
hyperlinked to a relevant page on your Web site.
Additional opportunities that exist for optimization include the
‘About’ section/boilerplate of the press release. This copy is a
great place to include additional keyword phrases and an
additional hyperlink back to the Website.
show in search engine results.
3. Leverage Press Release Content on
your Website.
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After dedicating time and resources to
drafting press releases, be sure to use the
content to its fullest potential.
Post the press release to a News Area or
Newsroom on your Website, which will create
an additional page the search engines can
crawl, index and perhaps
A template for you
Headline/Subhead
City, State (Madison, Wis.) - The intro graph should briefly
summarize the press release. It should be 3 to 5 sentences.
Mention what’s new (an event, a new website), time and date,
important people involved. The 1st paragraph makes or breaks
the story. If it's not clear and concise, most people will not read
the rest of the article.
The middle paragraphs go into more detail. Explain the
importance of the event and why it's taking place. This is a good
place to provide detail about the participants. Another section
could discuss the history of the particular event, program, or
news event. Keep paragraphs at about 3 to 5 sentences in
length.
The last paragraph is called the "boilerplate." It is usually no
more than 3-4 sentences.
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Media Contact: Person Name, Phone, E-mail, Website
Social media press release
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Are you using the TwitPitch in your press
releases? For that matter, are you using
social media press releases at all?
A social media press release is a press
release designed to be delivered digitally;
and while every press release today should
be created in a social media format.
Social media
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The social media press release is structured
in such a way that it can be used in any
format -- print, web or tablet-ready.
A social media press release leads with the
key words, phrases, and links (embedded in
anchor text) in web-appropriate content
clips.
Twit Pitch
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The press release could begin with a TwitPitch.
The TwitPitch is simply putting your proposition and
your call to action into 140 characters, while allowing
room for contact information and a shortlink. Lead
your press releases with it because they are then
forwardable through any means out there, including
the tweet.
Let’s look at examples
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Wisconsin DNR
http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/ninewest/
48276/ -- notice use of embed video
For more information on press
releases
To review, watch this how to video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqh0ADRfmvY
To distribute try a service like:
www.pressreleasepoint.com/