Anyone can write a press release. When I got my first paid assignment to write a
press release I had to search online to learn how to do it. Writing a release isn’t very hard, but there
are a few guidelines which you should follow if you want your content to be
accepted by press
release distribution services.
There are a lot of reasons why a press release might get
rejected. Listed below are the most
common reasons then we‘ll talk about the best practices which work well for
everyone.
One reason your release may get rejected is if you use all UPPER
CASE LETTERS in the title. It’s a newbie
mistake, but a mistake commonly made. In
fact, it’s so common, many press release distribution websites list it as one
of the first ‘don’ts’ on their submission page.
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| Get your press release approved |
Another reason for a rejection could be you’ve embedded
HTML, Java or any other markup language. There’s a right place to put it, and
this is normally assigned by the press release submission staff on the site
itself.
If you violate the rules of the press release site you’re
submitting to they will reject your release immediately. In fact, make sure you read the company’s
rules before you submit any content as it will save you a lot of time. If you want to check if the service allows
anchor text, just look at other releases on the site before you submit yours.
Finally, the last reason your content may get rejected is
because it is full of grammatical errors, punctuation marks are incorrectly
placed, incorrect use of words and spelling.
Spell-check your content before you submit it. The editors will read your release before
they make a decision as to whether or not to publish it on their site.
Okay! Now that you’re
aware of the why-nots, below are some of the best practices to implement when
writing and submitting a press release.
Make it news-worthy.
There are many news-worthy angles to a press release such as a product launch,
relaunch of a website, new management, received awards, survey results etc. If
your press release doesn’t have news worthy angle, then by all means, do not
waste your time because it will only get rejected.
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| Work on your headline |
Write an attention
grabbing, head twisting, snappy headline. The wonder of press releases is
this – once it gets approved, and it really is an interesting piece, you not
only get approved in that site, it might also get the attention of the other
sites thereby syndicating your release. The more it gets republished, the
better for your brand.
Make your press
release effective by including a quote. When writing your press release,
make sure to include a quote from an authority figure in the company or a
satisfied customer. Sprinkle a few quotes in the middle or the end, but don’t
overdo it.
Pepper it with
keywords. Keywords are important, especially since you’re submitting a
digital press release that gets crawled by the search engines spiders. From the
title to the content, ensure keywords are included. A word of warning though –
don’t force it. You’re writing for a
human being, not search engine spiders. It has to make sense to them first to
make a successful impact.
When formatting your
press release, write in short paragraphs. Keep it simple silly, as they
say. Use bulleted or numbered lists to break up chunks of information. Make it
easier to read. Why? Because nowadays, people scan and skim then if it’s deemed
important then that’s when we dwell on it and read it.
There you have it.
Follow the suggestions on this article and you press release will be
accepted. If you use
a press release writing service, make sure they don’t violate any of the
rules. Press releases make an impact for
the brand exposure wise, and SEO wise. Neglecting
to give it a try means losing potential clients.
What other best practices are you aware of? Please leave a comment below.
