7 Signs That Your Press Release Sucks
I’m constantly asked to give basic feedback on press releases, and hired to edit from scratch. While I normally reserve free feedback to releases posted publicly (so others can learn from the mistakes), even that is feeling like a waste of my time. Frankly, the same mistakes keep popping up (so apparently people aren’t “learning” from the mistakes of others after all). These 7 signs are pretty common indicators of a lousy press release. Make sure yours aren’t violating these press release sins:
1. Your press release headline is so “cutesy” that no one could possibly tell what the hell your news is by looking at it. Remember that headlines need to be descriptive… think keyword-rich, and lightly embellished to make it catchy. Catchy does not equal cutesy!
2. You neglect to leave your full contact information. Journalists don’t give a rat’s behind that you’re worried about spam. If you want significant news coverage, you’d better include an email address and phone number. If spam is that big of an issue, then create an address or number reserved only for press releases, or find a better distribution method.
3. You don’t tell us why your story is newsworthy until the conclusion of the press release. Simply put, if you do that, no journalist is going to bother reading that far to begin with. You need to get their attention early.
4. Your news release resembles a novel. Huge blocks of text and multiple-page press releases just aren’t practical for a busy journalist, especially on top of the dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of other press releases they have waiting on them.
5. Any 6th grader could tell you were too lazy to proofread your press release. If your release is littered with spelling and grammatical errors, don’t count on it being read. If you want someone to take the time to consider your story, respect them enough to take the time to proofread before your press release distribution.
6. It reads like a testimonial. Despite what a lot of webmasters and small business owners seem to think, a press release is not an advertising / marketing tactic; it’s a publicity tool. Journalists don’t give a damn about what your customers say, or how great you think you are. If you want to run an advertisement, then buy advertising space.
7. Your mommy thinks you deserve a front page story. Hey, you might think you have the best thing since sliced bread. So does the guy down the street… and the guy across town… and the guy across the country… and all of their brothers. You might think you have a high quality, solid news angle that journalists should be fighting over to break. They might think your news is a total yawn. Always run your news angle by unbiased parties when possible, and be able to come up with at least one good reason why your story should appeal to a wide enough audience (even with a niche publication) to justify a journalist spending their time on you.
It’s amazing what a solid news angle, a carefully written and edited release, and something as basic as contact info can do. Yet, you’d be surprised at how many press releases are distributed every day violating these and other press release writing sins. Don’t be a sinner if you want to be a winner… at least in the PR game.
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Comments
[...] I found a great article at Naked PR that will help you find out. It’s entitled 7 Signs that Your Press Release Sucks and it’s right on target–and brutally honest. [...]
[...] 5. 7 signs that your press release sucks, from Naked PR is a great review of the basics and should be required reading by all clients. I especially like the cutsey headline sign. And there are several more signs I could add. Your release is so full of puff it looks like pastry, is one. Or, your news release has no news, is another. (Hat tip: Bad Pitch Blog) [...]
7 signs your press release sucks…
7 signs that your press release sucks, from Naked PR is a great review of the basics and should be required reading by all clients….
[...] I was finally digging through some recent incoming links here on NakedPR, and among a nice little bit of link love coming in for the recent 7 Signs Your Press Release Sucks, there was this nice little tidbit over on the ViperChill Search Engine Marketing blog about NakedPR. “A blog by the most respected writer on DigitalPoint Forums, and with over 60,000 members that takes some doing. Jen Mattern is a PR writer with her own communications company and produces the only blog I dare subscribe too on PR, simply because I don’t need to subscribe to any other. When you create a reputation for yourself then people begin to trust what you say and thats the situation with Jennifer. The blog is a no nonsense approach to teaching people PR so if its something you feel you may be interested in, why not check it out?” [...]
Additional sin: not providing enough context for journalists to understand the story. Press releases littered with abbreviations and jargon often go in the bin because journalists don’t have time to decrypt them. Journalists are often generalists and don’t have an in-depth knowledge of everything they write about. Sometimes the factual description of the story in the release fails to communicate its significance, and journalists can’t quickly work it out either.
Any chance of increasing the font size in this comments form, so it can be read comfortably?
[...] Old Skool: Jennifer Mattern cuenta 7 detalles que hacen que una gacetilla de prensa realmente sea detestable. Muy divertido por cierto. De todas maneras, mi favorito de siempre es Bad Pitch [...]
[...] Reasons Your Web Design Sucks 7 Signs That Your Press Release Sucks Five Reasons Your Blog Earns No [...]
[...] Reasons Your Web Design Sucks 7 Signs That Your Press Release Sucks Five Reasons Your Blog Earns No [...]
Great tips. Here’s another.
Press release writers too often fail to include the “call to action.” In other words, what do you want readers to do after they’ve read the release?
You can encourage them to click through to your website where they can download a free special report in exchange for their email address. Or you can ask them to read a free article at your website, from which you can include links to product pages. I’m sure you can think of many more calls to action.
My free email tutorial “89 Ways to Write Powerful Press Releases” explains how to write press releases not just for journalists, but for consumers. You can opt into it at http://www.PublicityHound.com. Look for the red headline near my photo.