Writing press releases is one of the most important jobs a Public Relations pro will have to do regularly. In Nigeria and the world over, most people in PR write more stories than journalists and reporters. Yet, few know the basic rules. Many fail to follow the tenets, to their own peril.
According to Yewande Olanrewaju, a PR Executive at Black House Media, “In my few years of practice, I’ve realized that communicating with your target audience in the “right language” is worth much more than all the bonanzas and promos…but then finding that right language, tone, angle is the real hard-work”.
Here are a few tips from BHM. You’re welcome!
- Boring or weak headlines are a no-no. Make sure your headline is compact and very interesting. In cases where you are stuck with serious headlines, a witty rider may help.
- Let the most exciting part of the release appear in the first paragraph. However, it must be written in a way that sustains reader’s interest.
- Subsequent paragraphs must clearly state the popular 5Ws and H.
- Embrace Storytelling. Know this; You’re not a PR pro. You’re not a PR pro. (repeat 10x). You’re a storyteller giving your audience the scoop.
- Added quotes are more believable when they are coming from a third party who must have had a first hand experience of the event/person being talked about.
- Approach sensitive news as they are and be careful not to blow it out of proportion.
- Use relevant keywords to maximally optimize search engines and use hyperlinks, PLEASE!
- Know the media you’re pitching to and try your best to write content that’ll interest them – and by extension – their readers.
- The tone of the release must be breezy and exciting from start to finish.
- Embrace multi media: Your release must come in different formats. Text and still images for newspapers and magazines, Video for TV and Youtube, Text, Video embed codes and images for web and mobile, sound bytes and text for radio, etc. ‘One size fits all’ is so 1800s!
Got extra tips? Feel free to share!