Affiliate Institute - Professional Affiliate Marketing Resource, Guidance, Tutorials and Information Center

Writing and Distributing an Effective Press Release

Press releases are used to announce your new business, website, product or service to the media and they are normally written as factual news stories. Most press release services offer a brief tutorial on how to write a proper press release, so it is recommended that you obtain a tutorial and familiarize yourself with the requirements of the agency before you start writing the release.

Thousands of press releases are issued each day and you will want to ensure that yours is compelling and stands out from the crowd. Your press release should have a concise headline. Do not use a headline that sounds like an advertisement. Something like “Our Company Recently Promoted John Smith To Vice President Position” is better that “Our Company Is Announcing a 50% Off Clearance Sale.”

Use the bottom line upfront writing approach, where your first two sentences summarize the contents of the press release. Journalists have many other press releases to read so make sure that yours is easy to read and understand as quickly as possible. Eliminate fluff words and keep your sentences brief. Use bullet points if it will get the message across faster.

The body of the press release should support the title, the subtitle and the opening paragraph. Ensure that your writings are factual and detail what you are announcing. Again, your press release should contain news about your business. Include your contact information in case someone from the media has additional questions about your business. Your name, e-mail address, telephone number, fax number and links to your website are standard contact information to include in your press releases.

Finally, use a service such as NewsWire to distribute your press release. There are many other reputable press release agencies but PR Web has a free submission service as well as a paid one, they are very helpful and are recognized as the leader in the press release industry.