Designing Effective and Easy to Read Press Releases
While there is really no standard format for designing Press Releases, most content companies that regularly design them have settled on a tried and true method for creating a press release that will properly advertise new web site launches, new product lines, service offers, or business announcements.
If you are interested in knowing how to create a well-constructed press release or would like to know what to expect from a professional company, this blog post will help you to define your goals and to create (or order) the best press release possible.
The Header
The top line of a press release is typically a capitalized one sentence capsulized wrap up of what the press release is advertising. this should be the line that tells the reader what the press release is about. In essence, think of this line as a sort of Meta Description. For example:
NEW CONTENT CUSTOMS BLOG POST DESCRIBING PRESS RELEASE TO BECOME AVAILABLE ON FEBRUARY 3RD, 2010
The Grabber
Longer in length than the header, this portion of a press release is meant to draw the reader in. It describes, in more detail, the importance of reading the press release and how it is valuable to the reader. This portion is normally voiced as a sales pitch. If it is written correctly, the reader should be sold without having to continue reading. For example:
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The Main Text
February 2nd, 2010 – The main text serves as the meat and potatoes of the press release. Any information that is pertinent to the press release should be included here. The first paragraph should begin with the date of the press release, just like this one did. Each paragraph should describe an individual talking point of the advertisement.
When ordering a press release or drafting one yourself, it is always helpful to write a 5 item list containing a topic for each of these paragraphs. This helps center the content and give you the most value for your dollar. Save alternative services or options for the last two paragraphs and keep the important information about the advertisement in the first three.
About Us Section
This section described the web site or company and builds trust with the reader. This is a very simple section. Typically, the information includes the site or company launch date, how they have grown over the years and where they are today. Keep the information professional rather than conversational in this portion.
Contact Info
Obviously, no press release is complete without information on how to contact the distributor of the advertisement for more information as well as a last chance to include the web site’s URL or company’s phone number. The information provided should be formatted as follows:
- John Blogposter
- President
- Blogsandyou.com
- 555-555-1234
- jblogposter@email.com