You want to write a press release or newsletter that catches the attention of your audience and delivers your message clearly and concisely. But how do you do that without losing the essential details or sounding too boring? Here are some tips and best practices to help you create a press release or newsletter that's short and straight to the point.
Before you start writing, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your press release or newsletter. What is the main goal or message you want to convey? Who is your target audience and what do they care about? How do you want them to react or respond to your content? Having a clear purpose will help you focus your writing and avoid unnecessary or irrelevant information.
What makes press releases different from articles, blog posts, or other types of documents is that you need to lead with the most important information first. That requires you to decide what you want to have happen as a result of someone reading the article before you write a word. If you're announcing a new hire, you may want to convey that your organization is growing or that you've hired a heavy-hitter. If you're announcing an upcoming event, your purpose may be to encourage readers to sign up to attend. If you're announcing a new client, you may be signaling to the business community that your business is well-respected. Include a call to action (CTA) at the end to be clear about what you want readers to do or think by the end.
The inverted pyramid is a common structure for press releases and newsletters that organizes the information from the most important to the least important. The idea is to capture the attention of your readers with the most relevant and interesting facts in the first paragraph, and then provide more details and background information in the following paragraphs. This way, you can ensure that your readers get the main point of your content even if they don't read the whole thing.
Remodel the inverted pyramid method into an hour glass. 1. Don't hollow out your article of hooks towards the end. Don't let it trail off and reach a dead end. 2. Revive your article as it's about to end. Inject life into it by supplying useful facts. When you position super interesting facts next to least interesting ones, the emergent contrast is steep. This makes interesting more interesting. 3. This may pull in those readers who skip to the last line. It's like a backdoor entry. Here comes an interesting fact in the last line and they exclaim: "Oh, what did I miss here?'. And they jump back in.
One of the easiest ways to make your press release or newsletter short and straight to the point is to write short and simple sentences. Avoid long and complex sentences that may confuse or bore your readers. Use active voice, clear verbs, and specific nouns. Break up your text into short paragraphs and use subheadings, bullet points, or numbered lists to make it easier to scan and read. Use transitions and connectors to link your ideas and create a logical flow.
No matter how good your writing is, it can always benefit from some editing and proofreading. Editing is the process of reviewing and revising your content to improve its clarity, coherence, and accuracy. Proofreading is the process of checking and correcting any errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting. Editing and proofreading will help you eliminate any unnecessary or redundant words, phrases, or sentences, and make your press release or newsletter more concise and professional.
When proofreading, consult with the experts directly rather than just their supervisors. This is not to say you should distrust your colleagues. But by relying solely on a department manager's summary, you may overlook nuanced details that a specialist on the team would notice. Consider this: the finance department reports that the average salary at Company N has increased. Before sharing this news, you consult an accountant. They explain that due to the recent layoff of a hundred janitors, the minimum salary values in the sample have risen, thus increasing the average. Now, it's definitely not an occasion to boast about.
Finally, you want to test and measure the effectiveness of your press release or newsletter. You can use various tools and methods to track and analyze how your content performs in terms of reach, engagement, conversion, or feedback. For example, you can use analytics software, surveys, polls, or comments to measure how many people read, share, or respond to your content. You can also use A/B testing, split testing, or multivariate testing to compare different versions of your content and see which one performs better. Testing and measuring will help you identify what works and what doesn't, and improve your writing skills over time.
There's an interpersonal approach that can be equally impactful. By actively touching base with trusted journalists before the official release, you can identify and fix any ambiguities in your publication. Moreover, such engagements deter journalists from making assumptions and place you in a stronger position to guide the narrative.
Few things to consider while drafting a press release: 1. Answer the who, when, where, what, why, and how of the news in the first paragraph. 2.Add a news-worthy hook to your offering in the press release. This makes the release relevant. News: Firm gives away 1,000 learning tablets to poor children Hook: A study has found unaffordable technologies deny education to a million poor children worldwide. 3. Include a couple of quotes of senior leaders. This adds texture to the release. Avoid using quotes to state facts. Instead, use them for insights, where a human voice would add value. 4. Make release journalist-friendly. Journalists get tens of press releases every day. They will use those requiring the least number of changes.
Journalists, readers, and subscribers often have limited time and attention spans, so it's crucial to deliver your message efficiently. In the opening paragraph, provide a concise summary of the most crucial information. This is where you answer the "who, what, when, where, why, and how" questions. The lead should be no more than 1-2 sentences. Place the most critical details at the beginning and gradually move to less important information. This way, readers can stop at any point and still grasp the main message. Keep your press release or newsletter short. Aim for no more than 300-500 words. Ensure your press release or newsletter is mobile-friendly.
Having been a journalist, I can confidently say they look for relevant current information. Many press releases make the mistake of simply singing praises of the company with historic details. These releases will find their way to the bin pretty quickly! So how do you ensure your press release is read, and a journalist actually reaches out to you for more information? Talk about something the company has just launched or launching, which is going to have an industry or a social impact. Include figures, statistics and relatable quotes. Ex: Our company will be launching a digital payment solution that is tailored for farmers. We will be spending Rs 50 crores towards this initiative. Now this news will get you an interview for sure!