Press Release Writing Services. Blog. Free Help and Writing Tips from Professionals.

Press Release Writers: Making Your Talent Work for You

admin — Mon, 31 May 2010 13:22:22 +0000

After such a number of various articles about the peculiarities of press release writing, we think it is quite natural to talk about press release writers themselves. Who are these people? What skills do they possess? How can one become a successful press release writer? All these questions and answers to them can be found in this article.

Who are they?

Usually, press release writers major in arts and humanities. But it is a common misconception that one needs special education in order to become a successful press release writer. Writing advertisement materials is such a narrow field that hardly will you find an education institution that can offer you programs designed specially for press release writers. If you are a specialist in PR technologies or a literary person, it is likely you will prove to be a successful press release writer. But generally speaking, anyone with a certain talent for words will prosper.

What skills do they need?

There is no definite answer to this question. Certainly, you should be well versed. But this alone cannot secure you from faults. You should be a natural psychologist to understand the way your readers think. But this cannot guarantee you a successful career of a press release writer as well. It is just a collection of these and several other traits that make a press release writer an expert.

How to become a press release writer?

Practice and make mistakes – this is, perhaps, the most obvious answer. Study all tips and try it yourself. Start from relatively small orders and eventually you will become a proficient press release writer. Just do not forget that being a press release writer is a craft – not a creative work. You should learn how to treat it as a job. And do not be a perfectionist. Knowing where to stop is one of the basic traits of a professional press release writer.

Press Releases Online: Responsibilities of a Customer

admin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:40:02 +0000

Unlike other forms of business writing, writing press releases online is relatively safe. When working with advertising materials, you do not need to prove your words as in academic papers and you do not need to adjust your piece of writing to the speech deliverer as with speech writing services.

Still, even PR writing involves many peculiarities and the final success depends equally on the talent of a writer and responsibilities of a customer. This is what we are going to explain here: how not to screw up the process of writing a press release online and make it convenient and comfortable for both sides.

Do not mix up a press release with clear advertising. Press releases online (as well as other types of a press release) are all about events and news rather than just talks about services, fair prices, and suchlike. If you are trying to confuse companies by ordering a press release online and expecting to get an advertisement, then your cooperation is unlikely to be productive. There is no one to blame for this but you. So, make sure your instructions are clear and specific enough.

Come up with a newsworthy topic before you order a press release online. If you want the company to choose it, then make sure you describe the intended audience, the purposes of your press release online, etc. Are you really interested to read about figures that indicate growth or about another new service available? Our brains are chocked up with such stuff. So, think about the audience of your online press release.

So, make sure you set clear objectives and specify detailed instructions on what you expect to get. And be sure that your cooperation with companies that write press releases online will be successful.

Writing Press Releases for Web: Basics and Essentials

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 10:46:50 +0000

If you scroll this blog for a while, you will see that it offers quite a lot of tips on how to write a press release. One can wonder: what else can be said about press release writing? And yet, there are still so many topics to explore. One of them is writing press releases for web. Do you know that this type of copywriting has plenty of peculiarities? No? Then, this article is designed for you!

Writing a press release for web: direct speeches

One of the winning strategies for press release writing is to use direct speech. Direct speech introduces some action, elaboration, and even controversy. But if you run an online business, whom can you interview? The answer is simple: there is no major distinction between online and real businesses. Ask your CEO manager, colleagues and present their impressions and remarks in your release.

Writing a press release for web: exploring controversies

It is a good idea to write a press release in the form of a journal article or TV news. Interview your colleagues; make sure there is some controversy in the new initiative of your company management or in a recent company event. Watch the events unfold and devote your press release to the latest news of your company.

Writing a press release for web: general strategies

The main issue of writing press releases for web is a certain detachment of an online business from its customers. Thus, your goal is to make your text as live and sound as you can. When writing a press release for web, you can be more informal and address your reader in a more direct and personal way.

How to Write a Press Release: Tips for a Layman

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:04:11 +0000

To write a press release is not that hard as it seems at a glance. Even if you are a layman in press release writing and sometimes you start thinking of customers as of capricious horde, which does not know what it wants itself. Even if customers start appearing in your nightmares — believe us, it is not that hard to write a press release. The key feature here is to remember that you are also a customer. Write as if for yourself.

And this is what the article is going to be about. We offer you a guide on how to write a press release that will fit you.

How to write a press release effectively

The first and foremost rule of press release writing is to keep it short. Think of yourself. How much time are you going to spend on advertising? It is unlikely that you will spend more than 1-2 minutes. Certainly, you have much more interesting stuff to read. So, make sure you limit your press release to 150-300 words. The more you write the more likely it is that your press release will be skipped.

To write a press release effectively, it is important to avoid blatant self-promotion. Ask yourself the following: Do you really believe these offers you read are unique? No, we do not think so. So, make the features of your service speak for themselves, there is no need in such words as “the best”, “unique” and “nowhere else”. They are too vague and annoying.

Ask yourself whether you really need specific details when you try to understand what this piece of writing is about. Certainly, no. So, when writing a press release, bear in mind that you must provide all essentials in the very beginning of the text so that your customer does not have to scan the entire text trying to figure out its aim, main idea, event, etc.

A Press Release Template: Drawing by Means of Words

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:18:57 +0000

Every theory, even the largest and the most explicit one, is meaningless without proper examples. It is known that Ancient Greeks, the pioneers of science, did not describe their developments to their apprentices. They drew a picture and added one single word: “See”. Today we will try to follow their manner and provide you with a press release template.

The press release template begins with a title. An optimal size of it is 70-100 characters, depending on the media you plan to use. The use of uppercase is allowed but considered as bad manners. Certainly, you do not want to seem blatant.
The press release template proceeds with a release summary. This summary is a short synopsis of your event, no matter whether it is a promotion of a new product or just company news.
The main section of the press release template is its body. Again, its size depends on the media you plan to use: it is 300-500 characters for blogs, and its size increases up to 800 characters for other sources. Do note that the first paragraph of our imaginary press release template contains all essential info. The thing is that a release summary is used for editorial purposes and is usually skipped when the release itself is spread.
The last paragraph of the press release template often contains the restatement of the event described.
Finally, the press release template ends with a short description of your company, community or other event source. This section is also called a “boilerplate”. It should not be more than 100 characters long.

If you write all this down on a sheet of paper, you will get a press release template, and it will not be worse than any other you can find online. Just do not forget that “See” is not a part of the template itself.

Media Press Releases: Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:28:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered what makes a media release fail? Ironically enough, the very nature of advertisement material plays a nasty trick with media press releases. A clever and an experienced person never trusts them, because he/she knows that words like “brand-new”, “astonishing” and “of the highest quality” rarely depict the reality.

Still, we can neither tell about the weaknesses of our products nor admit honestly that what we offer is ordinary services. A dilemma, you say? No, completely not.

Media press releases: common mistakes

The first mistake lies in the very selection of newsworthy events. An ordinary media press release tells that a company announces a product or news or just achieves some goal. Everyone except the person who HAS to keep track of such news skips these types of press releases. Believe us: an average person is not interested in additional funding and merging with other company. He/she is bored with the endless list of adjectives like “unique” or “genuine”.

Another mistake is blatant self-promotion and shameless use of epithets like “the best”. People never trust media press releases because they know you will say nothing bad about yourself or your company. After all, a potential customer is the one to evaluate your services, not you.

Media press releases: correct approaches

Interweave your advertisement with hot events. Always ask yourself why your media press release should matter potential readers. Make sure it answers the demands of the potential customer. In other cases, you will be ignored.

Completely avoid blatant use of promotional language, it annoys rather than speaks good of you. Stress real facts like professionalism and experience. Other than that…let your services and products speak for you, not words.

Try to be honest and present real information in your media press releases. There is nothing as disappointing as to find obvious lies in a media press release.
Solve problems of your potential customers. Try to ensure that your media press release will be remembered not just out of curiosity but it will be really useful for them.

An Event Press Release: Drawing Attention to Your Event

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:20:05 +0000

Are you planning an important event? Is it really significant to you or your company? Then you definitely need to make an event press release to draw attention to this event.

Actually, if you have experience in writing press releases, creating an event press release will not cause you too many troubles. Still, you have to make sure that your event press release stands out, which is why we suggest you follow some simple strategies.

Publications you are writing an event press release for

Before writing for online or printed publications, find out more about them, some restrictions they might have, etc. The point is that your event press release may be published just as a part of a calendar, which means not so many people will pay attention to it.

Things to include into a good event press release

Make sure your event press release includes the following important points.

An eye-grabbing title – one of the main features of an effective event press release.
A summary of the event – briefly explain what it is going to be about, why it takes place. Do not forget about such important details as time, place, and date of the event.
A few details about your company – tell what your company does, say whether it is sponsoring the event, etc.
Admission details – are there some special invitations that people should have? Will people have to pay an admission fee? Is there any dress code? Make sure to include this info into your event press release.
Special guests – probably, some celebrities, writers, politicians will attend your event. You have to mention this information, because it will definitely attract more people.

So, good luck with your event and press release!

Writing an Event Press Release

admin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:09:39 +0000

The most important thing about an event press release is a unity of structure, audience and distribution. It is not enough just to write an event press release. You have to construct it in the right manner, send only to those people who are interested in the offered topic, and make sure your event press release reaches them on time.

The hardest part about an event press release is its structure. Here everything – from its title to the contact information – has to be written perfectly. As one journalist once said: “Do you know why being precise and specific is always important in an event press release? Because if I am late, I am always able to find the place of an event quickly”.

Event press release structure:

A standard title. It should attract and grab.
Your contacts, including the address, phone and email in case a person receiving your event press release will have questions.
Your event’s title. This one has to be brief and informative. Do not try to come up with something intriguing. An event press release tells about an event, not about the gossips that surround this event.
A body. Follow the rules of the upside down pyramid, stating the 5 W’s. Make readers realize that the event you are inviting to is worth visiting. Make sure you spill some details to raise the interest.
An event press release has to end with contacts or hints on where the readers can get more information. This can be, for example, the web-site of your company or some other sources.

So, we wish you all the best and good luck!

A Book Press Release: How to Sell Your Book

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:33:40 +0000

We are sure you did a good job and wrote an outstanding book. You definitely want to sell it and let the readers know what a good writer you are.

How are you going to do this? People know nothing about you and your book, thus, have no reasons to buy it. This is when a book press release will help you. It is designed to attract the reader and make him/her buy your masterpiece.

If you are not sure how to make effective book press releases, our tips will be really helpful.

Tip 1
Any press release should include your agent’s, publisher’s contact information, or your own contact information. So, start your book press release with telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, etc.

Tip 2
“For Immediate Release” - this is what you should type on the top of your book press release.

Tip 3
Type the title of your book using the font that is at least two points larger than the font size you are going to use for the rest of the text.

Tip 4
Pay special attention to the first paragraph of your book press release. Needless to say, it should be the most dynamic and attention-grabbing part that gives brief information about the book.

Tip 5

You can finish your book press release with a sentence or two that summarize your intentions. At the very end of your book press release, give general information about the publisher and places where the book can be purchased.

Additional tips for writing effective book press releases:

Write short paragraphs and make sure they are up to the point;
Your book press release should give the reader good reasons to buy your book;
NEVER forget about your contact information.

Business Press Releases: Introducing a New Product

admin — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:03:17 +0000

Your company has released a new product or updated an already existing one. Well, this is great, but public knows nothing about it. Thus, you should start working on a strong business press release straight away.

By the way, what do you know about writing business press releases? Do you know how to make them effective and pay attention of the public to your products or services?

If you have some doubts about these issues, we are glad to give some explanations about the process of writing efficient business press releases.

First, we have to say that business press releases can be either typed and printed or send via e-mail. In the first case, your business press release should be double-spaced and it should not exceed the limit of three pages. E-mail business press releases are usually shorter, about 400 words long.

So, the major task of writing a business press release is to introduce a product or service to the public. Here are some winning strategies for making a business press release catchy and effective.

Make a creative and an eye-catching header

The header of your business press release will work like any other title, and its main function is to draw attention of the reader.

Follow the structure

Any written document requires a certain organization, and a business press release is not an exception. An effective business press release should include:

An introductory part, which covers famous 5 W’s: what, where, why, who, and when.
A body paragraph, which presents necessary details about your product/service.
A concluding part, which may provide info about the company, its activities, and so on.

You have to be careful with e-mail business press releases, since people have different software. Thus, better avoid HTML tags, color text, etc.