Press Release Don’ts

Press release writing isn’t rocket science. But with thousands arriving on a journalist’s desk each and every day, it’s not easy to get a reporter’s attention.

But there are things that do get their attention and makes them take action: throwing your release straight to the garbage bin.

Are you making any of these news release mistakes?

Grammatical Errors- You can be the best writer in the world but still miss grammatical errors and typos when proofreading. Look over your work when you are most alert and read your release aloud to yourself. It is also a good idea to have at least three other people review your work before submission.

Upper Case Letters- Do not write your press release in all uppercase characters as it is bad formatting. Use mixed casing when writing your press release.

Lack of Content- Be sure your release answers the five W’s (Who, What, Where, When, Why) as roughly 90% of all press release submitted to reporters are rejected. Also ask yourself if your press release is newsworthy. The main purpose of a press release is to inform a public.

Press Releases that are Really Ads- Do not write your press release like an advertisement. You are not trying to sell anything when writing a press release. Remember a reporter’s job is to inform the public, not to sell to the public.

Incorrect E-mail Use- Your best bet in submitting a press release to a reporter is to create a role account. A role account, for example, is pr@companyname.com as compared to a personal account, sexygrl77@youremail.com. You want to be professional when submitting press releases to reporters.