Every day, there are millions of press releases issued to share details of company announcements, new products or services, or upcoming events. The Industry Leaders receive hundreds of press releases – of varying quality – and have used their experiences to create the ultimate template.
As a business owner, it can be difficult to know when a press release is needed, and the temptation to outsource it to a third party can be high. But, with the right template to follow, you can churn out a quality press release and get your news published in less than 5-minutes.
Here at The Industry Leaders, we see hundreds of templates every month, each varying in quality; some make it easy to understand – and get excited about – the story, others not so much.
So, we’ve collated our top 3 things your next press release needs to include, plus a template that you can follow to make your business updates instantly newsworthy. Using this template will save you time and money while helping your business hit the headlines more often.
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Choose Just One Topic
You probably have something in mind that you want to tell the world about. It might be the launch of a new product line, a new feature on your app, or a new hire.
The key is to focus on just one piece of news and make it crystal clear to the reader why that’s important. Once you have that topic decided, you can fill in the gaps for people who might not know about you or your business and make it clear why this product/new employee is exciting.
This can seem like a no-brainer, but it’s a mistake we see PR agencies make time and time again, trying to cram in more than one topic or starting out strong and then diluting their message with too much irrelevant information.
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Include Quotes
If you want your press release to be taken seriously, it’s vital that you include a quote from relevant decision-makers or the person in question in the release.
For instance, if you’ve just released a new update, including a quote from your CTO about why this is going to make your customers’ lives better. Or, if you’ve just made a new C-Suite hire, get a quote from them about why they made the move to your business and why they’re excited about working with you.
This helps build excitement by briefly telling the story of your news. And, after all, our brains are wired for stories – at least that’s what the CEO of one of Silicon Valley’s best-known communications agencies told us.
The right quote can instantly legitimize your press release to news outlets, providing depth to your news in a personal way. The wrong one can see it deleted from inboxes in a heartbeat.
And think about it this way: if your company employs someone who is particularly well-known or influential in a particular industry, having a quote from that person is going to make it easy for a journalist to build a story around it.
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Be Selective About Who You Send A Press Release To
This one is vital. A journalist can smell from a mile away if you’ve adopted a ‘spray and pray’ method to choosing media outlets.
So, it’s important to take the time to carefully understand the following:
What kind of reader would be interested in your news?
And
Where would they usually get this information?
Once you’re clear on the answer to those two important questions, you can narrow down your list of press release targets. But we’ll say it again: this is a vital step so take the time to do your research.
If you’re new to sending out press releases, don’t worry, most outlets have a contact or dedicated email address for press releases. So, once you’re armed with information about where you should be sending your news, and you have the right contact information, you can simply email your press release to the most relevant publications and wait for your story to hit the news!
The Industry Leaders’ Press Release Template
As promised, we see a ton of press releases from businesses and their PR agencies because we offer a press release publishing service. That means we’ve seen plenty of good and bad examples!
Luckily for you, we’ve taken everything that makes the best press release and created this template, so you can come back and use it every time you’ve got something newsworthy to talk about:
So, go ahead and get your company news out there and in the hands of the right people!
Rob Barratt is the Co-Founder of The Industry Leaders and is passionate about helping small business owners get the attention their business needs without spending a fortune on ads.
After creating and selling his first business, Rob found out first-hand just how hard it is for entrepreneurs to get the word out about their businesses.
This realization lead Rob to create The Industry Leaders and offer opportunities for entrepreneurs to get published alongside industry leaders and appear on podcasts.
