“We want to do a press release and get it out right away!” Given the numerous conversations we’ve had with clients that’ve begun this way, we thought it was essential to blog about what exactly a press release is, when it’s appropriate to draft one, what it should include, and related questions.
What is a Press Release?
A press release is the formal announcement of news. The news can include the availability of a new product, a senior leader joining a company, new funding for companies backed by venture capital or private equity firms, or similar topics. PR teams within a company or public relations agency draft press releases in a specific format to signal that the organization is announcing news.
Organizations draft and distribute press releases with two goals: to increase brand awareness and to excite key targets to take action. Actions typically include purchasing a product, subscribing to a service, requesting a demo or more information.
When deciding whether new information is worthy of a press release, PR teams need to determine two things: what is the story they want to tell with the release and how does it tie into the organization’s positioning, and second, do they believe stories that appear will attract eyeballs to the online or print publication or broadcast outlet. Eyeballs are how editors who write stories are evaluated by their senior editors.
Reasons for a Press Release
Nine times out of 10, the purpose of a press release is to attract media attention and coverage with news, such as the launch of a new product, the appointment of a new CEO, the closing of a new funding round, or similar information. In turn, the goal of media coverage includes contributing to business goals such as generating leads, increasing brand awareness, highlighting an organization’s deep bench of talent or demonstrating confidence in the organization’s growth potential.
And then there’s that tenth time. Sometimes organizations issue press releases when there isn’t news for one of several reasons. Management may want to demonstrate to investors that there is “momentum” within the organization. Alternatively, they may want to prove to employees that the organization is growing to avoid turnover. Or, if the organization hasn’t issued a press release in a long time, it may be a sign that it’s still alive and kicking. Empty press releases, like these, issued on occasion, won’t harm an organization’s brand reputation, but producing them too frequently will cause the media to stop reading and covering them.
The Structure of a Press Release
The structure of every press release should highlight what you believe to be the most important news first, the second most important news next, etc. Here are a few general guidelines for different sections of a press release.
Headline
The headline should feature the most salient news, include the company’s name issuing the release, and, if available, a prominent supporting fact. It should include what we like to call an “aggressive” verb that makes the news stand out. It can also include another prominent company or person if it strengthens the news.
For example, if the company is announcing survey results, leading with the most important finding will likely grab a journalist’s attention, especially if the finding is heavily weighted in one direction, e.g., 80% of respondents answered in a specific way. If the company is announcing a senior-level hire and the person is from Google, including ‘Google’ in the headline will likely help attract attention.
Subhead
A subhead is not mandatory, but if there are supporting facts that strengthen the headline, a subhead can help draw a journalist’s attention.
For example, if announcing new funding and the release includes the lead investor in the headline, the subhead might include the other investors, or indicate if the raise was oversubscribed.
Lead Paragraph
The lead should begin with the city from which the company is issuing the release, followed by the date of release. The content in the lead should typically start with the company’s name issuing the release, followed by a brief descriptor, and then restate the news from the headline. We say “typically” because if a company issues a lot of releases, it will be more interesting when the releases are posted side by side on the company’s website to vary the lead sentence periodically.
For example, if company releases typically begin with, “X Corporation, a leading manufacturer of widgets…” the PR team might vary the lead sentence periodically, “87% of respondents stated they prefer AI-based widgets over traditional widgets, according to a new survey from X Corporation.”
Second Paragraph
The second paragraph is often a quote from the issuing company’s CEO or senior executive. The quote should restate a core message about the news or reiterate a company’s key message in a way that ties the message to the news.
For example, a CEO’s quote might include phraseology such as, “The development of X Corporation’s new AI-based widget demonstrates our focus on using technology to make people’s lives easier…”
However, the quote doesn’t have to be from the company. If the company issuing the release is involved with a much larger company, and that connection can boost the issuing company’s brand, the PR team should consider having the quote come from someone at the larger company.
For example, “Our support for X Corporation’s new AI-widget has enabled us to accelerate our go-to-market strategy,” said John Smith, chief technology officer at Google.
Supporting Details and Context
For a product release, the following paragraphs should initially focus on the benefits of the new product, followed by how the product works and is different than the product it replaces. If this release is announcing a new hire, these paragraphs should highlight the person’s previous positions before joining the company, starting with the most recent position first.
Call to Action
In certain circumstances, the release should include a call to action. The most common call to action is enabling the reader to sign up for a demo of a new product or to meet the company at a trade show.
For example, “X Corporation will provide demos of its new AI-based widget at the AI World trade show, Aug. 10-12 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Please visit here to set up an appointment.”
Boilerplate
The boilerplate is the last paragraph of a release. It includes one or two paragraphs that highlight the company’s key messages. It should remain constant for all releases, but be periodically updated as key messages or supporting stats change.
If the release announces a partnership with another company, sometimes the PR team will include boilerplates for each company. When this happens, the boilerplate of the company issuing the release should be after the partner company’s boilerplate.
Types of Press Releases
Press releases are also called news releases, a name we prefer because the emphasis should be on “news.” PR teams within organizations and agencies should consider what is new to determine whether the information they want to communicate warrants a press release or another form of content. Examples of relevant press release topics include:
- A new product or service,
- A new CEO, CTO, CIO or other C-level appointment,
- New data, such as a survey, ideally with results that are significantly overweighted (90% of respondents said…), counterintuitive (survey finds people willing to pay more for less), or another “aha” result,
- A new merger or acquisition,
- A new funding round,
- An important metric breaking a new threshold (the Dow Jones Industrial Average tops 50,000)
In addition to determining the news element before deciding whether to create a press release, PR teams and agencies should consider other channels to convey the information. For example, if the organization’s blog has a large following, publishing the content there could prove just as effective. Alternatively, the PR team and agency can contact the media via email to communicate the news.
Please note that we have purposely omitted earnings and releases related to equity and debt offerings issued by public companies, as these are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Let us know if you’d like us to cover these types of releases in a future blog!
Tips for Writing a Press Release
Based on our collective experience and feedback that we at UPRAISE have received from journalists, here are several tips for a successful release:
Keep Releases to Two Pages
The purpose of a press release is typically to provide compelling information that motivates journalists to take a briefing with the company. It’s not to provide every shred of detail about the news we’re announcing. If a press release is much longer than two pages, the journalist is likely to lose interest.
Stay Away from Jargon
Journalists switch beats with increased frequency. One side effect of this is that they don’t have the opportunity to learn the jargon of one industry before they are reassigned to another. Keeping the messaging simple ensures there’s no room for miscommunication, and the PR team should be able to articulate value propositions and feature sets in clear, straightforward terms. If they can’t, it’s likely they don’t understand the product themselves.
Avoid Superlatives
“First,” “best,” “most,” and similar words can be challenging to substantiate and come off to journalists as hype.
Don’t Rely on AI
Do not use AI to draft press releases. Journalists can tell immediately if you do. It can be valuable to use AI to improve a release written by a PR professional, but humans should draft the original content.
Stay Objective
The original concept of a press release was that journalists could drop the release into their publications as is, without editing. Journalists still expect releases to be fact-based, rather than hype. Words like “breakthrough,” “revolutionary,” and “game-changing” can be difficult to prove and may be a turnoff to media.
Make the Most of Your Quotes
Quotes in a press release are the only place the PR team can editorialize. Take advantage of that and use quotes to reiterate the company’s direction, value proposition or other key statement. Avoid phrases like “We’re excited to announce…” which are a waste of space. Of course, the company is excited to announce it. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be issuing a press release!
Include Supporting Content
If you are making a claim about a product, back it up. Three approaches to do this include:
- Statistics from independent sources that point to the performance of the product,
- Quotes from third-party experts, such as industry experts or academics,
- Quotes from early customers, if possible.
How to Publish a Press Release
Distributing the finalized press release is a blend of art and science, and it includes several key considerations.
Timing
For press releases with the primary objective of earning media coverage, the optimal days to release the news are Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On Mondays, journalists are often planning their weeks, cleaning out their inboxes and tend to write fewer stories. Thursdays and Fridays can be suboptimal since coverage is likely to appear on the weekend, when many fewer people will see it.
However, sometimes there are multiple objectives for a release. For example, when announcing a new product at a trade show, one goal of the release is certainly to generate media coverage, but it might also be to generate booth traffic. In this situation, it might make sense to issue a release on a Thursday if the event starts on a Tuesday or Wednesday, since it’s important to issue the release just a few days before the event.
Distribution Mechanics
There are multiple services that distribute press releases for a fee. At the higher end of the cost spectrum are BusinessWire and PR Newswire. At the low-cost end are services such as PRWeb. The difference is that the most expensive services provide wider distribution and additional support services. UPRAISE primarily uses GlobeNewswire, which we have found provides the optimal balance of wide distribution, sufficient support services and reasonable cost.
However, an organization should never rely on simply distributing a press release through a wide service. It should create a comprehensive target media list and email the release to journalists on that list for whom they believe the release will be relevant.
Distribution Strategy
Ensuring a press release earns coverage is more than drafting and distributing the release—it requires a proactive media relations strategy. There is often a lot of activity that takes place before distribution. The two primary strategies to implement before distributing a press release include pre-briefs and exclusives.
Pre-briefs are calls between the organization and a journalist who agrees to review a press release early, but not to write about it until the distribution date. The advantage to the journalist is that they have extra time to ask questions and write their articles. The advantage to the organization is that pre-briefs give them a sense of how much interest the release will generate among journalists.
Exclusives are a similar approach, except the organization gives the release to just one journalist in a given media category, such as just to The Wall Street Journal for national business media and just SC Magazine as a cybersecurity trade publication. Otherwise, the process remains the same; the journalist agrees not to write until the distribution date.
Need Help with Your Next Press Release?
UPRAISE drafts, distributes and earns media coverage on dozens of press releases per year. The specific challenges and opportunities are always slightly different for each.
Are you struggling with finalizing a press release? Have you considered the best distribution strategy? Do you need a stronger lead? Do you have sufficient supporting statistics or quotes to support your contentions? Would you like another set of eyes with over 40 years of experience to have a look? If so, please get in touch.
