4 Strategies to Maximize the Chances of Your Press Release Getting Picked up by the Media

April 22, 2019

Every business owner would want to have their business get noticed by existing customers, prospects, and investors. And press release can be an effective solution to achieve this. However, having your press release picked up by the media can be a real challenge. You may have written and sent several pieces to hundreds of media outlets without any one of them being picked up at all. What now will you do? Should you give up? Probably not. There are some public relations strategies and tools that can make a significant difference. Perhaps you need to implement some of the most effective strategies that can maximize the chances of your press release getting picked up. We’ve prepared a list of some of these strategies. Please read on.

Use an Eye-Catching Headline

The first impression is very important if you want your press release to be picked up by the media. And your headline is the best chance you have on achieving this. Choosing an eye-catching headline will increase the chances of your press release to stand out from the crowd, hence a high probability of press mention. But how can you ensure your headline is sound compelling? Well, always ensure the headline is simple, short (fewer than 10 words), and sweet. You should try to observe the core headline writing tenets: use of action verbs, direct, and comprehensive.

Use Pictures

A picture is worth a thousand words. You’ve probably heard this phrase a thousand and one times, and it’s the ugly truth. People are easily attracted by a picture rather than or before reading through texts in a paragraph. Getting press coverage requires that you carefully choose the illustrations (in this case, pictures) to include in your piece. For it to stand out from the rest, ensure to use captivating photos and action shots that convey emotions. Also, avoid head-and-shoulder photos as much as possible.

Make it Newsworthy

Journalists hardly have time, and they obviously won’t waste their little time going through the rest of your work if they don’t see anything relevant in the first paragraph. Therefore, ensure that your work contains the “how” and the 5 Ws (why, where, when, what, who) in the first paragraph. Here, you should state all your facts and in a concise manner to help the journalist gauge the relevance of your report as soon as possible. In the body of your work, you can use the inverted pyramid technique which requires that you start by stating the most critical points and proceed in decreasing order of importance.

Use Facts and Figures (Statistics)

What other way can you most efficiently backup your press release and make it stand out than the use of statistics? It’s the statistics, numbers, patterns, and trends that can make your story good and even better. Avoid generalizing as much as possible, instead try to break down and provide the facts and figures. For instance, if you’re writing about how your business has impacted people’s lives, break it down to give the number of clients who have used your product, their sex, state, and exactly how they benefited. This will make your press release more interesting, hence worth the press mention.

Conclusion

A press release can be a suitable, effective medium that you can use to sell your story, improve SEO, gain social traction, promote your idea, widen your reach, and relate with your customers. With the right strategies in place, getting a press mention won’t be that hard. Therefore, if your management team is looking for ways to expand your business, you can invest in an effective press release. The strategies above will be essential to guide you write a press release that can get picked up quickly and successfully. You can also refer to other relevant communications media and public relations blogs for more information. Good luck!