How to Use Clean Communication in a Press Release

By Alex Ivanovs, Lead Managing Editor, ColorlibYou have just wrapped up launching your business, or perhaps you’re launching a new feature for an existing product, and it’s time for getting some exposure.What’s your best option?Press releases can be incredibly valuable assets for promoting your news, and with the help of a newswire service your press releases will help to expose your business to a wide audience of potential customers, and journalists who are eager to write about groundbreaking news.That last bit offers a particular clue for how to better reach your target audience: “groundbreaking news.”Good press releases are focused around news announcements that are intriguing, newsworthy, and don’t sound like the average sales letter. Journalists aren’t interested in yet another sales pitch. The theme of the press release is a vital component for getting maximum exposure, but another such component is the content itself. Press releases with an overly utilized sales jargon just don’t seem to generate the same results as PR that have been thoughtfully crafted to be informative and appealing.The first fundamental thing to understand about good press releases is their format, so here’s a breakdown of what a professional, solid, press release would look like when built on step by step basis.

• Headline -- What is the main point of your news? What is your announcement?
• Intro -- Go all out. Answer as many questions as possible before stepping into the next parts of the release.
• Sources -- What are your sources of information, if any? Don’t make others question your confidence.
• Key Components -- What makes your announcement significant? What makes it different?
• Quotes -- Make any important remarks, provide input or any further advice.
• Ending -- Keep the ending short and sweet, reiterating the importance of the announcement to the reader.

Gina Gulberti from LaunchMetrics suggests that another way to improve the quality of press releases for the modern age is to implement the use of visual graphics, including visualized information to better describe the announcement that you’re making. Such visual graphics can be built using traditional infographic tools, or if you have an in-house designer you could assign them the task of building PR graphics.Clear communicationIf we understand PR as the stepping stone for seizing the attention of journalists and industry-specific bloggers, it’s helpful to understand how journalists function and why clear communication is a vital element for getting your press release picked up as a story for media publication.The following guidelines can be applied to the process of writing your press release so that it is easier to understand and digest for journalists:

• Write for busy people -- journalists are by no means sitting at their desks without stories to write, or pitches to consider. Make your pitches short, concise, and straight to the point. Sometimes it helps to add a comment such as, “Please ask for more information if interested.” at the end of your pitch, so in the event of a journalist being intrigued by your story, they’ll happily reach back out to you with more questions.
• Explain your use of jargon -- the journalist at hand might be an expert at your business category, but who says that their readers are. Assume complete lack of knowledge about your field, and use language that reflects ease of understanding.
• Write for the reader -- a journalist isn’t interested in purchasing your product, they’re merely trying to find a good story to publish, with that in mind; compose your press releases for the readers / viewers, people who could eventually become your new customers.

It goes without saying that applying these small and concise tips is going to make life easier for yourself and the journalists who’re reading your pitches, so much so that it might be the breaking point for getting your voice heard. In a saturated market, it helps to stand out by portraying understanding and expertise over clear communication and how it helps to create a smooth communication experience.

[author] About the Author: Alex Ivanovs, is the lead managing editor at Colorlib -- an evergreen resource for aspiring and growing developers and web designers. [/author]