Before online promotion became the trend, the world used press releases for promotions and information broadcasting. Writing press releases was a specialised job that was given to experienced writers. Once the internet became a popular medium for business promotions, press releases started being written by web content writers rather than people who had experience writing them. However, in order to write effective and professional-sounding press releases, it is essential to keep these do’s and don’t’s in mind.
- Appropriate Content: As the name suggests, a press release needs to be a news update about the product or the company. A general article about a company is not a press release. This form is specifically for news announcements
- Responsible Reporting: Like any journalistic endeavour, press releases should be based on facts and figures rather than generalisation and sweeping statements. Press releases are not articles that present the web content writing company’s opinions, but news items that should be verifiable.
- Language: As is evident from the earlier point, the language of the press release should be formal and professional rather than grand or casual. One should also avoid sales pitches within the press release body. It is recommended that the article is written in the third person instead of first or second person, which sounds more conversational and less formal.
- Contact Information: Most press releases should have valid contact information of the company that the press release is about.
- Headline: As is true for almost any article or story, a relevant and catchy headline, that reflects the story of the press release, and which invites the reader to read more, is extremely important for any press release!
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