Pitfalls of writing an online press release

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March 16th, 2009 by Susie

When it comes to online press releases, many companies choose to do the actual writing in-house, while leaving it to their agency to handle the distribution. However, when embarking on writing an online press release there is a trap many fall into. Thinking they are writing an article.

There is often a temptation to picture a press release as a piece of editorial, complete with witty observations or flowing language.

But the truth of the matter is, by filling your press release with what you might think of as ‘personality’ you are actually making journalists’ jobs more difficult for them.

Most publications, online or offline, will have house styles to follow, requiring each article to have the same tone of voice. If your press release is too sales-driven, too wordy, too poetic, no matter how beautifully written it is, you risk putting a journalist off.

So how to write a press release that will get the journos onside?

First, keep it simple. Make your writing clean and concise, with as few adjectives as possible. Make it easy for a journalist to edit by keeping the sentences short. It’s often handy to think in terms of sound bites – the little nuggets of information you really want picked up and distributed across the web.

Second, stick to the facts. Outline all the details and back it up with any references they might need. In short, give the journalist everything they need to compile their story, rather than trying to do their job for them.

A good internet marketing company will have experienced writers on board who can create excellent press releases to save you time and efforts.

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