The difference a voice makes in press releases

When composing an online press release, you can generally choose between writing in the first person, using 'we', or third person, using 'they'. In general, both tones have their positives, but when it comes to online press releases, third person is the voice of choice.

Writing in the third person helps to create a 'news article' feel. This leads the average reader to instinctively trust the information the press release contains. It also makes it much easier for news companies to pick up your press release and distribute it with few, or little, changes.

How does this work? Even though the average internet user is fairly savvy when it comes to handling the media, there is a basic trust of straightforward-seeming information that cynicism can't penetrate.

For example, say your e-commerce site has just won an industry award. In first person, your press release could start, 'We're proud to announce that we were the recipients of the Internet Marketing 2009 Industry Award.'  Or, it could begin, 'E-commerce start-up Commerce.com is this year's winner of the Internet Marketing Industry Award. A spokesperson expressed the company's pride in their achievement at the announcement today.' While the first example expresses the news in a friendly manner, the second draws out the important facts of the story. It also allows room for some handy adjectives to add to the tone of the piece.

Using third person may seem a little silly at first, particularly when quoting yourself. If you keep your reader in mind, it will soon cease to feel so strange.