As a search engine marketer, one of my jobs is to consult on press releases and press release submission.
Many times my clients will write their press releases and then send them to me to optimize them before they are submitted. And many times I have to perform quite an edit job in order to make them not only ready for the many online submission services, but also more compelling.
You see, optimizing a press release is very similar to optimizing a web page. You want the title to be compelling enough to get someone to click on it and read it, and you want the text to be just right. Not too wordy, but having enough to explain the premise of the release and keep the readers interest.
Remember when writing a press release that you don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression. A poorly written release not only makes you look less-than-professional but it can also impact your bottom line.
Below are some of the most common errors that are encountered on a regular basis.
All Upper Case Characters – You should never submit a press release to PR Web or any other press release service where the whole release (or even the title and summary) are all upper case. In fact PR Web’s editorial policy does not permit press releases written entirely in upper case characters.
Grammatical Errors – It is important to proof read and spell check your press release before submitting it. If you are unsure about the grammar ask someone who knows. Remember, people who have never heard of you will judge you based on this release, so you want that impression to be positive.
Lack of Content – When you write a press release, be sure that it answers all of the “W” questions, who, what, where, when, why. Many press release services will deny releases that are short on content. In fact PRWeb.com says they don’t post about 10% of all press releases due to lack of content. For more information on the right amount of content, please read our previous article.
Press Releases that Scream BUY ME! – Remember that press releases are geared towards the media. Therefore a sales-y release will turn off prospective interviewers.
This is actually a problem for some firms. They expect the marketing department to write the release and sometimes the marketing department puts too much of a sales spin in the release.
Hype Flags – This is similar to the BUY ME problem. If the press release contains to many flags it will likely get caught in the “hype flag filter” which many press release services use. Much like a spam filter works on your email inbox, this filter watches for this type of content and will remove the release from consideration. Examples of “Hype Flags” include an abundance of exclamation points or wild product and service claims.
Odd Characters – Some editors, such as Microsoft word, have a tendency to insert “special characters.” For example, quotation marks (”“) found in MS word are different than plain text quotation marks.
Therefore it is always best to paste your release into a more generic editor such as notepad, or some other text editor, before pasting it into the press release service’s editor. This can help ensure that these special characters are stripped out. At the very least you can edit your press release, replacing these characters.
Word Wrapping – Because press releases are viewed in different formats and on different sites it’s best to let your release wrap naturally. Don’t break the lines with carriage returns. Again, pasting into notepad or some other editor can help you spot these hard returns and fix them before submitting your release.
Incorrect Usage of E-mail – This plagues about 30% of all press releases. Use a role account instead of a personal account. A role account is news@domain.com instead of rob@domain.com.
You’d do this for many reasons such as, what if Rob goes on holidays or get sick? You want an account that more than one person can access and check on a regular basis. This can also help make your company appear larger which may encourage journalists to contact you for an interview.
These are just some of the more common errors which could cause your release to not be published. By following a few basic rules such as copying your release into a generic editor and using a more professional tone you can enhance your chances of having the release reviewed and quickly show up in the press release service.
