3 (More!) Tricks For Writing Knife-sharp Press Releases

Example 2: "I'm so excited for Slappy Dan to be joining our company," said Maria Beatdown, president and owner of Promo Brawlers Inc. "We have kickers and punchers, even a few biters here at Promo Brawlers, but Dan will be our first slapper. And let me tell you, Dan can really slap," said Beatdown. "Hands-across-face, he's the best palm-swinger I've ever seen. No lie? He actually holds the North American land record for most slaps slung per minute, about 10,080. I think we can agree, that is some matchless, merciless, slapping!"

Why it adds value: Explains a new hire's place within the company, the scale of his skill and value, and that the owner actually cares about and knows her employees.

If you're not the president or owner of your company, you may feel you don't have the relationship with your boss to pull such lengthy and sincere quotes from them. I would recommend two things here: Either don't include any quotes, or better yet, take the time to talk to them briefly about the project/event you're promoting. Just 10 or so minutes, very informally. You can buy a $20 audio recorder off Amazon.com if you like, use a recorder on your smartphone, just take written shorthand notes, do it all through email, whatever. Encourage them to forget about giving you the perfect sound byte (finding that is your job) and just talk. Why the news item matters, how it happened, how they feel about it, how it affects your competitors, etc. You can clean up and polish what they say later, for now you just want to find our what they think or feel about the item you're trying to promote. Whatever you pick though, make sure it matters and actually says something worth reading!

3. Add Secondary Links
Most people have the sense to add their company's websites to their releases, but they often neglect to add links to relevant secondary web material. Does your CEO have a blog? Add a link! Do you have a super-duper Twitter feed where you share all kinds of product photography? Add a link! Is there a relevant news story or study online? Add a link!