5 Tricks for Writing a Killer Press Release

By Michael Cornnell

At the PM offices, we read through dozens of press releases a day from companies looking for news coverage. Some are unbelievably crisp and well-crafted, others ... less so ("overgrown" and "incredibly confusing" would probably be the two best descriptions of our less-than-favorites). It seems like everyone wants to get news out about their company, but not everyone is sure how.
People's online attention spans are a fraction of a blink of a non-second. Clean and careful writing can absolutely make the difference between your company's message being read and appreciated or being ignored and discarded with an "Eh, let's move on to the next thing." Not just for our newsletter, but for any press release you send anywhere, here are five easy ways to make your news more readable, understandable, and most importantly, attention-grabbing.

1. Use Short, Clear Headlines
Avoid long or jargon-filled headlines for your news releases. You want to use short, simple language that explains your news clearly in a way your customers will understand. News like "MegaCorp. Inc. Acquires Promotional Arm of BrandWarriors LLC" should be shortened to something like "MegaCorp Acquires Major New Business Partner" unless BrandWarriors is a name your customers will recognize immediately; "Print-zilla Purchases 10 New Kodak XXVII Large-scale Color-infusion Printers" would be better as "Print-zilla Boosts Its Printing Capabilities with Brand New Machinery," etc.

2. Include a Deck
A "deck" is a short sentence included after the title of your release, but before the body of your text. It's used to better explain the content of your message, kind of like a second hook to snare a reader after your title. They are usually called out from the body of your message in some form of highlighted text, looking something like this:

"[Headline] Promo Planet Shatters Sales Records
[Deck] Over 10,000 customers served, $20 million in new sales