3 Tips for Writing an Effective Press Release

When you have big news to share about your coaching business, how do you spread the word? Perhaps you post content on your company’s blog, share the good news on Facebook or LinkedIn, or include an item in your email newsletter. But what about publishing and distributing a press release?

Press releases have long been part of marketers’ and public relations practitioners’ toolboxes, and for good reason: Even in the digital age, they get results. What’s more, press releases aren’t just for sharing news about your business. You can also use them to position yourself as a thought leader by providing timely, helpful insights in your area of expertise (e.g., a release that coincides with graduation season and provides recommendations for new graduates on the job market).

Even if you don’t consider yourself a writer or marketer, you can write an effective press release that gets the attention of the public—and might even catch the eye of a journalist or two, yielding valuable earned media coverage. These three tips will help you develop a press release that gets results:

1. Think like a journalist.

Economic pressures have forced media outlets to cut back on staff at a time when more content than ever is needed to feed the 24-hour news cycle, and journalists have to do more with less. Often, the greatest gift you can give a journalist or editor is ready-to-publish content that he or she can simply copy, paste and upload to the Web or add to a print publication. This is why you should think like a journalist. What makes your press release newsworthy? What does your audience most need to know, and how can you ensure that this information is front and center?

A good news story opens with a strong lede; i.e., a concise sentence that addresses most or all of the “five W’s” (who, what, where, when, why). This is where you demonstrate the newsworthiness of your release to the journalist and, subsequently, to your audience. As you craft the lede, keep in mind that what you find most newsworthy may not be what your audience finds most interesting. If possible, check in with someone you trust who works outside of the coaching profession and might represent your target audience, share your lede with them, and find out if it passes the “non-coach” test for newsworthiness. If it doesn’t, solicit feedback on how you can catch your target audience’s attention.   

Most news articles are written according to the inverted pyramid format, with the most important information first and least important information at the bottom of the article. This is the format you’ll want to follow as you write your press release. Not only will this help ensure that your press release is ready for publication; it will also mean that if the editor needs to cut it for length from the bottom up (standard operating procedure in newsrooms) the most important details will remain intact.

2. Write a strong headline.

Before joining the ICF team, I worked in consumer magazine publishing and often received dozens of press releases per day. I only took the time to read press releases with relevant, concise and compelling headlines and/or email subject lines. The others went straight to the recycling bin.

Because your headline is your first—and possibly only—chance to make an impression on your readers, make it count. Use the active voice, choose vivid and specific words, and tell your readers why the news they’re about to read matters.

Keep your headlines brief: Aim for no more than 120 characters, if possible. Many press release distribution services and online news outlets’ content management systems set strict upper limits for headline length, and print outlets are similarly constrained by the column inches allotted for an article. (As an added bonus, a short headline can be shared easily on Twitter.)

Finally, keep in mind that you do get a second chance to share “level-2” information: The standard press release format (shown in the graphic at left) includes a subhead where you can provide additional detail that didn’t fit into the headline.

3. Be concise.

Traditional news articles are typically just a few hundred words in length. Keep this guideline in mind as you write, and aim to cap your press release’s length at 700 words or fewer. This is particularly important if you’re planning to use a press release distribution service, such as eReleases or PRNewswire. Most services set word limits on the releases they will distribute, so know your cap before you begin writing.

If you find yourself struggling to draft a release that stays within the limit, review the release with an eye toward separating what your audience needs to know from what you’d like them to know. Once again, this is an opportunity to enlist an outside reader who can help you take a step back and make the necessary edits.

Press releases are a powerful way to share your business’ successes with the audiences you want to reach, position yourself as a thought leader and increase your ability to gain attention from media outlets. Don’t miss the opportunity to use this tried-and-true PR tool to tell your story to the world.