How to Write a Great Press Release

A press or media release is still a great marketing tool for promoting your company. Publishing your release online is an excellent way to drive traffic to your website. A well planned, constructed, and targeted press release will create brand awareness, gain more newsletter subscriptions, promote new products, and simply – get you more (hopefully free) publicity.


Write like the pros, format like the pros, and hit your target media.

First know the primary purpose of your press release. Then sketch out a rough draft. A great press release will have a catchy title and a content-rich lead paragraph. Just like a newspaper article (remember newspaper articles) you need to “draw in” your audience in the first few sentences. Read a few press releases to see what I mean. Save a few samples that really capture your attention. Use them to inspire you.

In the online world, your press release headline will be what search engines pick up first. Use keywords and capture attention. If you’re promoting a new website, use the URL in the headline. If promoting a new product, include those keywords.

Analyze the format, heading, body text, closing, contact info/resource box, and keyword placing of the press releases you’ve found. Make the job of the media outlet easy. If your press release looks like news, sounds like news, is well formatted, interesting, and requires no more than a “copy and paste” on their end – your chances of getting it distributed are exponentially increased.

Avoid too much self promotion or over-optimized “spammy text.” Your objective should be more along the lines of educating consumers and becoming a resource. Press releases are not intended for hard selling. Use keyword phrases in the first and last paragraphs, but don’t over saturate; two to three percent is plenty. Always use a proofreader. Cut out any excess content. Keep it short, simple, and beneficial.

With a well written and executed press release you should begin to see a steady flow of targeted visitors to your website while generating valuable back links to your website. Put together a professional looking press/media kit and media outlets will call on you as a subject matter expert, gaining further exposure for your business.

For expert help call Terra today at (715) 584-6773!