If you're late, you're old news. Sorry, but that's just how a press release works.
It's the PR tool that just keeps giving. The news release is the bare necessity of a PR person's muse. It’s the primary way the media keep the rest of the world up-to-date on all the updates.
With the advent of Video News Releases (VNRs) and social networking websites, it's impressive to see how the news release has been able to sustain itself.
PRNewswire, Marketwire and The Open Press are just three of several press release distribution websites that have allowed for new technology to complement an old-fashioned tool.
A press release is not a story, nor is it a story pitch. It is a stand-alone tool that requires some essentials:
1. Send out your releases early.
The more time you provide the media with, the better. Make sure your news remains timely and important for as long as possible.
2. Send out releases frequently.
Let the press releases help your client stay relevant. Find new ways to keep the media in touch with the progress of your company. This is how you'll stay active and productive in your endeavors, and more importantly, at the forefront of the minds of editors.
3. Be as informative as possible.
Give the media a full understanding of your client and your release's purpose. Provide your background information. Make the significance of this media breakthrough clear to the receiver. If you don't highlight what is newsworthy, your press release fails.
4. Speak their native tongue.
You know the drill: AP style, nice and concise and never use first-person pronouns. Quickest way to turn off a journalist? Write how they envision a "typical" PR junkie writes.
5. Be a jack of all trades.
Write persuasively like a PR person. Scrutinize like an editor. Piece together the story like a journalist.
Here is the standard format for a press release, according to Publicity Insider.
Good luck.
