A press release is an official statement from your organization, so can you trust someone else to write it on your behalf?
But on the other hand, a press release needs to sound like an objective, journalistic account of a development.
It needs to meet certain standards if it will inspire trust and foster credibility that leads to long-term benefits.
Does that mean you’re better off leaving it in the hands of a public relations or marketing professional?
With access to online press cables and media distributors, press releases are widely used as part of marketing campaigns and branding strategies.
As this content appears alongside news headlines on large and small media outlets, it can create powerful impressions, but only they’re high quality.
If a press release is well written, relevant to its audience, and confronts a notable topic, the results can be significant.
But if a press release misses the mark and creates the wrong impression, it can backfire.
So as you decide to share a noteworthy development in a press release, what is the better option?
Should you trust someone else to write it or are you better off writing and issuing your own company press release?
This article will take a closer look at both options.
Hiring A Press Release Writer
If you decide to entrust your press release writing to someone outside of your company, you’ll need to contend with the same concerns that can arise whenever you hire someone to produce content, including finding a writer with the right skills and experience to produce the right results.
But even the most proficient writer needs the right information to create an effective press release and it will be up to you to provide those details.
A press release writer needs to know the most essential and compelling facts about your development.
Since your release will need to provide the who, what, where, when, and why behind your news, you must be prepared to submit these details to your writer.
You will also need to have a quote from someone who’s most qualified to comment on the development.
Depending on their marketing and public relations skills, your press release writer may also be depending on you to identify the most important hook of your story based on what will be of the greatest interest to your marketplace.
For example, if you’re hiring a writer to write a press release for the launch of a new product, make sure you provide facts about the new product that are most likely to capture the attention of your targeted buyers, not just the features your company is most excited about.
It’s likely that you will have the best understanding of what your ideal audience wants to know, so as you prepare the facts, make sure you choose details that will be relevant to these readers.
After your writer takes your details and turns them into a press release, it is up to your company to ensure it accurately reports your development, meets your quality standards, and is likely to be interesting to your targeted audience.
Since your company will be identified as the press release’s issuing party, it must be prepared to respond to follow-up questions and requests for additional information as well as any other response to the news.
Writing Your Own Press Release
You do not need to be a professional writer to create your own press release.
You will, however, need to have some understanding of a press release’s tone, structure, and standards so you can properly apply the details of your news.
Whether you need to issue a press release that announces a soon-to-be-discontinued product or one that calls attention to a new internship opening, the good news is that you can apply the same fundamentals to all different topics and stories your company needs to publicize.
Once you have a thorough understanding of what a press release should be, you will be better able to create one yourself, but always keep in mind the goal of this content is to inform, not promote.
Also, remember that your press release will need to satisfy basic quality and content standards to be accepted and published by most reputable press release distributors.
Before You Decide To Write Your Own Press Release
Before you decide to write your own press release, carefully consider whether you feel confident in your ability to do the following:
- Outline the facts of your development so your audience will understand what happened, when and where it happened, why it matters, who is responsible, and who will be most affected.
- Be objective and unbiased as you present the facts of your news as though you were a professional journalist covering your story and not someone attempting to generate hype or gain customers.
- Focus on the facts that will most engage your readers, not just those your company wants to share, such as issuing a press release that announces your company has won an award while emphasizing what it ultimately means for better serving your customers.
- Structure your information so that it fits within a 300 to 500-word limit spread over a few paragraphs.
- Create a summary that distills the most meaningful information of your release into roughly 50 words.
- Identify the most compelling aspect of your news to create a brief but attention-grabbing headline.
- Create a brief bio of your company for your release’s boilerplate.
- Run a thorough quality check to ensure all of your press release components are free of errors, clearly communicate the facts. and what will be interesting to your ideal reader.
