Are you an in-house marketing specialist responsible for the promotion of company products or services? Thus, you know that nothing can bring you bigger traffic and sales results than a high-quality press release.
The main benefit is that a press release is a cost-effective advertising tool: you just need to write an explosive piece and send it out. In most cases, its publication is free of charge. Unlike advertising, all required investments are your time and creativity.
To succeed, your task isn’t only to create a buzz-worthy press release but also to share it through an eye-grabbing press release email that will make journalists fight for your selection. There is no guarantee that all journalists you refer to will read your letter instead of sending it to the trash. That’s why a really persuasive message must be composed responsibly.
In this article, you’ll discover some proven techniques for creating a top-notch press release email, namely:
To grab the attention of an editorial team from the first lines and keep them interested throughout the whole letter, make sure that your email consists of these parts:
Headline. It’s a brief attention-grabbing statement summarizing the news you are sharing. The best headline has to grab the attention of readers quickly – you have about ten seconds to convince them to keep looking. Write a short, clear, and comprehensible intro. It should answer the question: What is the letter about? You can make a headline first or after the entire email is ready (sometimes it’s easier).
A little hint: To make the headline truly exciting, use keywords that are presented in the body of your text.
An example: “Learn How Research Paper Service Revolutionalizes The Education Industry – Exclusive Case Study From EssayHub”
Lead. The information concentrated here should reveal three points: What? Where? When?
Based on the example above, a lead section might look like this: “One week ago, EssayHub created an exciting case study with one of their clients, demonstrating how a top-notch research paper service can improve academic performance. It’s a revolutionary insight for the entire education industry.”
Strive for simplicity – write short sentences and provide the journalists with a clear description of what your press release is about. Editors usually do not have much time to dive into your letter. They receive dozens of similar messages every day.
How to distinguish your message among the crowd? Try to make the life of journalists easier. Put the main idea into the lead by using accurate dates, facts, places, and contacts. In this way, you increase the chances of your email being noticed and, finally, published.
Body. It’s a central part of your press release email consisting of a detailed explanation of the information presented above. Enrich the additional paragraphs with supporting material and significant details (i.e. direct quotes, relevant background information, statistics, etc.).
In case it’s difficult for you to determine a unique approach to writing the body, you can use any universal press release template, e.g., one which we’ve presented at the end of the article.
Company’s bio. Increase the confidence of journalists by giving them reliable information about your company: name, area, achievements, where the headquarters is located, etc.
Contact information. Show that you are a real person and you are trustworthy. Put your photo (if it’s possible), your job position, a link to LinkedIn, your email, and phone number for quick dial.
Now it’s time to go through the whole text. You need to check out whether you wrote it in plain language and whether you provided enough information (or too much).
To do this, make sure that your email answers the following questions:
* These points are relevant to the press release template which announces certain company events.
Customize them if the main idea of your message is the announcement of another kind of news like the establishment of partnerships, product launch, or getting significant achievements and awards.
To make exacting experts read your press release email to the end, follow these simple rules:
In addition, these tips will be extremely helpful for you if you still wonder how to send a press release email properly so that it’s not missed or ignored:
The hardest step is to wait for a response after sending an email. There is no guarantee that you will get it at all. The reasons can be different. For example, a journalist just did not have time to read your letter or your piece of news didn’t impress him/her.
To reduce stress while waiting for a response, keep track of the open rate to determine whether the email has been read. This data will allow you to send a friendly reminder letter.
What happens after you finished writing a press release email? Right, you sigh with relief and send it. However, I urge you to make a stop, and before clicking the Send button, check your text once again:
Just copy it and customize the fields with your specific company info.
Hi [NAME].
I wanted to send you a quick note about [ORGANIZATION’s] [EVENT] on [DATE]. Led by the young people of [TOWN], we’ll be [BRIEFLY DESCRIBE ACTIVITY AND THE “WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY” WHO’S PARTICIPATING? WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH? ANY VIP’S ATTENDING? INCLUDE ONLY THE MOST COMPELLING INFO HERE]. I’ve pasted a press release with additional details below. I can provide more info, photos, and arrange interviews if you’d like.Do you think [NEWS OUTLET] may be interested in attending and covering our [EVENT] activities? There are some great stories about inspiring young people, as well as photo opportunities, that I know would be meaningful to your community. I’ll follow up in a few days to see if you might want to spread the word about this grand event.
Thanks very much!
[YOUR NAME & CONTACT INFORMATION]CONTACT INFORMATION:
[Company Name]
[Contact Name]
[Phone Number]
[Email Address]RELEASE DATE:
[Date][AN ATTACHED PRESS RELEASE DOC]
How to send a press release email with the maximum probability of seeing your publication go live? As I explained in the article, the entire workflow can be reduced to 5 pivotal actions:
1. Make sure that your news is worthy.
2. Find a journalist who is likely to be interested in covering this piece of news.
3. Write a structured and concise email.
4. Track open rates.
5. Send follow-up letters or make a call.
Finally, always remember that you’re reaching out to people, not machines, so write naturally, trying to create emotional attraction.