The press release is a great tool you can use to share useful information about your organization, strategically position for strategic gains as well as correct public perception.
You will agree that it can be tough for bands to break through the noise to get the attention of editors and publishers in the space. Typically, journalists and publishers get tons of pitches about products, and founders as well as other exciting news about funding, launches and so on.
Writing a press pitch is a chore. So, it will be sad if you will craft one and it does not get the desired attention.
So, here are 5 fail-proof strategies for writing compelling press releases that I have developed based on my experience as a publisher of one of the leading tech media platforms in Africa, Technext.
Let us get to it:
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1. Be friends at least: To make this work perfectly, pitches should not really sound like cold calls. We are not suggesting that you must sit over drinks with journalists before you get your articles published. But, starting from a point of familiarity will do great work.
Place a call before or after you have sent an email. Exchange DMs on social media platforms before sending the email is a basic conversation starter, if you cannot get a telephone number within your network.
Trust me, it might look small, but a “Hi David” is really better than a “Hi there”.
2. Make it clear and concise: For your press release to stand out, you need to have a well-written attention-grabbing headline that shares the most important and newsworthy nugget of information in your story.
It’s important, though, not to try to be too clever. You know what we mean. No exaggerations, no clickbait, and no obfuscations. We are sure you know what that means.
An additional note: If you do not wish it to be mentioned, don’t give a hint. It is an error of miscommunication on your part if you have to accuse a journalist of misinterpreting your statement.
And, avoid too many quotes. It is not really important that every stakeholder makes a statement on your subject line.
3. On writing well: This is no time to set a stage and build up to your announcement at the end of the paragraph (or even worse, a few paragraphs down).
It is said that a good article is around 400-600 words but we won’t really prescribe a length. Just go straight with the point, please.
As a rule, your first two paragraphs should really summarize in a nutshell the crux of the story that you are sharing. The first paragraph should actually be a summary of the what, who, when and how. The second paragraph should tell why that is important.
Just a bit about writing styles…
Make the language simple. Check for readability. One way to do this is to ask a colleague to look over your press release who knows nothing about the topic. If it makes sense to them, then you are doing something correctly.
You should also check the details: Confirm dates, times, statistics and sources. You will really hamper your chances for a second chance if you need to send correction emails and make the editors do more work.
And, remember that internal jargon does not belong in a press release. Avoid needless acronyms.
Plus, you might infuse quotes, as long as they are framed around the topic, are interesting to read and importantly are not purely self-promotional.
4. Stop doing this!: Don’t reiterate your boilerplate at the bottom of the release. Do you know what a boilerplate is?
A boilerplate summarizing key information — often a founding date, web address, and basic information about an organization in 1–3 sentences.
An example: “Technext is a tech media company that tells the African tech narrative in a language that everyone can understand. We provide young Africans across the globe important information that they need to make the best of their lives…”
If you have a standard boilerplate containing information about your organization, association or small business, and you include some of that information in your release copy.
So, don’t feel the need to repeat all of that information again in the boilerplate at the bottom of the release.
You are just going to add to the length. Stop it!
5. Let your email count: Typically, your pitch should be sent in an email. So, be very strategic in the use of the subject line of your email. Avoid using words like “urgent”, “breaking”, “important” or “update”.
The article may be all this to you. It may not be these to the publishing platform.
The body of the email should be formal but relational. Also, avoid pasting the story and pictures in the body of the email. It may make it unmissable but also difficult to copy. You may attach these as files or upload or a drive and include the link in your email.
That said, we believe that attaching pictures, infographics and other relevant media items is very good. You will do well to attach clear and not heavy files.
Finally, it is best to leave room for correspondence and follow-through. Please indicate that you are willing to answer any questions that the journalists have.
This will encourage the journalists to take a step to clarify unclear areas in your article, rather than delete your email.
I hope this has been helpful. You are welcome!
PSA: Please feel free to reach out to the Technext team at [email protected] to share your pitches.
Bio:
David Afolayan is the Co-founder and Content Chief at Technext.
Technext is a technology news and analysis platform that seeks to tell the African tech and startups’ narrative in a language everyone can understand.
With over 500,000 monthly impressions and over 90,000 newsletter subscribers, the platform has grown to become one of the 3 top most-read tech news platforms in about 5 years of founding with significant revenue growth.
David has about 9 years of cognate experience in branding, digital communications, content strategy and tech journalism. He has offered communications consulting services to key industry leaders and corporate organisations in the technology, banking and support services sector.
He has a Master’s Degree in the English Language from the University of Lagos.
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