Stop the pressssssssss...
The caveat to using press releases as a business promotion tool, is that your press release has to actually contain information that is newsworthy, and be engaging enough to get people's interest. Try and have a human angle to the story.
When you read the press release ask yourself:
- Has your business recently expanded?
- Do you have a new product?
- Have you been involved in some promotional activity such as sponsoring a charity event?
- Have you or your company recently won an award?
All of these are examples of "news" that you can capitalize on to get some free promotion for your business. While many business people send press releases to newspapers as a matter of course, don't forget about the Internet.
Formating of the document
Always put Press Release in big letters on top of the release.
Then the statement "For immediate release"
Try and keep it to one page if possible
Then the information in the release should include the following:
- Key players names and how they are involved
- Date that this event happened or will happen
- Relevant quote from upper management
- If possible, a quote form industry expert
- Contact information so they know who to contact to get more quotes and info
- A high resolution image in color or links to a selection of images
- At the bottom of the page your businesses positioning statement
See this link for more details.
