Press Release

Press Release

The Press Release might include some offers related to products which may be of interest to the reader. Often surfers will subscribe to publications which deal in their area of specialty. For example a betting fan might also need the latest news about injuries. These are the fundamental points to look out for:

1. An attractive headline: In the first instance a press release has to have a headline which grabs your attention. The tabloid newspapers are particularly adept at creating impressions right from the beginning of their piece. For example once an outlet wrote the following about a conservative male politician: “…was photographed with images of half naked men”. The shocked readers later discovered that the story was really about a health promotion at a local gym where wrestlers had placed their publicity photographs in the background. It may be misleading but it certainly got the attention of the readers. As a word of warning libel charges can be laid if the headline is clearly impugning someone’s reputation.

2. A summary of the contents: Most of the websites which syndicate press releases will have a summarized version of the main content which is listed on the search engine results. Therefore this section has to broadly reflect the contents of the piece. It is not acceptable to simply fill it with key words. There are some severe penalties for key word stuffing regardless of its origins. Three paragraphs are normally sufficient although each syndicate website might define specific entry criteria in order to complete the publication.

3. The body of the press release: The message that is being communicated is to be found in the main body. Unlike articles, there is little room for florid sentence structures. Instead the critical elements are summarized in language which is understandable to the majority of readers online. Brevity and commercialization does not mean that self promotion will be acceptable to the main distributors. In fact many of them have specific exclusion clauses which point out the fact that self promotion is forbidden within this section. The press release is meant to be “newsworthy”. Talking about your latest product lines is hardly going to make the cut.

4. A conclusive end: The end should first of all summarize the main ideas within the press release and then proceed to give readers contact lines in a variety of formats. Some of the people may wish to comment on the story but may not have email so it is a good idea to include a telephone number or mailing address. A PR professional might be put forward as a main contact just in case the issues are controversial.

The online press release has unfortunately become a marketing tool. Initially this had been nothing more than a method for communicating news. Now back links are used to ensure that there are possibilities for making money. One of the consequences of this shift is the reduction in the quality of output.