Sections of this topic
How to Get Found … and Heard
Your competition knows how to rise to the top. Here’s a quick guide to getting the attention of the search engines and your target customer who is searching online. According to PRWeb.com, if you follow these tips you’ll have a professional, concise and powerful news release.
Headline
Get your readers’ attention here. Provide information but don’t use more than 60 characters. Most importantly, use your best keywords in the headline. Write your headline and summary last to be sure you include the most important keywords and information captured from the release.
Summary
Your job in the summary is to entice your reader to want to know more. Give a synopsis of the contents and a brief description of your business and the information you’re sharing. Use keywords! Make sure you announce your company’s name within the headline, summary or first few paragraphs so you immediately link the information with your organization.
Dateline & Lead Paragraph
FORMAT: City, State & Day, Month, Year PLUS the most important information you want to announce. Grab your reader’s attention here by simply stating the news you have to announce. Ideally, keep it down to 25 words or less. Best practices are to keep the lead paragraph compelling and simple, and remember to use a keyword.
The lead and first paragraph of a press release announces what you have to say, providing answers to as many of the critical “who, what, when, where, why (your reader should care) and how” questions that are relevant to your story.
Body
Now’s your chance to tell your story. And, like any news story, the purpose is to provide your reader with information. Remember to keep your tone neutral and objective—like a newscaster, NOT an advertisement. In 300-800 words, elaborate on who, what, when, where, why and how (include keywords!) The media typically lifts this information if they pick up or reference your release.
Add details to your story that support your claim, add interest, or reinforce what you are trying to say. These can include quotes from key staff, customers or subject matter experts, statistics, charts, etc.
Boilerplate Statement
In the press release world, this is typically your “About the Company” sentence. Be sure to use hyperlinks to your website.
Contact Info
Contact information provides the media and everyone else interested in what you have to say a way to reach you. It should include your company name, telephone number, website, and an email address.
The Finish
When you’ve finished writing, proofread for typos and do a final check to make sure it’s clear, timely and free of advertising hype, direct marketing and spam. Do this a few times and it becomes second nature.
For these pointers, we thank PRWeb.com, an online news release distribution service.
For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Marketing and Social Media.
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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:
Ms. Chapman’s new book, The WebPowered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide is now available at:
· Amazon.com: http://bit.ly/AmazonTheWebPoweredEntrepreneur
· Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/BNTheWebPoweredEntrepreneur
Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. She helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com
