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Five Common Press Release Writing Mistakes

A quick Google search will give you plenty of advice on publishing your press release, but I doubt they’ll tell you what not to do. There are several things that can ruin your public relations efforts that are often over looked. We are going to tell you what these five sins are. That way, you can avoid them, which could help keep your press release from being ignored.

1. Simply forget to include your contact information. If your particular news angle catches the attention of a reporter or journalist, they need to be able to get in touch with you. So be sure to include either an email or a phone number, otherwise you’ve wasted their time, because they won’t be able to verify the source.

2. Use a vague headline for the press release. Headlines should be "catchy," not "cutesy." Yes, it’s important to grab a reader’s attention, but it’s just as important that the headline clarifies the basic news value of the story.

3. Not proof reading for typographical errors. Just like your English teacher always told you, proofreading is a must, especially for your press release. If your news is important enough to say, it should be important enough to say correctly.

4. Making it read like an ad. Press releases should never include hype or marketing copy. This means take out words such as "best" and "amazing" and do not include testimonials. These things immediately turn off most journalists. There is a difference between public relations and advertising.

5. Not keeping your news simple. Journalists receive tons of press releases every day. So you release needs to stand out. If you write in long blocks of text and don’t make your release easy to scan, it’ll get lost in the pile. So include a descriptive headline and summary and write short brief paragraphs.

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By Wes Upchurch for PressDr.com, a press release distribution company.

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