Relationships and trust between PR pros and reporters are key. If you are left with no response after sending a press release maybe it’s not you, it’s your press release! Follow these tips reporters will love every time you send one out. Our CONRIC team follows these same steps when sending out press releases!
1) Have a compelling story
Reporters need to make sure the story they’re working on is compelling and right for their publication. So do PR pros. Ask yourself, “Is this a story readers and viewers want to see and hear?” If it wouldn’t grab your attention, find another way to make your pitch.
2) Don’t junk up your headline
Resist the urge to get too specific in the headline. That’s valuable real estate! Reporters want headlines to be to the point and not overflowing with the information they’ll eventually read in the body of the press release.
3) Add contact info not only for yourself but for the subject of the release
The less work for reporters, the better. If a reporter likes the topic and wants to run with it, they’ll want more information, and it’s better to hear it from the source. This is a simple way to be cognizant of the reporter’s time constraints. Do this consistently and they’ll grow to appreciate you for it.
4) Flawless grammar and tone
Want to earn the trust of reporters and get them to put more of your words into their stories? Write with precision and accuracy in the same format they use. The last thing a reporter wants to do is sit there and correct typos. It’s more than merely following the inverted pyramid; it’s tailoring your approach to mimic the voice and tone of your target publications.
5) AP STYLEBOOK IS YOUR FRIEND
Know it backward and forward — and not backwards and forwards, per AP style. Nothing annoys reporters more than having to comb through press releases to fix simple style errors. The AP Stylebook should become your bible at work.