Newspaper revenue dropped 62% from 2008 to 2018. Given that staggering number, you may think that writing a press release is old-hat and no longer vital.
Although social media and other forms of internet marketing rule the day, marketing via the press remains a vital and authoritative strategy for any company or organization. Having a journalist write a story for any city’s newspaper of record lends your organization credibility that no social media post can achieve.
Should you take the reigns and craft your releases? Should you hire an expert writer to perform that task? Read on to learn more about who should write your press releases and why.
Writing is a Skill
Written language is the fundamental building block of any society. Language is how we communicate with each other. It’s the very foundation of our founding documents and legal system.
To have command of our written language is to be an educated and functional citizen. Yet, many people lack the precise skill to write a professional document like a press release. If that describes you, there’s no reason to feel ashamed.
Writing effective press releases takes training and practice. While nothing is stopping you from learning the skill, there are reasons why many hire writers to craft any company press release.
What Constitutes an Effective Press Release
A press release is a short news story crafted by a company or organization to highlight a significant occurrence. For example, your nonprofit may have a fundraising event planned. You write and send a release in hopes that a journalist will write a news story about the upcoming event.
Like a news article, your release should have a captivating headline. The body must answer the typical 5 W questions. It should relay why the significant occurrence is or will be crucial for the general public.
Unlike a news article, your audience is journalists. A press release is a document that highlights newsworthy aspects of an event or product launch.
Press Release Format
Writing captivating and concise prose is not the only skill necessary for an effective press release. Like all other journalism-related endeavors, press releases follow a specific formula and format. Mastering these takes time and effort, but familiarity and mastery help focus your prose.
All press releases, like all newspaper articles, must follow the AP style guide. This specific style provides uniform grammar across all forms of written media. Failure to adhere to this style illustrates a lack of professionalism and seriousness. If your company or organization can’t follow the guidelines, why should anyone write a story?
Press releases should also always use a third-person point of view. This point of view provides a professional amount of distance and clarity and avoids sounding hacky or like a cheap advertisement.
As far as layout, you can use a plug-in press release template to ensure uniformity. A professional, clean look will help your release stand out from all the others a journalist receives each day.
Who Should Write Your Press Release
You can do it yourself, but learning the skills necessary takes time and practice. Reading a press release example won’t be enough to write an effective document.
A journalism degree, after all, takes four years to complete. Even then, journalists start out apprenticing at smaller newspapers and writing obituaries. Though you can master the skills, it’s understandable you may want to outsource.
There are options available to you for press release writing.
Someone on Staff
You work for or operate an organization made of people who have varying skill sets. Someone already on your staff may have the writing skills necessary to write an effective press release.
These are people who maybe studied English in college or have a related degree that involves intense reading and writing. To find these expert writers on your staff is an organizational blessing.
A Journalist
Young journalists don’t make a lot of money. A journalist’s median pay hovers around $39,000.That’s barely a comfortable living in any location, so many use their skill set to supplement their income.
One way they do this is by writing press releases. Journalists make great press release writers because they know how to write attention-grabbing headlines, have AP-style practice, and understand what will captivate the interest of their coworkers.
Technical Writers
You can find freelance technical writers to do the job. While they may not have the specific skills of a professional journalist, they do have foundational writing knowledge. What they don’t know, they can quickly learn.
Hiring a freelance technical writer to write your press releases may have another benefit. Once you develop a working relationship, you can utilize their skills for other organizational communications projects.
Press Release Writing Service
A writing service provides you the best of all possible writing worlds. These services employ expert journalists capable of spinning any headline, as well as detail-oriented technical writers.
There are other advantages to hiring a press release service. These services keep a vast, targeted database of journalists and social media influencers. They’ll not only write clean copy but ensure that your press release submission reaches as large an audience as possible.
Read more about what a press release writing service provides an organization.
Who Should Write a Press Release
Writing a press release is a skill. If you are an effective communicator, you can learn how. Be aware that you may fail through many drafts before you write a working headline and body.
You may have someone on staff able to craft a press release, or you can hire a freelance journalist to do the job. Press release writing services, however, provide the best return on investment. They employ professional writers and will make sure your press release gets to the best journalists.
Do you need more writing tips? Make sure to check out the rest of our page.