Breakthrough Press Releases
for the Digital Age:
How to Write Press Releases That Skyrocket Media Coverage and Search Visibility
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Forward: Your Challenge, Should You Decide to Accept It
1: A Powerful Tool Takes on New Life in the Digital Age
- How Press Releases Became So Popular and Effective
- Why Press Releases Still Work Today
- A New Way of Thinking about—and Creating—Press Releases
- Two Critical Jobs Today's Press Release Must Do
2: When Should You Issue a News Release?
- Why Publicly Traded Companies Need a Special Kind of Press Release
- How to Make an Impact with Company Announcements
- When You Don't Need a Press Release
3: How Journalists and Other Audiences Consume Press Releases
- How to Deliver Your Release to Journalists
- How Other Audiences Use Press Releases
4: What's News and Who Cares? Why PR Pros Need News Sense
5: Writing Readable and Memorable Press Releases
- Best Topics for News Releases
- Why Research Comes Before Writing
- The Essence of the Breakthrough News Release
- How to Use the Five W's and H = Who, What, When, Where, Why and How
- How to Incorporate the "Other 5 Ws
- The FAME Formula and Other Tips for Making Your Release More Newsworthy
6: How to Write Feature Releases That Editors Love
- Example of a Press Release with a "Hard News" Approach
- Example of a Press Release Translated to a Feature News Approach
- #1: Think Human Interest, Not Commercial
- #2: Where to Put Your Commercial Plug
- #3: Keep Your Features Short and Pithy
- #4: Turn the Calendar to Your Advantage
- #5: Recycle Your Great Ideas to Multiple Media Outlets
7: How to Make Press Releases More Visible Using Search Engine Optimization
- Where to Place Your Keywords in a News Release
- How to Conduct Keyword Research for Press Releases
- How to Mine Social Media Sources of Keywords
8: How to Craft a Compelling Headline
- How to Make Search Engines Love Your Headline
- What Should Be in Your Headline . . . and What Not?
9: Digging In: How to Compose Your Digital Era Press Release
- Why the Headline and Subhead Are So Critical
- Function of Your Dateline
- What the Body of the Release Should Have and Do
- The Job of Your Lead Paragraph
- How to Use Quotes Effectively
- What about Your Company Boilerplate?
- Your All-Important Contact Information
- Don't Forget to Include a Social-Media Sharing Component
- Real-Life Examples of Well-Crafted News Releases
- How It's Done: Betterbookz.com Draft Press Release Example
10: Why Adding Multimedia Can Supercharge Your Release
- Options for Including Video in Your Press Releases
- Tips on the Best Ways to Create and Share Photos in Releases
- Why You Should Consider Including Infographics in Your Releases
11: What PR People Need to Know about News Distribution Services
- The Argument for Using a Wire Service to Distribute
- Which Services You Get from Wire Distribution
12: Alternative Ways to Send Your Release to Journalists and Other Audiences
- The Virtues and Rules of Email Distribution
- How to Post on Major Social Media
- Don't Forget to Publish on Your Own Website
- How to Generate Media Interest in Your Press Release: Inside Tips and Techniques
13: How to Monitor and Measure the Impact of Your Press Release
Appendix 1: Additional Resources for Press Release Writers
- A List of Major Press Release Distribution Services
- Where to Find More Press Release Tips
- Where to Find More Resources for Better Writing
- Additional Keyword Research Tools
Appendix 2: 10 Danger Signals of a Bad Press Release
Appendix 3: The 10 Most Devastating Grammatical and Punctuation Mistakes PR People Can Make
Appendix 4: The 10 Most Misused Words and Phrases in Public Relations
Appendix 5: Bulldog Reporter's Press Release Distribution Buyer's Guide: How to Choose the Right Service for Your Press Release Distribution Needs—Including a Features Comparison Chart for 9 Leading Products
