5 Press Release Writing Mistakes that Will Out you as a Rookie
When you’re first starting out writing press releases, it’s difficult to not slip up and make a few mistakes. Unfortunately, many of these mistakes come from simply not having experience in the field. Most journalists have come to notice these, so they will automatically know you’re a rookie! So to avoid looking like a total noob, do your best to avoid these five damaging goofs.
1. Your Title is Messy
Since the title is the first thing a journalist will see, it can be the beginning or end of everything. If your title is great, the reader wants to keep reading. On the other hand, if it’s terrible, you’ve damned the entire thing to the recycle bin.
Press release rookies will often make the mistake of making a super long, overly detailed title. Or, perhaps worse, they write a funny joke as a title that gives no description of the actual piece. Experienced press release pros know that a concise and straightforward title is the way to go.
2. You Don’t Follow the Inverted Pyramid
Journalists learn about this on day one of journalism school, and successful press release writers learn about it the day they start trying to woo journalists. Basically, the inverted pyramid is a “plan” to follow when writing news. The important stuff goes at the “top” of the pyramid – for instance, if the story was about an event, this would cover name, date, and location. As you move down the pyramid, the info gets less important.
A rookie has no idea to follow this basic structure. He or she will throw facts and quotes in at random. This makes the journalist trying to read it confused and angry. Follow the inverted pyramid and you will have a leg up on the competition.
3. You Forget to Include Contact Info
Yes, we’re all on the Internet now, so we all use email. But as strange as it may sound, some people actually want to call you on the phone and talk to you! Rookie press release writers may not realize this. Because of this, they forget to include phone number info on the release.