You need to make your press release newsworthy for journalists to write about your company. Before you start a press release, scan over online news stories about companies, and identify what you consider an interesting news story. Journalists want the same interesting news story. Journalists are looking for press releases that:

– Are different
– Are interesting
– Are catchy
– Are impressive

So if you’re writing about your company, place the attention-grabber at the top. Journalists don’t read over each press release in whole. The press release title and opening summary should immediately grab the reporter into the news story.

A reporter recently gave me inside tips into how reporters judge a newsworthy press release: “As an editor, I’d suggest a brief intro, then break it out into bullet points, one for each of the projects you’re promoting. Keep it short – pare down the quotes unless they’re real zingers – and highlight what makes these products unique in a crowded market”

The reporter went on to explain that emotion in a press release pulls journalists in. So if you want to make your press release newsworthy, craft your press release like a Rocky movie – packed with emotion and passion.

“Journalists like a compelling life story, a backstory for the product. We’ll especially bite for people who achieve success very young, or come from interesting backgrounds, or whose life story influenced the product. Anything that makes a good yarn, really, and makes the product stand out”

And don’t get discouraged if you send your press release to 100 newspapers without a bite. It seems the news reporting business is changing in that reporters search more for press releases, new product launches etc. online instead of relying as heavily on mailed press releases. So work hard on building a strong online presence with SEO, so if the reporters don’t read your press release you send in the mail, they’ll surely find you on Google.