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Top 10 Press Release Writing Tips For Mompreneurs: Part 1

by Britt Michaelian

Guest Post by Tara Geissinger and Christine O’Kelly

of Online PR News

Press releases… Aren’t those the stodgy boring things that corporations sent out to the media?  That may have been the case in the past, but today’s press release has morphed into an incredibly powerful promotional piece that can be leveraged by businesses of every size.

You can easily utilize one day’s toddler naptime to write and distribute a press release that can:

  • Generate hundreds of backinks
  • Get you a first page position on Google News
  • Live in the search engine results indefinitely
  • Bring you new customers
  • Establish your brand dominance
  • Potentially land you an interview in a blog, webinar, podcast, magazine, or newspaper

By following these 10 essential steps, you’ll have all the tools you need to write and publish a press release between school drop off and lunchtime.

#1: Choose a Powerful Press Release Topic

There are probably all kinds of things happening within your business that are ideal material for a press release! Many people that I talk to have a tendency to feel as if their news is not ‘newsworthy’ enough to warrant a press release. In all of the years that I’ve talked with people, I’ve never met anyone that didn’t have one, if not many, press release worthy happenings to announce!

Here are just a few questions to get you thinking:

  • Have you published a new article, e-book, video, or other content piece that is useful for your target market?
  • Have you added a new product to your inventory or a new service to your list of offerings?
  • Have you been featured or quoted in a blog, webinar, newspaper, or magazine?
  • Have you added any enhancements to your website to better serve your customers or that are revolutionary in your industry?
  • Are you running or about to run a contest?
  • Are you offering a special limited time deal or sale?
  • Have you or your company recently earned any awards or accolades?
  • Has your business engaged in any new strategic partnerships that will allow you to better serve the needs of your customers or improving your industry?
  • Have you made any key hires that will result in better serving your customers or improving your industry?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these, then you have the makings of a great press release.

#2: Writing Effective and Optimized Headlines

An effective press release headline must include two critical elements:

1. Keywords

2. A Solid News Angle

The importance of keywords:

In the ‘olden days,’ press releases were sent out via a newswire service where journalists held all of the power to decide what was and wasn’t newsworthy. While a new model train car may not be “newsworthy” enough for a journalist at the local paper to write about, it is certainly important to a model train hobbyist or a ‘citizen journalist’ blogger who writes about model trains.

With the advent of instant online publishing search engines, the online press release has completely eliminated the need for information gatekeepers. Now companies can publish press releases online not only for journalists to find, but also for their target market to find via search engines.

This is precisely the reason why it is important to include your main keyword in your title. This will increase the chances of having your release show up high in search results for that term.

The importance of the news angle

Today, journalists use Google and other search engines to find their sources just like the rest of us — and press releases are an ideal way to get your news in search engines in front of journalists that are actively looking for an expert to quote.

The key to writing strong press release headlines is making sure they focus on the news angle while also including one of your main keywords for SEO. It can be tempting to be ‘cute’ with your PR headline — trying to tease the news or write something that will grab attention. This technique can backfire when journalists and readers are quickly skimming the headlines.

#3 Leveraging Anchor Text To Promote Your Keywords

Many PR distribution websites offer anchor text links embedded within your release. Take advantage of these links! Building backlinks to your website is one of the basics of SEO. Still, we often see businesses using general phrases like “blog” or “Facebook” to link to their websites rather than the key terms they should be trying to target. If you are a real estate agent in Nevada, for example, you may wish to link to your website using the phrase “real estate” – but that is still a very general (and highly competitive) term. Instead, consider narrowing your target to phrases like “Nevada real estate” or “Nevada short sales.”

#4 Include 1-2 Full URL Links

Not all places where you can submit your press release will offer the option to include anchor text. And even if they do, there is no guarantee that a site that reprints your press release will include the anchor text. That is why it is always a good idea to include at least one URL to your homepage in your release. If you’re referencing a particular product or service in your press release, be sure to add a URL link to that particular page as well.

#5 Make Your Summary KISS-able

Oftentimes you are given the opportunity to create a summary for your press release. Rather than just copying and pasting the first two sentences of your release, take this opportunity to really “sell” the reader on your release. Your summary will often display below your headline on the homepage of the PR distribution website — making it a perfect mini-advertisement as to why readers and journalists should click through to read more. Many sites have a limit on how long this section can be. We typically recommend no more than 2-3 sentences. Keep your message clear and simple. Be sure to include a few more of your keyword terms in your summary.

…STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 OF THIS AMAZING LIST OF TIPS!…

About the Authors

Tara Geissinger and Christine O’Kelly are the cofounders of the multimedia press release distribution site Online PR News. They are mompreneurs that are passionate about helping others learn how to leverage press releases to gain visibility online.

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  • Debbie

    Hooray! I feel like I just discovered gold! I've been trying to find ways to get my little business “discovered” and have been reading, studying and researching ways to achieve this goal. Unfortunately, I felt that I had somehow not really connected with what would work in today's fast paced world of instant communication. I feel that I can put these tips to work for me and can't wait to see the rest of the list. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You can count me as a subscriber!

  • OnlinePRNews

    Thanks Debbie! I am so glad that you found the list helpful! And you are right, discovering how to properly write and distribute press releases IS a little like finding gold! :-)

  • Megan L.

    Great info! I especially like your section on coming up with press release ideas. I can never seem to think of 'newsworthy' ideas on my own, but after reading this list I have 3-4 great ideas about my business that I can use to write releases about right now. Thanks for giving me the kickstart I needed!

  • OnlinePRNews

    You're welcome! It is easy to put so much pressure on yourself to come up with “the best” PR topic that it becomes paralyzing. :-) I like to sit down every few weeks and think about what is new with our company — what has happened lately or what promotions are we about to begin. Usually there is a press release topic hiding in there!

  • Katie D.

    Thanks for the information! I had no idea why the keywords were so important and was disappointed it was hard to find my press release. From now on, I'll definitely make sure to add a keyword to my title – I can't wait to see what a difference it makes.

    Looking forward to part two! Thanks!

  • Jen

    You make a good point that almost everyone has a press release topic just waiting to be explored. The only caution I would make is that the headline of the press release really needs to find the news hook such as a new launch, announcement, award, record set or additions to the company and the body of the release needs to follow through on the promise made by the headline. Some online PR distribution sites reject releases that aren't 'newsy' enough. Not that I've ever had that happen :)

  • OnlinePRNews

    YES! You are very right Jen! With people using press release distribution online as part of their overall marketing campaign or SEO campaign, it can be tempting to try to morph the PR into more of an advertisement. Even though our releases are reaching a broader market — journalists, readers, bloggers & end-users — they must still have a news angle at the core. Otherwise it becomes just another article or ad.

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