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About this lesson
Covering the most common press release mistakes is crucial, as they might jeopardise the publication of your press release or whether it gets read.
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Quick reference
9 Press Release Mistakes to Avoid
Covering the most common press release mistakes is crucial as they might jeopardize the publication of your press release or whether it gets read.
When to use
Tips to use when writing a press release.
Instructions
- Don’t underestimate your task: writing a good press release in an hour is simply unrealistic. Precisely because a press release is so condensed, a lot of thinking must go into it.
- Don’t overdo links: use links sparingly to make them more effective.
- Don’t use Caps Lock: using Caps Lock equals to shouting and is not suitable to a press release.
- Don’t write a long press release: it shouldn’t be longer than 2 pages. Either use a link if you have a lot of information or write an article.
- Don’t write a sloppy press release: writing a press release requires time and effort to make many revisions until it's perfect.
- Don’t include useless or irrelevant information: keep your press release to the point. A press release is a teaser not the whole story!
- Don’t use jargon: jargon will confuse your readers. Your press release must be easy to read, so use everyday language and keep it simple.
- Don’t use the phrase “we are excited to”: this has been so overused in the press release world, that it has lost its power.
- Don’t use a sales pitch: this will make readers bin your press release instantly and will reduce the chances of becoming a credible source of information to journalists and editors.
- 00:05 Now I'm going to talk you through some of the most common mistakes
- 00:08 that people make when writing press releases, and hopefully,
- 00:11 you'll be able to avoid them going forward.
- 00:14 The number one mistake that people make is to underestimate the task.
- 00:19 And this is really because they think, well,
- 00:22 we've got just one page that we need to prepare, surely we can do that in an hour.
- 00:28 But if you think about it, sometimes you've got a ten page
- 00:31 release that you need to cram, you've got a team that you need to consult with.
- 00:35 So really, if you do all of this in an hour,
- 00:38 don't be surprised if you fail to reach your target audience because there's so
- 00:42 many important things that you could have missed out on.
- 00:47 The other thing that we need to think of is links,
- 00:50 because some people see the press release as an opportunity for link building, but
- 00:55 it's really not the case.
- 00:57 So obviously, you have publications who don't even allow hyperlinks these days.
- 01:01 But where they do, you want to avoid placing too many hyperlinks.
- 01:05 I would say at the most, two hyperlinks in a press release.
- 01:10 Then using all caps, we shouldn't write in caps because
- 01:14 really this equals to shouting, and it's not really proper etiquette.
- 01:20 Now, with regards to content,
- 01:21 these five don'ts that we want to keep in mind with content.
- 01:27 It shouldn't be too long, at the most, two pages.
- 01:31 I kind of enjoy creating press releases that's between 500 and
- 01:36 800 words, no longer.
- 01:37 Now, if you've got a lot of information, you can either use a link that's going to
- 01:42 refer your readers to that information, or you could write something more
- 01:47 suitable for longer pieces, for example, an article.
- 01:51 So this will then not be a press release anymore, this will probably be an article
- 01:55 that you submit somewhere, for example, a magazine or a blog.
- 01:58 Also, don't write a sloppy press release.
- 02:01 Writing the press release really will require time and effort so
- 02:05 that we can make many revisions.
- 02:07 And if we put in both of these elements,
- 02:09 there's less of a chance that it will be perceived as being sloppy.
- 02:13 Then don't include useless or irrelevant information.
- 02:16 There's already such little space that we have, so let's try and
- 02:21 stick to what is the most important.
- 02:24 Remember, it is a teaser.
- 02:26 It's not a whole full story.
- 02:29 Also, don't be using jargon because jargon only serves to confuse the readers.
- 02:33 On top of that, we've got some industry words that are not very common
- 02:38 with people who are not from our audience.
- 02:41 So if you can, use everyday language and try to keep it simple.
- 02:46 And I would say don't use phrases, for
- 02:49 example like, saying we're excited to share this release with you and so forth.
- 02:54 Because what we want to do is to obviously put this through in a way that's
- 02:59 going to be perceived as genuine.
- 03:01 Sales pitches, I would reiterate this quite a bit.
- 03:06 You can say that sales pitch rhymes with ditch because
- 03:10 the moment people read a press release and they feel that they've been sold to,
- 03:14 they might press the delete button, or they might ditch it altogether.
- 03:18 Excellent, I would recommend that you go through these things.
- 03:21 Perhaps even use it there's a checklist when you're
- 03:24 creating your first press release because that will certainly help a lot.
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