Does the press release still work?
How to write and send a press release when editors get hundreds of emails a day. The anatomy of a release that gets read.
Every year someone declares the press release dead. Yet editors still read releases, and journalists still write stories from them. What has changed is the gap between a release that gets read and one that does not. In this post we explain how we put together a release that gets read.
First question: is it news?
It is the first thing we ask before writing. A new branch, a new executive or an award might matter to the company and still mean little to a reader. News value usually comes from a first, a number, a change, a human story or a link to something already in the news. If none of these is there, the story needs work before it goes out.
Headline and first paragraph
Editors often read only the headline and the first paragraph. The headline should state the news in one sentence. The first paragraph should answer who, what, where, when and why. Paragraphs about the company's history and vision belong at the end.
The quote
The quote is the human voice of the story. A line like "We are delighted with this investment" never makes it into an article. Quotes with a point of view, a number or a reason go straight into the story.
Images and video
A good photo or a short video makes a story much more likely to run. Online news sites and TV value ready-to-use footage. Because we have our own production team, we deliver high resolution photos and a press-ready video edit with the release.
To whom, and when?
Reaching editors who cover the subject personally works far better than mass mailing lists. A health story goes to the health editor, a technology story to the technology reporter. Timing matters too: early in the week and in the morning usually works better. Sending on a day dominated by a big news event can bury the story.
Two languages, two markets
Media works differently in Türkiye and Germany. A German release should not be a translation of the Turkish one but a text rewritten for what a German editor expects. With our Munich office, we write releases for the German press directly in German.
The release is a beginning
A good release starts a conversation with a journalist. They may ask for an interview, more information or a different angle. Replying quickly matters as much as the release itself.
To take your brand's story to the press, head to our PR and communications page. We wrote about how PR relates to AI search in this post.
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