Too many press releases are ineffective because the announcement isn’t “newsy.” To put it bluntly, the information doesn’t pass the “Who Cares?” test. Some of the stuff lawyers want to put out in the form of a press release is…..WELL marginal at best. But there’s hope.
According to Kevin Levi at Small Business Branding there’s a better way to develop and leverage press releases. He even provides sites that you can send your releases to at no charge.
But first he gives advice on putting out effective releases:
- Keep it short (since most media won’t read beyond the first paragraph anyway);
- Cover the key points of the release in the first paragraph (and make sure you include meaningful numbers relating to jobs, growth, dollars, etc.);
- Expand the importance of the message in the second paragraph;
- Quotes should add to the story and say more than the managing partner is “delighted to be breathing, etc.”; and
- Include general info about the firm at the end, and of course contact info is important.
The free sites include:
Think what is happening around your firm that may be worthy of a press release. Then craft a succinct but effective one, and send it to all the sites above and more.