By Melissa Strle
June 23, 2021
Press release writing services offer expertly written press releases that adhere to certain regulations for public companies. A press release is newsworthy information written by public and private companies for use by the public and the media or press. Press releases provide journalists and the media with company announcements and relevant company information.
The goal is to position your brand in front of a wider audience. This can be achieved by landing coverage in media publications such as newspapers, magazines, tv news bulletins, podcasts or blogs. This can also be achieved by disseminating press releases to the public via channels such as Bloomberg or Thomson Reuters.
Typically, press releases are concise and about one page long. But, sometimes they can be up to two pages long or longer. Writing 300-600 words is common as many companies try to keep the releases concise.
Major components of a press release:
Press releases should start with the most important information at the top and add other details later in the release. This is called the inverted pyramid and it provides a format where readers can easily scan the most important information at the top. Keep in mind that many readers do not read the entire press release, so it is important to use the inverted pyramid.
Download a free public company press release template here
If employed correctly, the following components can boost SEO within press releases.
1. Headline
An attention-grabbing headline can be achieved with concise wording that focuses on your audience. Use action verbs (skip adjectives and adverbs) and keywords, especially near the front.
2. Sub-headline
Usually a sentence long that elaborates on the headline. Typically, this is italicized.
3. Dateline
This contains the press release date and the originating city and province of the press release
4. First Paragraph
This paragraph should summarize the entire press release and answers the who, what, where, when and why of the message. It can show up in search engine results snippets so ensure this paragraph is optimized. Include a link to your company and key landing pages
5. Body Paragraphs
These paragraphs expand upon the information listed in the first paragraph. Supporting quotes by company leaders and experts help to answer the why of your product or service. Supporting data should be displayed in lists when possible and customer quotes and expert data are commonly displayed.
The last body paragraph before the boilerplate should provide a short summary, outlining key points, rationales and impacts. Hyperlinks should be connected to additional key data or information and don’t forget to use keywords to help boost SEO.
Adding useful research and statistics to your press release will generate interest and provide reporters with important data to add to their articles. Statista and Statistics Canada are just a few of the places you can look to for statistics.
6. Quotations
Get a quote from a company insider or expert to help support the main idea. Quotes offer a personal appeal and help draw the reader in.
7. Multimedia
Videos, pictures, logos and infographics let your press releases stand out. Ensure you have high resolutions images and short videos to keep readers engaged. Keep in mind that images should always be accompanied by a caption to provide maximum SEO benefits.
Choose the right images that provide the highest resolutions possible so that readers can view enhanced images that are sight-optimized.
8. Links
Providing hyperlinks to additional useful information and data can provide value to your reader. It is recommended to only include two or three links in articles up to 1000 words. This does not include the additional links that can be found in the boilerplate or contact section.
9. Contacts
This is the main source to connect with for any questions. The contact can provide additional content and details for journalists or interested parties.
10. Boilerplate
Company background that contains hyperlinks to the company website or key landing pages to provide more information on products, services, statistics and more. This section can provide SEO benefits and drive traffic to your website.
11. Disclaimers
Some stock exchanges, such as the TSX Venture Exchange, require disclaimers in the body of the news release. Wording for the disclaimer can be found in the exchange policy manual.
12. Other
Sometimes companies will place ### at the end of a press release. This signifies the end of the press release
13. Logo
Companies have the option of placing a company logo in the press release
Readability:
It is important to ensure that your press release can be easily read or skimmed and there are steps that you can do to ensure this happens. For example, white space is your friend and helps to break up text to make your press release more easily readable.
Keep text as concise as possible and break up into different paragraphs. Use lists or bullets to highlight key points and bold keywords that you want to emphasize. Images, videos and infographics also capture the attention of readers and break up the text.
Remember that many people skim the first few lines of press releases so it is important to place a hook or important information at the top. If you manage to capture your readers attention, they will continue to read more of your press release. Placing key information at the top, such as the 5 W’s (what, when, where, why and who), will help ensure that more readers stay engaged for longer.
When should a press release be issued?
Private companies are free to issue press releases whenever they so desire. On the other hand, public companies must issue press releases when anything “material” in nature occurs in the way the issuer does business.
Public companies may also issue press releases as part of public relations’ plans whereby the focus is to keep the public and investment community informed of performance or activities.
Corporate activities requiring prompt disclosure in a press release (public companies):
1. Changes in share ownership
2. Partnerships
3. Mergers & Acquisitions
4. New products & product updates
5. Events
6. Stock activity
7. Public or private sale of additional securities
8. Development of new products or developments affecting the company
9. Significant discoveries
10. Partnerships
11. Earnings prospects
12. Changes in corporate objectives
13. Executive changes
14. Significant litigation
15. Major labour disputes or disputes with major contractors or suppliers
16. The default of financing or other agreements
17. Ad-hoc business developments
18. Awards
Who writes press releases?
In larger companies, corporate communications teams or public relations professionals write press releases. Alternatively, in smaller companies anyone from the CEO or corporate management team to anyone else entrusted in the company hierarchy with writing press releases can get the job done.
Oftentimes, companies outsource the writing of press releases to press release writing service companies. These companies employ professional writers with a keen eye for detail to put together important public announcements. In particular, these companies know how to write press releases that adhere to public company stock exchange disclosure requirements.
Both public and private companies create press releases.
Benefits to the reader:
The press release should provide a benefit to your reader through either information or entertainment. Providing information should make your reader’s life easier or better and this benefit should be stated in the headline or sub-headline. Informative links can provide great benefits to the reader as well.
Writing in the third person:
All press releases should be written in third person (he, him, she, its, them, they, the customers) only. Sometimes, press releases will be written in first person (I, me, we and us) or second person (you), but this is not viewed as an acceptable form for press releases unless the first or second person references are contained within quotations.
Press release style:
AP style is the preferred standard style guide used in news distribution. However, not all newswire services require AP style. A customized approach to style, working in conjunction with the company requiring services, may offer certain advantages.
When should a press release be disseminated?
Public companies that have material information, or company information that could result in a significant change in market value, are required to provide immediate disclosure with the immediate dissemination of a press release or supporting financial documents explaining the significant company changes.
Some significant company changes include a mergers and acquisitions or new product developments.
Press releases that do not publish material changes can be disseminated at a time that is convenient and appropriate for the company itself. For example, a company may issue a press release to reveal its attendance at an upcoming tradeshow. This press release can be disseminated when the company desires and newswire distribution companies are equipped to schedule these releases for dissemination in advance.
Press release distribution:
Public and private companies distribute press releases through newswire service companies. Newswires proofread and edit news releases and format these releases by converting from Word documents to HTML formats that enable distribution on the internet.
Once formatted, proofread and edited, newswires disseminate press releases to downstream partners such as Yahoo, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg, Postmedia etc. These partners then ensure the press releases appear on their websites for public viewing.
Pro tip: Use analytics to see when your audience is typically online and choose to have your press releases disseminated at this time if immediate dissemination is not required.
Newswire companies:
There are many newswire companies but only a handful are approved by different stock exchanges. For example, the TSX approves the following list of newswire companies to provide distribution newswire services:
1. Newsfile (www.newsfilecorp.com)
2. Business Wire (www.businesswire.com)
3. CNW Group (www.newswire.ca)
4. FSCwire Inc. (www.fscwire.com)
5. Marketwired (www.marketwired.com)
6. Nasdaq Globenewswire, Inc. (www.globenewswire.com)
Some services distribute press releases for free and companies may choose to directly distribute press releases to the media. However, these forms of distribution are more limited in scope and it is harder to reach a wider audience.
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