7 Tips For Writing A Press Release That Won’t Generate Coverage

It’s not that hard, really

The explosion of information we need to deal with each day is making it that much harder to find new products, services, or people who can help make our jobs — and lives — easier. This is why the bar for PR distinctiveness is high — and getting higher. It’s that much harder to stand out from the crowd.

Social media may be the hottest new channel for distributing ideas and breaking through the clutter. But the time-worn press release — distributed to traditional media and “new media” alike — continues to be the workhorse for many PR practitioners.

Like the art of writing itself, writing an effective press release is a craft that needs to be learned and honed. Some get it right. Others don’t. Since so much has been written already about what makes for a successful press release, here are some tips for writing one that is more likely to end up in a reporter’s email junk folder:

1. Ignore your audience. I list this first because it really should be considered a cardinal rule for press releases that don’t generate coverage. There are several audiences you need to ignore, actually. First, you need to disregard what the reporter you’re pitching to wants. Second, you should completely disregard what their editors are looking for. Above all, be sure to exclude anything in the press release that would be relevant to the customers you’re trying to reach.
2. Have nothing new to say. Reporters are looking for something new (heck, they don’t call it “news” for nothing). The last thing you want to do — if you hope to avoid getting news coverage — is offer genuinely fresh insight on an issue that is trending in the news, or provide information about an entirely new product or service that will meaningfully change how your customers do business or lead their lives.
3. Leave out specific examples. Keep your messages at a general level and don’t illustrate with specific examples or data points. They could end up motivating the reporter — or her editor — to actually file a story.
4. Don’t tell a story. Just dump your facts into a list of bullet points. Make sure the facts are listed with no prioritization or logical sequence in mind. This will make it that much harder for the reporter to craft a coherent story.
5. Bury the most important messages. The further down the press release, the better, in fact. Never put the key finding in the headline or the first paragraph if you want to ensure it’s overlooked.
6. Use plenty of industry jargon. Lard them on — the more terms you can use, the better. Using words that are likely to be cut by the reporter or his editor substantially decreases the amount of coverage you’re likely to get.
7. Disregard the unique requirements of local markets. Especially in a market like China, where most media are still either formally censored by the government, or “self-censored” by their editors, be sure your cultural sensitivity radar is completely switched off. There are many ways to accomplish this, but that’s for another post.

Follow these simple rules and you’ll substantially reduce the chance of getting news coverage from your press release. Over time, and with ample practice, you’ll eventually get no news coverage at all.

Glenn Leibowitz is Director of External Relations for McKinsey & Company’s Greater China Practice. He’s led their publishing, media relations, branding, and digital marketing efforts for the past 15 years. He blogs on LinkedIn and at www.glennleibowitz.com Please follow him on Twitter here.

Image credit: herzogbr via Flickr.