No matter what you write, the ending can be tough to draft. You are concluding your thoughts, so you want to make them impactful.
How To End a Press Release
To end a press release:
- Provide a call-to-action – what you want people to do.
- Add a boilerplate description of your company.
- Give direct contact information to your media contact, including a mobile number so journalists can contact you easily.
What is a Press Release?
A press release is a statement officially from the primary source or the original informants of the information in the statement. You send this statement to people in the news media with the purpose that it is proving information and making an announcement. The statement is for public release.
In other words, when you write a press release, you are writing a brief, fascinating story for members of the media.
Writing a Press Release
In today’s digital age, everyone is on information overload. When you see so many posts, videos, and news articles, your attention span shortens. Brief interactions with your audience are the only way to take in information when so much is competing for you to click on it.
Journalists are like the rest of us. They don’t have a lot of time to spend on each press release, so you need to grab their attention quickly.
A good press release must be strategic and concise. They should average 400 to 500 words. Four or five bite-sized paragraphs are a good length.
The overall flow should be:
- Headline
- Date
- Introduction
- Body
- Boilerplate
- Call to Action
- Media contact details
That’s it in a nutshell. However, you can add images, graphics, or video, too, if you wish to give it a little more flavor. Adding a visual element can pique a reader’s interest and offer enough of an idea of what you are saying so that you can keep your word count low.
The Way You End Matters
While a press release disseminates your organization’s news to the public, it’s also a way that you can create relationships with journalists. Keep in mind that the news media outlets are the gatekeepers of public attention.
When you draft press releases and send them strategically, you can form alliances with journalists. It’s a way to earn media attention for your brand and gain better visibility in the market.
How to End a Press Release
Before you begin to write a press release, you must start out forming the goal that you have in mind for each statement. You must decide what you want to communicate and the impact or result you want from it.
Ending a press release is how you will shed light on your goal. Why is the public interested in what you have to say? How does your news statement help your target audience?
When you go to end a press release, here is what you should keep in mind.
Strategize Your Message
Press releases these days follow an upside-down pyramid structure if you will. In the conclusion, you will home in on “what” the point of the press release is.
When you end a press release, that’s where you can get creative. This is where you are using tactics to attract journalists and showcase why you apply to their audience.
You can do this by writing about the geography, or where it is in the world that your message is most relevant. It can be a city, region, country, etc.
The language you use when you draft your press release must be succinct. You must be at the point. You cannot waste the journalist and reader’s time on the unnecessary, flowery text.
You want to show your relevance by being a part of current issues and industry trends. If you are developing with the news, you have a better chance of being picked up than if you are more of a rogue distraction from current trends.
Elements of the Conclusion
There are a few elements that you must include to make a good ending to a press release. This includes a boilerplate, direct contact, website, social media links, and hashtags.
The boilerplate is a concluding paragraph. It informs the person reading about your business’s product or service. You want it to include your mission and how they can learn more about your company and brand.
Include the direct contact information for a representative of your organization who is accessible and will follow up on a reporter’s inquiry in a timely fashion.
Call to Action
When you end a press release, you must include a CTA or call to action. In your conclusion, what is it you want the reader to do?
Based on the goal of the press release, this will pave the road for what you want the reader to do. You can direct them to visit your website, watch a short informational video, download a white paper, sign up for your newsletter, contact you for a demo, etc.
You’ll want to tell the reader what to do and direct them to complete the action with a link.
Follow-up with Journalists
After you send your press release, you may not receive a response right away. You can follow up with the journalists using proper PR etiquette. Unless your statement is about something urgent or time-sensitive, it is good to wait for three to four business days before you send an inquiry to the recipient of your press release.
When you follow up, mention that you are aware of the topics that the journalist covers and offer to give them more context why your press release is relevant for their audience. Be polite, genuine, and personable in your approach.
Send Your Next Press Release with eReleases.com
If you are looking to send your next press release and make a great impact with journalists and the media, check out our press release services. We can guide you on how to end a press release and more. Click here for press release examples and samples to help you be more successul.