What’s harder than getting your story picked up by the media? Figuring out what angle to approach it from in the first place! Discovering a truly unique idea can cause a real brain meltdown sometimes, especially if you’ve written tons of them on the same subject. They can really start to run together, and when that happens you (and your readers) lose interest.
So instead of trying to force your way through yet another press release you don’t care about, switch things up a bit with a new, interesting idea. You want something simple and effective yet striking enough to grab every editor’s eyeballs right away.
Combine News With an Event
While you may think the news of your business donating to charity is groundbreaking and exciting, others in the community may not agree. As a result your press release comes off as pretty stale, especially after you’ve approached it for the fifteenth time to try to get somebody, anybody to pick it up.
So let’s turn this news item into a challenge. Instead of talking about how great the company is for giving out money, instead write how you are challenging others in the community to do the same. Call out the competition to match how much you gave or the number of hours you put into the charity.
Now there are all sorts of stuff you can talk about. You can even stretch it out into a few different press releases covering different events, especially when the competition really heats up.
Try Being Corny
It may seem silly, but it works – those corny commercials you see all the time resonate with more people than you think. You may roll your eyes, but down the line you’ll more than likely remember the company that made the corny commercial, and might even subconsciously buy their product because of it.
There’s nothing wrong with a little (business appropriate) humor with your press releases. Try a little of that corniness yourself and you may see results. You don’t necessarily have to come up with the next “Old Spice” style campaign, but a little wit from time to time may get you noticed over your competitors – and it will give news editors a chuckle, too.
Wow ‘Em
You may think your press release is “interesting,” but that’s not exactly a word that blows people away. When you think of the story behind your release, what’s the one fact that really stands out to you? The big “draw” of the piece?
Instead of making the release about the money your company gave to charity, why not pull out that factoid about how many potential lives the charity saved last year? This way, although you’re making the story about the charity more than your company, you have a better chance of getting picked up AND noticed by the community. Plus, the little factoid may just be enough of a “wow” factor to draw people (especially editors) in to check it out in the first place!
What are some of the most interesting press releases you’ve ever read?
This article is written by Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases (https://www.ereleases.com), the online leader in affordable press release distribution. Grab your free 160-page copy of the Big Press Release Book – Press Releases for Every Occasion and Industry here: https://www.ereleases.com/free-offer/big-press-release-samples-book/