10 Tips for Writing a Great Press Release

The first question which could come to the mind of business owners is: what should I write about in the Press Release? Well, there are many scenarios when one can send out a press release. You could do a PR on winning an award, for announcing a new product, new office opening, new customer acquisition or announcing your grand expansion plans. Press Release is one of the most important forms of formal communications.

Here is a handy checklist of 10 things to keep in mind while writing your next press release.

#1: Keep it grammatically correct

Grammatically incorrect sentences, spelling mistakes is a strict NO in a press release. Proof read the PR (many times, if required) to ensure that there are no language errors in your PR.

#2: Keep it short and newsworthy

It is not enough that you are excited about the news. The press release needs to catch the attention of the reader too. Make it newsworthy by mentioning clearly as to what is so great about the news. Don’t make it too long – I would highly recommend keeping it one page or maximum two pages.

#3: Headline Makes it or Break it

The headline of the press release will make the reader decide whether she wants to read further or not. Make sure that the headline no longer than 8 words. I usually recommend including company name in the headline. If required, include a sub-heading giving more information about the news – but do know that the headline should not be incomplete without the sub-heading.

#4: Spend 80% time in writing the first paragraph

Well, don’t take it literally! What I mean to say here is you need to pay very careful attention in writing the first paragraph of your press release. Include the crux of the news in the first paragraph – the reader needs to understand what you wish to convey. Include your company name, the news, why the news is so great and what is your company’s take on the news.  But – this certainly does not mean that your first paragraph is ten lines long. The first paragraph should not be more than 4-5 lines with very short sentences.

#5: Include quotes

Include quotes from the management/ customers/ partners to bring in some personal touch and authenticity to the press release. Don’t forget to include the complete and accurate title of the person whom you are quoting.  

#6: Bring in hard facts, accurate numbers

Bring in solid numbers, hard facts and statistics, as appropriate, to your press release. These add lot of influence to the release and make it newsworthy.   

#7: Allow people to know more

Considering that you have written a press release which can intrigue the reader enough, ensure that you provide a website URL or some other information for getting more information. Typically reporters, journalists or bloggers do like to know the more stories about the news which are not written in the release.

#8: Include Boilerplate

Boilerplate is the standard description about your company which is used consistently without change. Readers like journalists, bloggers, potential investors, customers or job seekers usually read the boilerplate to know about the company. It is important that the boilerplate is small, concise and clearly states what your company is, what it offers and whom does it provide products/ services.

#9: Optimize the keywords and language

Many press releases go online today and you need to ensure that the press release uses the right set of keywords so that it also helps in your Search Engine Optimization efforts. But do take care that you do not load the press release with unnecessary keywords.

#10: Include contact information

Provide clear contact information with name, title, email address, physical address and phone number of your media contact. Reporters might want to connect with you for more information and clearly stated contact information makes the job easier.

Good luck with your next PR! With the hard work of creating a newsworthy item done, focus on cashing on it! 

Entrepreneurship and Marketing Lessons Learnt from Goli Vada Pav

Last week I attended a very invigorating session by Venkatesh Iyer (Venky as he is fondly called) of Goli Vada Pav organized by TiE. While the session title was “My Story to Entrepreneurship”, the actual session was much more than that.

The passion with which Venky spoke demonstrated how much can be achieved if you just have true belief in the idea about which you truly passionate. Venky spoke about entrepreneurship, beliefs, passion and marketing.

After thoroughly enjoying the interactive talk, I jotted some key takeaways. 

Thought these would be really valuable for those who are passionate about some idea and want to make it big - because Goli’s story is all about that:

1.     Premium Sells:  Before Goli Vada Pav, people were used to eating vada pav at much lesser cost than what Goli charges it. Goli charges premium for the quality it provides – the quality is in the menu, the ambience, the service and everything. Once the consumers see the quality, they are ready to pay premium for that. Be convinced about the quality you provide and you won’t ever have to ‘justify’ high price.

2.      Don’t give up on the idea: Goli failed twice, with the same idea, for different reasons. But Venky and his team did not give up on the idea thinking that it is not working out. Only when you believe in an idea, you can sustain multiple failures and never blame the idea. You look out for the solutions which will actually solve the problems.

3.    Keep it simple: Complex things might sound good in books but keep things simple when it comes to actual implementation. This applies to everything – right from talent acquisition, training, franchisee setup, branding, promotion – just about everything !

4.   Effective branding and promotion only requires currency of creativity: Venky narrated some incidences about how he used railway announcement system or TiE event for branding and promotion of Goli. None of these were paid. All these just needed the currency of creativity. Venky’s blog also is an excellent piece of writing demonstrating how a very creatively written blog can attract attention of the right crowd.

5.      Piggybacking works: Goli used the technique piggybacking very effectively – Be it the usage of brand (as Venky calls it) of Vada Pav or the famous dialogue of movie Sholay (toh aaj goli kha…) or in the franchisees setup.

6.   Speak consumers' language: I was amazed to see how Goli speaks consumers’ language. The consistency can be seen in: brand name, brand mascot, Facebook page name, blog language, ambience at the Goli center, pictures on the site, cartoons – just about everything!  

I left the room with a mixed feeling of inspiration, awe and respect for passion and with a definite plan to visit Goli Vada Pav center – more for experiencing the passion turned into reality.

Cheers to Goli !! 

Cricket World Cup 2011 Advertising: Which One Caught Your Attention?

All the conversations these days are revolving around the Cricket World Cup. Many a times, I am a silent observer and few times an active participant in such conversations around who will win the match, who played better, how a catch should have been taken or how it was missed and so on. As a marketer, I heard many conversations as to which company is doing well in terms of its branding and promotion and which could have done better.

Surprisingly, as a consumer, I don't hear many conversions revolving around which brand has got some great deal, which is my preferred drink while watching the match, which watch will I wear this cricket season or which pizza I will order when India plays.

Although the consumers are not consciously taking any decisions about choosing any particular brand, companies are spending heftily on branding and advertising during this Cricket season. Because these ads and campaigns are unconsciously playing a very important role in making the consumers choose a particular brand.

Companies now are choosing multiple options like TV channels, websites, social media, SMS, email, videos etc to reach out to consumers. But, in this clutter, it has become harder to get the required attention and mindset of consumer. It is no surprise that brands are coming up with innovative and catchy ways for making their presence felt.

As a consumer, following few campaigns caught my attention:

1. Amul: Amul butter has tied up with Netherlands team. The Dutch team is sporting Amul logos on their jerseys. “Why not India team”, because “It is not available” comes the response from Amul. This is being treated as a very smart move by Amul because it has already generated a lot of buzz!
2. LG Mobile: LG has set up a ‘LG mobile army’ where it is recruiting 2,500 cadets from 38 cities to cheer inside stadiums.
3. Lays Flavor World Cup 2011: I liked the way Lays generated the curiosity and buzz even ahead of the World Cup and slowly unveiled its six new flavors. It won’t be a surprise to see Lay’s revenue going up with these ads
4. Brands on Social Media: Many brands such as Pizza Hut, Adidas, Smith and Jones, KFC are promoting deals through social media channels including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Good use of social media I would say.

Are there any campaigns which caught your attention as a consumer?