How to Avoid the Most Common Mistake When Submitting Press Releases

The number one mistake that press release beginners make is that they write the press release in such a fashion that it sounds too much like a sales letter. A press release is used to promote your company or product, writing your press release as a basic copy of your “Sales” page is not a good idea.

A press release is written to get your business featured in a major newspaper, magazine, or web site. With this in mind, before you start writing your press release I strongly recommend that you take some time to read a few articles written in the Business sections of popular newspapers, such as USA Today or Washington Post. You may also want read some articles about small businesses in a similar niche magazine or web site that matches the market of your company or product. These news stories were most likely based on press releases that the company wrote and thus, you should see what type of information is included in these articles. Include similar information in your press release.

Although it would be nice if a major news publication submitted an article that went on praising your company and your product but understand, the vast majority of credible news sources do not do this. Instead they provide the facts and their own opinions, not opinions presented in a press release. Hence, to get the most coverage and best possible results from your press release, simply state the facts. If you want to give opinions, do so in quotes, as most news stories include direct quotes from company representatives.

The overall goal of a press release is to generate buzz and interest in your company’s product or service; however, if you make your press release a reworded sales copy, you will get very little coverage from your release. Not only that but many press release distribution services may reject you press release all together.

To review: Only state the facts in your press release and avoid going too deep into stating opinions. When you finish writing your press release proof read it. Make sure it sounds like an article you would expect to find in a credible news source. If it does, than chances are you wrote a good press release and it will get picked up by many sources. If it doesn’t, then you have some editing to do to “polish up your press release” so you can increase the chances of getting massive exposure. The last thing to do is to submit your press release to as many press release services as possible.