Here’s how to write a new product press release that will capture the attention of journalists and media influencers
The success of your company’s new product or service can often be determined by your ability to create a great press release and achieve media coverage. However, where some companies might miss the mark on attracting media attention is either not having enough information, providing too much information, or establishing an end goal that only benefits them.
In this article, we will look at:
- What is a new product press release
- Steps to writing a new product press release
- The best time to send out a press release
What is a new product press release?
As with any other press release, a new product press release is designed to capture journalists’ and media influencers’ attention so that you can get a product or service seen by a target audience. If done correctly, it can be a great way to boost a business and spread the word about their new offerings. You could create one yourself or hire PR professionals like those at Pressfarm to create the press release for you. Either way, you need to understand what needs to be done to craft the press release, build custom media lists, and create personalized media outreach.
How Pressfarm can help with your press release writing
The good news is that if you hire the services of Pressfarm, you only need to worry about providing the important information about your company. Once we have this information, we can craft a professional press release for you, in addition to writing some engaging guest posts and designing a creative media kit for your brand. With all of this content, you can make a splash in your market and stand out from your competitors.
In addition to helping you create outstanding content, we can help you distribute it to put it in front of the right eyes. By submitting your content to respected media outlets and startup directories, we can boost your online visibility, thus ensuring your brand features in relevant search results across different search engines. In addition, we give you access to our media database of over 1 million contacts, as well as custom media lists. With these media contacts, you can connect with the best journalists to help share your brand story.
With Pressfarm, you can put your brand name out there and generate the publicity you deserve.
There are some things that you and your team need to know before writing a product-focused press release. The most important thing is that every part of it needs to be newsworthy, professional, and accurate. Let us look at a few more factors to consider.
1) Showcase unique features
It is highly possible that the same product or a similar product or service already exists in the market. In order to achieve media attention, you need to include the unique benefits of your new product. This way, you can stand out and avoid being overlooked in favor of your competitors.
The press release should outline your product’s selling points in a way that will help readers to feel intrigued enough to check it out for themselves. In order to do this, you should already have a brainstormed list of things that make your product stand out. Listing the unique benefits that your product offers saves you so much time and makes the objective clear.
Some questions that you can answer through this process are:
- Is writing a press release for a particular product worth it?
- What makes it different from other products?
- How many different aesthetic variations are there?
2) Tell a story through it
Storytelling is not just reserved for novels and fairytales. It is a critical part of creating a narrative to attract media outlets and target audiences. When people read books, they do it to gain knowledge and to find an escape from reality. The same applies when trying to create PR content. People do not just want to hear about the facts and features of a product. Rather, they want to know how to use it, how it can affect their lives, and why it was created.
The best way to figure out how to create is story is to visualize what would capture the reader’s attention. Press releases are meant to capture media attention for a company. They need to be compelling and entertaining enough to also retain the reader’s attention.
3) Stick to the point
It’s easy to write a long-winded story. However, a press release should have creative elements while also remaining useful and compelling. It should have all the necessary information relevant to the product while also drawing readers in with a creative spin.
4) Edit it carefully
The last thing that can set your press release apart from the flood of press releases journalists receive is grammar. Journalists are sent hundreds of email pitches and press releases daily. The one thing they do not enjoy is wasting their time reading a press release that has no clear objective and is riddled with grammatical errors. For this reason, sending out media content that contains mistakes can be devastating to a company. It might be a good idea to have someone with good copyediting skills look through your press release before you hit that send button.
Steps for writing New Product Press Release
1) Have defined goals
Before creating the press release, you need to establish what your public relations goals are. You need to narrow down your efforts so that you can focus on producing quality content over quantity. You can then analyze the influencer landscape, generate content ideas, and start writing your email pitch.
2) Target the right audience
A well-written press release means nothing if it is not sent to the right people. Researching the journalists, influencers, and media outlets that fit your target demographic gives you a higher chance of obtaining media coverage.
Once you have done extensive research, you should narrow down the media professionals who are your perfect media match. This way, you can create a clear and concise list of journalists which includes their contact information. Once you’ve organized all this information in a media list, then you can begin your media outreach.
2) Write an attention-grabbing headline
A headline or subject line is the first thing that a reader is going to see. This is what grabs attention and intrigues the reader without losing their engagement in the process. In order for your headline to be effective, it needs to be succinct, clear, and easy to understand. A new product headline should not only be attention-grabbing but should also mention your product or service’s unique selling proposition (USP)
3) Include effective content
Journalists do not like having their time wasted. They want to read a good press release that gets straight to the point and is unique. The first body paragraph is where a company should break down all the crucial factors and address the 5Ws of the product launch and development. Putting all the essential facts first serves as an efficient way to get information out while also retaining the reader’s attention.
The main body of your press release is where you can use your creativity to add details to the narrative. Just remember to stick to the important facts of your story, because rambling about things that don’t add value will only turn a journalist off. On the other hand, adding elements that the reader can connect with can help your press release stand out. For example, adding a personal detail about how you were inspired to create this product or service can humanize your brand.
Finally, adding a boilerplate at the end of a press release is essential. Your boilerplate should clearly highlight what the company does, its contact information, key locations, etc.
4) Be visual
Unless your product is well-known to the public, you need to include high-quality photos and videos to get it noticed. You should make any visual elements part of the press release rather than sending them as separate attachments. Alternatively, you can include these visuals in your press kit and insert a link to the press kit in your press release.
Infographics are the most popular content format shared online. You can break down a complex product description using an infographic. This will make your news even more appealing and shareable.
5) Include a call-to-action
Don’t just assume that your target audience will automatically click the link to your company website for more information. You should include a call to action to tell these people where to go. This can be one of the best ways to encourage long-term engagement from your audience.
The best time to send out a press release
After completing all the steps necessary to create a press release, you should also consider your timing. Too often, press releases are overlooked because they were lost in the flood of emails journalists and media outlets may receive on a specific day.
While there is no one perfect time to send out a press release, you can follow some best practices to maximize your reach and visibility.
Time zones
Depending on the target audience, you may need to communicate with people all over the world. You may want to capture the attention of an audience that is in a different time zone.
In order to take time zones into account, you can use your media list to highlight the location of each media outlet. This way, you can double-check the time zone before sending out the press release. By doing this, you can make sure you are reaching them at recommended and appropriate hours.
Specific seasons
Journalists are humans, too; they also want to enjoy the holidays and spend time with their loved ones. It is easy to forget that special seasons, public holidays, and industry events can affect the success rate of your media outreach.
Unless you have timely news related to a specific event or holiday, your press release will often go overlooked when you send it during a holiday. This is because when the journalist gets back to work, they will have a pile of emails to catch up on, and yours will probably get lost in that pile.
Past engagement with journalist
Sending a press release to a journalist or media outlet that you have worked with before definitely increases the likelihood of getting media coverage from that journalist again. However, if the journalist wrote a story about your company recently, it is unwise to send another story soon after. Don’t just put all your eggs in one basket. It’s true – sending one pitch after another to the same journalist might make your company seem like a reliable source of information. However, doing this can also come off as bombarding a journalist with endless requests. This might also make it seem like your company is only relying on that one journalist because you do not have a big enough network yet. Ultimately, creating this kind of impression is not conducive to successful media outreach.
Be consistent
With that being said, sending out press releases and information about your company is not a one-time thing. The more developed your relationship with a journalist is, the higher the chances of earning media coverage from this journalist in the future. From there, journalists will begin to pick up your press releases and publish stories about you.
Even so, you should not give up if your story does not get picked up. If this is the case, all you need to do is go back to the drawing board and develop a new and creative way to get media attention.
Always send the press release
While it’s important to find the optimum time as well as the best media contacts for your press release, failure to get one or both of these right shouldn’t stop you from sending an important press release. Whether it is an urgent press release that is newsworthy and timely or merely shares important news about your company, it is always better to send the press release. After all, it took a lot of time and effort to craft the perfect story; don’t let that go to waste.
Conclusion
A new product press release is much like any other press release because it provides a way for companies to get information about their product or service out there, gain media coverage, and draw in sales. While there is no magical template that can be applied to all press releases, you should always include some standard elements. Once the standard information is in the press release, then you can add some creative elements to set you apart from the competition.