Stop Leaving Out the Wow in Your Press Releases
by Mikael Disandro
In the PR gospel, chapter seven verse four, the lord of PR said “To be considered complete, a press release shall covereth the 6 W’s of the news: the what/who/when/where/why and for Pete’s sake, please don’t forget the wow.” Subsequent translations would interpret the wow to mean the “why should we care” part. Simply put, the wow factor in a press release is the part that makes a reporter actually want to cover your news for their audience.
Now, notice how wow is not in all caps above. That’s right. The wow factor of your press release doesn’t have to wear a bunch of bells and whistles. It can just be the part where you relate a market problem you’re solving, reveal something important a reader may not have known, or share an aha moment related to your news. It’s the reason someone who doesn’t know you or your business will care to read an article about this news. The funny thing is that the wow factor of a press release can be just as effectively delivered quietly or with dramatic flourish, as appropriate. The key is to deeply examine your news and honestly assess the kind of excitement it may drive within a given market or space, and then tone your release appropriately throughout.
A few tips to to craft your wow press release messaging
Don’t get lazy!
Many press releases are mainly geared at creating a digital footprint for your news – but they are still an investment of time, resources and money, so make them count. It’s worth it to find and call out the wow factor every time you put a story out there.
Stick to solid language and concepts
Avoid gimmicky or self-serving language, and stick to talking about quantifiable, tangible qualities of the news like uniqueness, or specialty, being first-to-market or patented. NOT groundbreaking or ambiguously amazing. Reporters tend to look past hyperbole or attempt to disprove it – neither response is what we seek with a press release.
Be open!
If you suspect your story doesn’t have a little bit of the wow factor, make the time to reconsider other strategies or tactics that better align with the nature and magnitude of your news. You may come up with a different approach like offering an exclusive or folding in with another announcement.
Hope you find this makes press releases even easier to get out that door!
Happy hunting all!
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