5 rookie mistakes in press releases

Everyone was a newbie at some point in the game—and we all made mistakes. Let’s try not to make them again.

Unfortunately, many of these blunders come from simply not having experience in the field. Most journalists have come to notice these, so they will automatically know you’re a rookie.

To avoid looking like a total noob, do your best to avoid these five damaging goofs.

1. Your title is messy.

Because the title is the first thing a journalist will see, it can be the beginning or end of everything. If your title is great, the reader wants to keep reading. If it’s terrible, you’ve damned the entire thing to the recycle bin.

Press release rookies will often make the mistake of making a long, overly detailed title. Perhaps worse, they write a pun or joke as a title that gives no description of the actual piece. Experienced press release pros know that a concise, straightforward title is the way to go.

2. You don’t follow the inverted pyramid.

Journalists learn about this on Day One of journalism school, and successful press release writers learn about it the day they start trying to woo journalists.

Basically, the inverted pyramid is a plan to follow when writing news. The important stuff goes at the top of the pyramid. For instance, if the story was about an event, this would cover name, date, and location. As you move down the pyramid, the info gets less important.

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