At Sergat, as a communications agency specializing in tourism, aviation, hospitality and luxury, and in our 36 years since establishing in 1987, we have written and/or translated and issued thousands of press releases. If in a normal week we issue eight to 15 press releases, in a year there may be as many as 700, which would give us some 25,000 press releases throughout our history. Figures aside, what is relevant is everything we take into account as an agency and which we sometimes have to recommend to our clients.
Here are the “Do's & Don'ts” that agencies should keep in mind in the important task of writing or issuing a press release.
Do not abuse
This sounds easier than it really is, because in many cases it is the client who asks the agency to distribute a specific release. And, if the client is a world-class brand, they often want to distribute a large number of releases on a wide range of topics. But this large number of releases can sometimes be excessive and counterproductive for the media, who end up being overwhelmed with releases from this brand. As an agency, we sometimes have no choice but to do this because of client pressure, but in that case, we always try to segment the type of media to which we distribute a press release. This brings us to the next important point: segmentation.
Segmentation
With segmentation we try to distribute a certain press release only to groups of media to which it can really be of interest. The database that we have in Sergat, the result of decades of work and personal relationships, is fully updated and segmented, for example, by topics such as lifestyle, wellness, economy, gastronomy, luxury, etc..
Less is more
On many occasions, the agency's function is to translate and adapt the client's corporate communications to the corresponding market. This is the general trend for any agency in our industry. But sometimes clients send press releases that are too long. We would venture to confirm that very few journalists want to receive such lengthy releases. The agency's skill lies in trying to compress and reduce the content, but without taking away the essence and the really relevant information contained in the release. As a general rule – the exception proves the rule – the good practice is to send releases of one to two pages maximum.
The headline and subheadline
Sometimes there is a temptation to want to amalgamate too much information in the headline, which dilutes what is really essential or makes it unattractive. And we must not forget the enormous importance of a headline, since it is crucial in many occasions for the receiver to be attracted by it or, on the contrary, to press directly the “delete” key. Depending on the subject of the release, it may be advisable or useful to write one or more subheadings to complement the key information in the headline with more really significant information.
First things first
When writing a press release, it is important to structure it well. And in this context it is necessary to remember that the key information we want to convey should be, as far as possible, in the first or second paragraph at the most. A journalist's attention when reading/analyzing a topic in a press release will fade very quickly if we do not get to the point at the beginning and convey the essentials.
Terminology
There are generic terms that do not say much. At Sergat, when writing press releases we try to avoid or reduce as much as possible adjectives such as “wonderful”, “nice”, “beautiful”, etc. and, failing that, we look for other expressions that enrich the text.
Localizing corporate communications
It is a good practice, whenever it makes sense and is possible, to adapt a client's corporate communications to our specific market, in our case, Spain. The example could be that a company presents the financial results of its global business and we add information regarding Spain. Localizing is not always possible or makes sense, but it is an aspect to take into account in order to create a more attractive communication for our local audiences.
Well-written quotes
A quote or statement is a sentence that we attribute to a company spokesperson or a designated person. This person can also be from an external institution or company to give more credibility to our topic or content. The function of a quote or statement, in many occasions, is to facilitate that the recipients can use this/these phrase/s for their article. This is why it is important to write quotes that convey valuable information and do not simply repeat information that is already contained elsewhere in the release. A statement has to provide value. In the event that we ask a third party company or organization for a quote, it is important to guide them on what we would like to reflect.
The usefulness of the boilerplate
The so-called boilerplate is a paragraph/summary that we usually put at the end of a release that mainly summarizes a client's activity or highlights. A sort of “about” with corporate, and sometimes local, information about the company. It is important to keep the information up to date. The boilerplate is repeated in all press releases.
Archive of press releases
On the agency's website there should be an archive of press releases, for example under the name News or press room. In this section you will find all the press releases issued, which should be labeled with the brand being reported. In this way, journalists can access the press release history with a single click, sorted chronologically and by customer.
