Press releases have a definite flavor, style, and premise that differs from other types of published...

1. How to Write them and Where to Submit Them
Press releases have a definite flavor, style, and premise that differs from other types of published
media. In this section, we'll talk about:
Press release topics
Voice
Quotes
Parts of a press release
Choosing Press Release Topics
Many clients that I talk with wrongly assume that they don't have anything newsworthy to talk
about. Yet after digging for just a few minutes, I usually uncover a wealth of great topics to write
about!
Your news doesn't need to be earth-shattering to be newsworthy. There are plenty of things
happening in your business or on your blog that can be considered newsworthy:
New product/service/program
New published report/e-book/interview
New strategic partnership or hire
If you think about it, you can probably take some of the things you are already doing and turn them
into newsworthy press release material.
Let's say that you observed by looking at your blog stats that readers that come to your blog from
social media sources tend to stick around longer than from direct search engine traffic. At this point,
it's just an observation. But if you were to create a 1-2 page report on your findings and offer it as a
download on your blog - it becomes news of a new published report!
If you challenge yourself to produce one press release per month, you will likely start thinking
differently about how you conduct your business. Knowing that you will need to produce a monthly
press release will force you to come up with lots of new material and developments for your business
that can only improve your value to your target audience.
However, it is important that your press release have newsworthy value. Since they are so easy to
submit, a lot of junk is being distributed and is diluting the value of press releases. If we want press
releases to continue being viewed as high quality material, we all have to do our part in making sure
that we are publishing on topics that are valuable.
Voice

2. In the past, a press release was sent to the media to provide journalists and editors with topics to
write about. Today, press releases are published on the web and often viewed by the end user, as
well as traditional journalists and new media journalists (bloggers).
Because your target audience will likely be the reader of your press release, it's important to provide
a message that will resonate with your audience. However, the release must be written in a way that
does not make it appear completely obvious that you are talking directly to your target audience.
Always write the press release from a third-person perspective, never in a first-person perspective.
The press release should seem very objective.
Getting Rid of "You"
One mistake that I see a lot of companies make when they send me press releases to review is to
include the word "you" in the press release. Using the word "you" in a press release can cause your
press release to be rejected for "too much advertising language." But that doesn't mean that you
cannot advertise - that's the whole point of the press release! You just have to word your
"advertisement" more subjectively. Here's an example:
"You can find dozens of recipes for meatballs and upcoming restaurant events by visiting our
website at..."
Press release publishers will often reject such a directive statement. Instead, you'll want to phrase
this sentence like this:
"Meatball enthusiasts can visit... for a variety of meatball recipes and information on upcoming
Meatball House events."
Quoting People in SEO Press Releases
The place for blatant self-promotion is in the quotes! The text residing inside the quote can be as
subjective and self-promotional as you want. Quotes can be the powerful sales tool in a press
release. When I write press releases for clients, these quotes are part of the sales strategy. I write
the quotes myself in order to flow with the entire message, and then let the client approve them - not
the other way around.
Another purpose of quotes when using PR Web is to serve as an attention grabber and a summary to
entice visitors to read the entire press release. The reason this works with PR Web is because of a
feature called "Quotables" that randomly pulls quotes out of the press release and enlarges them as
an inset in the body of the press release.